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

[rgeorg]

I was commenting more about the "cheerleading" of the Pocket Pro, then whether or not someone should eventually purchase it. Everyone is welcome to his/her opinion, I was just pointing out that to aggressively support and push the PP when no one here has actually even seen or used one might be a bit premature.

Robertb has done a good job of having you well primed and will be pleased ;-)

The PP does sound like an interesting device. Personally, I already have a 5" device (jetBook) which already has fast page turns, no flashing, folders, great resolution, dictionary support + more - and I have no intention of purchasing DRM-protected books. But my conditions do not apply to everyone, and some people just prefer eink (or think they might).

That's great and I look forward to reading the reviews once these devices become available!

[Andybaby]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

8 greyscales and the Epson display controller. Does not have dictionary support though, nor wireless connectivity.

I thought it was proved to not have an epson controller.

although I do expect it to have faster page turns.

but dictionary support and wireless connectivity really are game changers. when I had my kindle I was browsing the kindle store on it all the time.

really the only REAL pros of the device are when comparing it with the kindle 1.

Eink 5" screen w/ 8 Gray Scales
Small Size.

Neutral
Possibly able to use with the new barnes and noble book store.

Cons
No Wireless
No Dictionary


priced the same, I would still recommend the kindle.

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by rgeorg

I was commenting more about the "cheerleading" of the Pocket Pro, then whether or not someone should eventually purchase it. Everyone is welcome to his/her opinion, I was just pointing out that to aggressively support and push the PP when no one here has actually even seen or used one might be a bit premature.

Robertb has done a good job of having you well primed and will be pleased ;-)

The PP does sound like an interesting device. Personally, I already have a 5" device (jetBook) which already has fast page turns, no flashing, folders, great resolution, dictionary support + more - and I have no intention of purchasing DRM-protected books. But my conditions do not apply to everyone, and some people just prefer eink (or think they might).

That's great and I look forward to reading the reviews once these devices become available!

I would not term it Cheerleading - more on the line of Enthusiasm for a smaller device that will have the features and format support that I want but other devices lack.

I looked at the jetbook, but it did not suit my needs due to its lack of DRM support.

I am excited that a device will be forthcoming with support for multiple non DRM formats as well multiple DRM formats that I use.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by Andybaby

I thought it was proved to not have an epson controller.

although I do expect it to have faster page turns.

but dictionary support and wireless connectivity really are game changers. when I had my kindle I was browsing the kindle store on it all the time.

really the only REAL pros of the device are when comparing it with the kindle 1.

Eink 5" screen w/ 8 Gray Scales
Small Size.

Neutral
Possibly able to use with the new barnes and noble book store.

Cons
No Wireless
No Dictionary


priced the same, I would still recommend the kindle.

I would actually put "No Wireless Tether" to be a PRO.

The thing about wireless access is 9 times out of 10, you're stuck with where the unit calls home to. Unable to change home-pages, stuck with downloading from only one source.

I'd much rather hook it to my PC and transfer the books. At least this way, I'd have full control over what went ON my machine, and even more control of what is REMOVED.

But for those who NEED wireless of any kind, it could be a Con. But not for me.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Andybaby

I thought it was proved to not have an epson controller.

If a new device has 8 gray scales, then it has the Epson controller because the old Apollo controller only supports 4. We think the Bookeen Opus and Pocketbook 360°, both with 5" screens but made by Netronix, have the Apollo controller and 4 gray scales, see E-book Reader Matrix

[MaggieScratch]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

I would actually put "No Wireless Tether" to be a PRO.

Yup. Feature, not a bug. I specifically did not buy a Kindle (though I was very tempted) when it became clear the wireless connection went both ways. I don't mind a little data mining based on the books I buy (I know many do object but you can't buy online without it, I'm afraid), but when they're snooping on what I read and when, that goes too far.

And do we know for sure the Pocket PRO doesn't have dictionary support? eReader on my Treo had dictionary support, though I rarely used it. I can usually figure out the meaning of words from context and word roots. That's how I was taught to read.

As for "cheerleading," some of us are eagerly looking forward to getting a Pocket Pro so naturally we are going to talk about it positively. It's our birthday present, precious.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

And do we know for sure the Pocket PRO doesn't have dictionary support? eReader on my Treo had dictionary support, though I rarely used it.

The eReader software may support dictionaries, but it won't be available immediately.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

As for "cheerleading," some of us are eagerly looking forward to getting a Pocket Pro so naturally we are going to talk about it positively. It's our birthday present, precious.

It literally will be for me, assuming it does get release on the 15, that'll give it a week to make it in.

[MaggieScratch]

My birthday is next week, so it will be late, but that's okay, as I can't think of anything else I need or want at the moment. So many Leos among Pocket Pro owners! That's why the cheerleading, I dare say. We're intimidating people with our natural charisma.

[griffonwing]

I'm barely a Leo. Funny thing is, my twin brother is a Virgo!

[MaggieScratch]

So you have different birthdays? Cool.

[rixte]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

I would actually put "No Wireless Tether" to be a PRO.

The thing about wireless access is 9 times out of 10, you're stuck with where the unit calls home to. Unable to change home-pages, stuck with downloading from only one source.

I'd much rather hook it to my PC and transfer the books. At least this way, I'd have full control over what went ON my machine, and even more control of what is REMOVED.

But for those who NEED wireless of any kind, it could be a Con. But not for me.

Well, obviously there have been concerns expressed about Amazon's ability to access data on the device. But in regards to the '9 times out of 10', the Kindle at least is part of the remaining 1. You can currently use it to download any documents in a format it supports, not just from the Amazon bookstore.

I've used mine to download books directly from Baen, from Mobileread, from Tor and from numerous other sources.

[6charlong]

I've had a little trouble using the wireless feature on my iPod Touch. It only gave me trouble when I bought a second copy of a favorite book with DRM for a second format. The servers that handle DRM apparently got tangled up and tried to use the wrong DRM scheme on the second book. Tech support cleared it up for me and I imagine these sorts of problems will soon be resolved. However the experience of using wireless feels awkward, like a loss of self-control.

But my biggest objection to wireless book readers comes from my experience with computers in general. I've learned to backup often and verify my backups. With Wifi connections you have to rely on the bookseller to keep your backups--you just don't have the ability to burn your book collection to something permanent and under your own control. And while one can hope that neither Amazon nor Barnes and Noble will ever abandon the eBook selling business, actually, they both have done just that in the past. After all, the books cost more than the device used to render them.

[AJ Starr]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

My birthday is next week, so it will be late, but that's okay, as I can't think of anything else I need or want at the moment. So many Leos among Pocket Pro owners! That's why the cheerleading, I dare say. We're intimidating people with our natural charisma.

Mine is Saturday. I don't think the PP will make it by then, but it's still my birthday present.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by rixte

Well, obviously there have been concerns expressed about Amazon's ability to access data on the device. But in regards to the '9 times out of 10', the Kindle at least is part of the remaining 1. You can currently use it to download any documents in a format it supports, not just from the Amazon bookstore.

I've used mine to download books directly from Baen, from Mobileread, from Tor and from numerous other sources.

My mistake.

Everything I had read, or assumed, was that you could only 'wirelessly download' books from Amazon on the Kindle. Not that you couldn't transfer books from other sites (Baen, MR, Tor, etc...) to the PC, then to the Kindle...but it was, again, assumed those were not accessible via wireless from unit to website.