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Your review is appreciated -- but I was taken aback that it is the first (and only) e-reader you have used. Putting the Astak device in context of Amazon's Kindle and/or Sony's E-readers seems table stakes to me in a review like this. And as others have noted, the "just out of the box experience" is valuable, but one of Astak's purported strengths (and that of a so-called open OS) is that updates are frequent. For this reason, a point-of-view using the most current (and specifically identified) firmware would be more helpful. Have you considered an update review?
As a reader, can you comment more on the font? Every image I have ever seen of the Astak devices show a pretty large font, with non-existent page margins. I note you mention 3 font sizes. My experience is with the Kindle 2: I believe six font sizes are available and, for .mobi class files, there is some "air" around the page just like a printed mass paperbook. Illustrations may reach margin-to-margin, but type does not. The embedded single Kindle font is also very legible, even in small sizes. On a related note: can you change the "words per line"? that changes the margins on the Kindle. And -- can you select left-, right-, centre- or full-justification? People like choice: the Kindle 2 fixes everything at full-justification.
As a geek, is 8 gray scales enough for text and rudimentary picture display? Or should we demand 16, 32 or 64 levels? Plus, there is talk about xGB of storage. Generally, I am a believer in "more is better". With an e-reader, I'm not quite so sure. "More" means a more complex filing / index system. I think a device which offers "enough" internal memory -- possibly with the option of more via SD -- finds the best path. However, I'm coming to believe that 1, 2 , 4, 8 GB might be "enough" internal storage saving the added manufacturing cost of an external SD capability. Is 512 MB enough for you? (I gather it is, btw, from your comment about 1024 books ...)
The ability to "skip 10 pages" at once sounds cool; I can enter specific "locations" on my Kindle 2 but that's pretty tedious. Bookmarking is a cinch, but then it remembers where I left off. I gather the updated firmware for the Astak reader also remembers the "left off" page -- hopefully for every book "opened" at some point.
There was nothing stated about the file system or how easy / hard it is to sync your PC collection of e-books with the Astak over USB. Have you had a chance to experiment with different file formats since the initial review? Specifically, how well it works with prc, pdf, doc, txt, ade and epub files? Have you tried using it with a public library Overdrive system?
Finally, and you may wish to comment offline, I was trying to download one or more of your novels from your website -- you've piqued my interest in your writing. I couldn't sort out how to get them, alas. "Trail of Faith" and "Empire" sounded intriguing.
Thanks again!
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