Astak Mentor eBook readers with WiFi and Touchscreen (read-only) - Page 199

slayda · 07-30-2009, 01:42 PM

All things considered, I bet it will become official on Aug 1. I'll wait for RobertB's notice, anyway. Probably put me down in the que but ...

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:12 PM

Dear ALL:

I was not prepared to announce the good news until the press releases come out next week. Still... you cannot put the cat back into the bag once it is out. Yes, we finally got full release on the Pocket PRO 5 inch. Yes it comes with Epson Controller, 8 levels of Grey Scale, Adobe Digital Editions, Text-To-Speech, displays 12 formats and 20 languages, 400 MHz processor, MP3, and comes in 6 colors!! We wanted to do a formal announcement but everything said is true. I DO want to thank everybody for wanting it so badly!!

NOW, answers to your questions:

1. The website (www.theEZreader.com) was NOT complete as we hoped to announce next week. As such, it is slow and they worked all night on it. They tell me the pre-order is now working for North America. Not yet outside North America.
2. Yes, we do want anyone in the world to be able to order the Pocket PRO. We just did not expect to announce until Wednesday of next week. Our website people worked all night. We will have a solution for outside North America; but we do not have enough web people to do it immediately. It is coming!!
3. The devices are due to be available for delivery in late AUGUST! It takes time to do all the different colors! There are 6 colors and they are done in batches. Be patient and in late August we will ship!!!
4. The beginning price, I am sorry to say, is $229. This is because they are new, because we have the factory working extra shifts to get this out, and costs rose a bit. When you ask for a rush it costs more... but we are rushing it as we wanted to meet the demand as early as possible. I know I said "$199-$209"... but that was our best guess. The colors are costing a bit more and the extra shifts are costing a bit more. The cost of the panel is more than anticpated... $10 more. Is $20 extra so horrible for a brand new machine with all these exciting extras?
5. We are already pretty swamped with pre-orders pouring in. As I said, we were not ready as we did not think anyone would know so fast. Please be patient with the website.
6. We are getting professional pictures taken of the Pocket PRO. They were also planned to be ready for next week! They will be up as soon as they are done. We will show the colors as close as possible. Please be patient. We only have TWO working Pocket PRO in our facility and one is in slate blue and one is in white.
7. NO, you do NOT have to order a 6 inch in order to be able to buy the Pocket PRO. That is a false rumor!!
8. Once you have pre-ordered we will send you confirmation. IF you do not get confirmation please email: rubyl@teamresearchinc.com. Do NOT email her for info on when it will ship, PLEASE. She won't know. Ruby is not prepared for a flood of emails as she has plenty to do. I will keep you up to date as we get closer.
8. Please be patient!! As said, we did not have time to set this into effect fully. The actual announcement date was to be next week!

I am appreciative that there is so much demand!! We are trying to handle it for all!

Dr. Drib · 07-30-2009, 02:18 PM

Members and visitors:

While it is fine to disagree, let's leave off the personal attacks, please.

Let's play nice.

Thank you,
Don (Moderator)

cvkemp · 07-30-2009, 02:20 PM

Robert B
Thank you and know it will all work out. It is always a mad house at the start up.
The EzReader firmware is working great.

Chuck

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing that would be nicer on the EZ Reader would be page turn buttons also on the right side. I am right handed and I had a PRS-500 and now a PRS-505 and I find the page trn buttons on the right work much better when holding it one-handed in my right hand. The 500 had the page turn buttons on the left. I think having them on both sides would be good for everyone.

Dear JS Wolf:

There is a nub (small protrusion) on the scroll wheel that sticks out from the thumb wheel itself. This makes it possible to use the scroll wheel when it is in the case.

JS, I am honest. Maybe they should have out a slight cut-out into the case but they did not. Maybe on the next batch we can have that change made.

There are page turn buttons on the right side (and the left side). On the right side the "9" and "0" buttons serve as page turn buttons!!

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

How do people from outside the USA or Canada order? Does Astak not want our business?

Dear Harry:

You know that I love your posts and always answer you. Please have patience and our web site people WILL have a solution for anyone outside North America soon. It will NOT hurt your order as the devices will not be ready for delivery until late August.

I will take care of you and others. Of course I want your business!!

The announcement was going to be next week and so we are caught flat-footed a bit.

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

I tried to preorder and couldn't get past the first screen anyway. Looks like it's not quite ready to go.

Dearest Maggie:

Please try it again. Post if any further problem. Pre-orders are pouring in!

