Astak Mentor eBook readers with WiFi and Touchscreen (read-only)

[robvarga]

Originally Posted by SaraD

He did that with the Pocket Pro (ballpark price and colors) and I really wish a company like Eagle Creek or REI or somebody would do half as good a job listening to what I want in a small daypack so I could buy it.

Maybe you should just ask Astak to purchase a backpack factory and put it under RobertB's supervision...

Just kidding.

Best regards,

Robert

[slayda]

Originally Posted by UncleDuke

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this thread reads like a paid ad for the astok reader

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Do you make similar comments when the MR front page runs numerous articles about the Sony readers?

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by UncleDuke

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this thread reads like a paid ad for the astok reader

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I guess it hurts to hear all the praise on an Ereader that meets most everyones needs, especially when you go with a limited format Ereader such as the Sony.

They are going with Epub and dropping thier format - big news for a company that is doing a last ditch effort to stay viable in the Ereader Market.

Wake up and smell the roses - There are better devices out there.

[imabuddha]

Originally Posted by Robertb

The Astak Mentor eBook devices come in 5 inch, 6 inch, and 9.7 inch. Let's use the 6 inch as an example.

It weighs 7 oz and has measurements of 7.5" by 4.75" by only .35 inches thick (WOW). It has a stereo headphone jack, uses Li-ion 3.7V battery, and lasts for 8000 pages on one charge. It takes a 4GB SD card for extra memory. It uses E-ink technology with an 800 x 600 pixels. 170 dpi, B&W, 4 grayscale.

The price for this is expected just under $200 (YES, THAT IS $200). The 5 inch model will be priced at about $159. The processor is the Samsung S3C2443 at 400 MHz.
{snip}
Optional on it will be Touchscreen and WiFi 808.11g. Many, many of you have wanted this WiFi instead of WhisperNet from what we have heard. It will have auto shut-off and many more features.

What ever happened to these devices? The price & features sound too good to be true.

Since there are > 3k replies it isn't easy to find out what went wrong.

[SDRebel]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear SDRebel:

You will love the Pocket PRO!! What color did you decide upon?

We are actively expecting Wi-Fi devices pretty soon. I cannot give details before release because of the NDA; but it is fair to say we hope that late September or early October MAY see a release. They are being readied for us... that is for sure.

As soon as I am permitted you will see me shouting it all over the threads and having people write me and say "shut up". People are getting so sick of me espousing the Pocket PRO on other threads there is a lynch party forming. I do not care. I think the Pocket PRO is going to prove itself to be one of the best releases in a long time and will endure.

Thanks. I selected black, I hope they don't take long to ship. I would love to get one with wi-fi as well, but one is all I can afford

[SDRebel]

Originally Posted by imabuddha

What ever happened to these devices? The price & features sound too good to be true.

Since there are > 3k replies it isn't easy to find out what went wrong.

from what robert said, they might come out later this year

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by imabuddha

What ever happened to these devices? The price & features sound too good to be true.

Since there are > 3k replies it isn't easy to find out what went wrong.

Noone know for sure.

But if I were a guessing person, i would say that some kind of NDA prevents Robert from speaking about it.

Also, I would guess that it was put on hold, not due to Astak's decision, but perhaps Netronix (the manufacturer of the device) put a hold for some reason.

Although, this is pure speculation on my part.

[emellaich]

RobertB,

It seems that your publicity campaign is working. I see a number of tweets regarding the Astak ereader.

BTW, if you aren't already monitoring twitter, a lot of businesses do so in order to find out what people are saying about their company. Go to www.twitter.com and type in Astak into the search box. You will find every tweet where someone has used the word Astak in the body of the tweet. Its good for finding out what people are saying about you -- possibly you can use it to show your boss the impact of your activities.

As a separate service, you can go to twilert.com and sign up for an account. They will send you a daily email of every tweet that contains your search term, such as "Astak". I noticed Astak in my daily twilert on ereader.

[Over]

Any news about the big screen Astak?

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by SaraD

Hi Robert,

By "late September or early October MAY see a release" do you mean the actual device is coming, or permission to give details about forthcoming devices? I think you mean that the devices will potentially be avaliable in September or October, but want to clarify.

And thank you for mentioning this because I have been debating about sending a private message to ask if any other devices would be released by Astak before the holidays. One of these things will be my present this year.

Dear Sara:

We just got the release three weeks ago on the Pocket PRO and you will recall how we almost lost it as I was telling too much in advance. The factory just does not want advance publicity as it limits their flexibility.

All I know is that they are working on such devices and that they thought that we might see them in September or October (maybe). This is only because any number of things can go wrong in beta testing. I assume when they hint September or October they mean their version of the User Manual (which I have to translate into good American wording) and 2-3 samples will arrive then, and we can start to give out details.

I wish I knew more but I do not. We DO think we will release several new models before Christmas.

[phenomshel]

Robert, bless your heart. I've stayed out of the recent discussions, both because I didn't have anything to say that would help, and because everything I *wanted* to say was negative in the extreme toward your employer(s). Unfortunately, both items are still in effect. Just wanted to let you know I'm still around, though.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Over

Any news about the big screen Astak?

I only know that PVI will start manufacturing the Flexi screen for the 9.7 inch in late September or early October. Then it goes to the factories and they start final design and Printed Circuit Boards and such.

The factories are NOT going to tell me for a while when the actual units will be released. We all HOPE it is in time for Christmas but it; certainly is possible it will be January. As you can imagine, nobody wants the competition to know... so they are not saying. They are coming; but I have no more detail then that!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Robert, bless your heart. I've stayed out of the recent discussions, both because I didn't have anything to say that would help, and because everything I *wanted* to say was negative in the extreme toward your employer(s). Unfortunately, both items are still in effect. Just wanted to let you know I'm still around, though.

Dear Shel:

My employers are actually working hard to see that we all have jobs. The economy is still a disaster. The competition grows and grows every two weeks where somebody new seems to be entering the eBook Reader market.

This is horrible as Astak keeps going forward and yet the purse strings are tight.

Yes, they have put a gag order on me... but because the factories almost refused to give us info otherwise. I hate not having more info. I just know that some day this ridiculous market will improve.

I missed you Shel!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by emellaich

RobertB,

It seems that your publicity campaign is working. I see a number of tweets regarding the Astak ereader.

BTW, if you aren't already monitoring twitter, a lot of businesses do so in order to find out what people are saying about their company. Go to www.twitter.com and type in Astak into the search box. You will find every tweet where someone has used the word Astak in the body of the tweet. Its good for finding out what people are saying about you -- possibly you can use it to show your boss the impact of your activities.

As a separate service, you can go to twilert.com and sign up for an account. They will send you a daily email of every tweet that contains your search term, such as "Astak". I noticed Astak in my daily twilert on ereader.

Dear emellaich:

Good morning!!

I wish I could say that we are deeply involved with Tweets but I know so little about it. I appreciate your directions on how to find Astak on there.

I will go to twilert and try to find out on alert.

Thank you. This will help!!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by imabuddha

What ever happened to these devices? The price & features sound too good to be true.

Since there are > 3k replies it isn't easy to find out what went wrong.

Dear imabuddha:

What happened is largely the world ecomomy, far less capital readily available, and prices for materials (such as panels) went up.

In all honesty, we did get a Pocket PRO for $199 that has better features than I mentioned. The wireless devices are coming. There were some problems in that the hoped-for SD card Wi-Fi did not work out perfectly.

Also, that post of mine was a long time ago. Things do change, problems pop up, and what the market wants seems to change too. It is NOTeasy trying to get out good devices. There is a clear need and desire to get out wirless devices. We want it and so do the factories.