I will always take care of you promptly!

griffonwing · 07-30-2009, 02:40 PM

My order made it through.
Well. Astak now has my money, anyway

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stensie4JC

The same thing happened to me. It's clearly not a finished work, BUT there's progress, huzzah!

Dear Stensie:

They worked all night on it. They tell me it is working now.

YOU ARE RIGHT... the website is a work-in-progress! We do not have half of what we want on the PocketPRO up. Everything was timed to be ready the middle of next week. We have no good color pictures yet. We are asking a professional photographer to take shots but we only have a Slate Blue and a White one with the panel installed. I will TRY today to get some non-professional shots done and posted.

Yes, it is FINALLY happening!! The Pocket PRO is reality and all the info came as I said. I was a bit off on the price but panel prices went up and we put a rush on production. $229 is a VERY incredible price for such a strong machine!!

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekaser

Well, I hope so, anyway, since Paypal just sent $239 (includes shipping) to Astak for a 5" slate blue EZ Reader Pocket Pro!

(By the way, Robert, there's a typo on the 'step 2 confirmation' page, near the top: 'billing' is spelled 'billig'.

Everett

Dear ekaser:

We found it. Thank you. Will get that done.

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by griffonwing

My order made it through.
Well. Astak now has my money, anyway

Dear Griffonwing:

Thank God that your order made it through and you posted!! I am happy for that much!

I am in crisis mode here trying to respond. Please let me know if I forget anything.

MaggieScratch · 07-30-2009, 02:49 PM

Oops, did I put my foot in it by mentioning it here? *blush*

You should have known we'd find it, Bob.

ETA: One slate blue pre-ordered for meeeeee! My own, my birthday present, my precious! *capers about a la Gollum, attempts to not fall into Mt. Doom*

As to price, I paid $400 only 18 months ago for my Cybook, which is a very nice device but not as well-specced as the Pocket Pro. I am happy with the price, and I'm used to paying the "early adopter tax." I do think a ~$200 price point would be more attractive to the general public, however. But the prices are certainly coming down!

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cvkemp

Robert B
Thank you and know it will all work out. It is always a mad house at the start up.
The EzReader firmware is working great.

Chuck

Dear Chuck:

Most people expect that we are smart enough to have everything go smoothly from the start. We just were caught flat-footed this time. Yes, it is a mad house right now but we will get everything taken care of.

The website is: www.theEZreader.com Anybody can order either the 6 inch EZ Reader Basic or Pre-Order the 5 inch Pocket PRO for delivery in late August.

griffonwing · 07-30-2009, 02:53 PM

I'm not sure how likely this would be to happen, considering how many companies keep certain numbers close to the vest, but I think it would be cool to have a counter on the the 5" page, or maybe even the home page, with how many units sale.

Each time a transaction is made for a 5", it's immediately increased by one. The same for the 6". You might can have it so that you can see how many are in stock of each color, and compare that to how many are left.

Device --------- sold ---- stock
5" Slate Blue --- 12 ------ 2,288
5" Maroon ------- 7 ------ 2,293

Just a random thought. I doubt if Astak would like their numbers out there for any competitor to see. Although it would make it easy to see what the strong sellers are.

Robertb · 07-30-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

Oops, did I put my foot in it by mentioning it here? *blush*

You should have known we'd find it, Bob.

Dear Maggie:

Yes, I know that this forum is a living and breathing organism of its own. I should have known and you are right. Word of release actually came to me about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday so I had no true advance knowledge.

I spent about 90 minutes whooping it up when I got the news!!

07-30-2009, 02:12 PM	#2972
Robertb Astak Director, Bus. Devl Posts: 2,560 Karma: 2500000 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Astak Pocket PRO	OK, here is the scoop!! Dear ALL: I was not prepared to announce the good news until the press releases come out next week. Still... you cannot put the cat back into the bag once it is out. Yes, we finally got full release on the Pocket PRO 5 inch. Yes it comes with Epson Controller, 8 levels of Grey Scale, Adobe Digital Editions, Text-To-Speech, displays 12 formats and 20 languages, 400 MHz processor, MP3, and comes in 6 colors!! We wanted to do a formal announcement but everything said is true. I DO want to thank everybody for wanting it so badly!! NOW, answers to your questions: 1. The website (www.theEZreader.com) was NOT complete as we hoped to announce next week. As such, it is slow and they worked all night on it. They tell me the pre-order is now working for North America. Not yet outside North America. 2. Yes, we do want anyone in the world to be able to order the Pocket PRO. We just did not expect to announce until Wednesday of next week. Our website people worked all night. We will have a solution for outside North America; but we do not have enough web people to do it immediately. It is coming!! 3. The devices are due to be available for delivery in late AUGUST! It takes time to do all the different colors! There are 6 colors and they are done in batches. Be patient and in late August we will ship!!! 4. The beginning price, I am sorry to say, is $229. This is because they are new, because we have the factory working extra shifts to get this out, and costs rose a bit. When you ask for a rush it costs more... but we are rushing it as we wanted to meet the demand as early as possible. I know I said "$199-$209"... but that was our best guess. The colors are costing a bit more and the extra shifts are costing a bit more. The cost of the panel is more than anticpated... $10 more. Is $20 extra so horrible for a brand new machine with all these exciting extras? 5. We are already pretty swamped with pre-orders pouring in. As I said, we were not ready as we did not think anyone would know so fast. Please be patient with the website. 6. We are getting professional pictures taken of the Pocket PRO. They were also planned to be ready for next week! They will be up as soon as they are done. We will show the colors as close as possible. Please be patient. We only have TWO working Pocket PRO in our facility and one is in slate blue and one is in white. 7. NO, you do NOT have to order a 6 inch in order to be able to buy the Pocket PRO. That is a false rumor!! 8. Once you have pre-ordered we will send you confirmation. IF you do not get confirmation please email: rubyl@teamresearchinc.com. Do NOT email her for info on when it will ship, PLEASE. She won't know. Ruby is not prepared for a flood of emails as she has plenty to do. I will keep you up to date as we get closer. 8. Please be patient!! As said, we did not have time to set this into effect fully. The actual announcement date was to be next week! I am appreciative that there is so much demand!! We are trying to handle it for all! Last edited by Robertb; 07-30-2009 at 02:16 PM.

07-30-2009, 02:49 PM	#2982
MaggieScratch Has got to the black veil Posts: 542 Karma: 2144168 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Device: Kobo Aura One, Kindle Paperwhite 2	Oops, did I put my foot in it by mentioning it here? blush You should have known we'd find it, Bob. ETA: One slate blue pre-ordered for meeeeee! My own, my birthday present, my precious! capers about a la Gollum, attempts to not fall into Mt. Doom As to price, I paid $400 only 18 months ago for my Cybook, which is a very nice device but not as well-specced as the Pocket Pro. I am happy with the price, and I'm used to paying the "early adopter tax." I do think a ~$200 price point would be more attractive to the general public, however. But the prices are certainly coming down! Last edited by MaggieScratch; 07-30-2009 at 02:56 PM.

07-30-2009, 02:53 PM	#2984
griffonwing Suave Swabby, Savvy? Posts: 1,602 Karma: 520350 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Harrison, ARrrr, USA - southern Ozark mountains Device: Slate Blue PEZ (Astak Pocket Pro), CVSCX-9300 Quad-band watch phone	I'm not sure how likely this would be to happen, considering how many companies keep certain numbers close to the vest, but I think it would be cool to have a counter on the the 5" page, or maybe even the home page, with how many units sale. Each time a transaction is made for a 5", it's immediately increased by one. The same for the 6". You might can have it so that you can see how many are in stock of each color, and compare that to how many are left. Device --------- sold ---- stock 5" Slate Blue --- 12 ------ 2,288 5" Maroon ------- 7 ------ 2,293 Just a random thought. I doubt if Astak would like their numbers out there for any competitor to see. Although it would make it easy to see what the strong sellers are. Last edited by griffonwing; 07-30-2009 at 02:56 PM.

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07-30-2009, 01:42 PM	#2971
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	All things considered, I bet it will become official on Aug 1. I'll wait for RobertB's notice, anyway. Probably put me down in the que but ...

07-30-2009, 02:18 PM	#2973
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,434 Karma: 59592133 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Members and visitors: While it is fine to disagree, let's leave off the personal attacks, please. Let's play nice. Thank you, Don (Moderator)

07-30-2009, 02:20 PM	#2974
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,430 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 6 SE, Fire HD8	Robert B Thank you and know it will all work out. It is always a mad house at the start up. The EzReader firmware is working great. Chuck

07-30-2009, 02:40 PM	#2978
griffonwing Suave Swabby, Savvy? Posts: 1,602 Karma: 520350 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Harrison, ARrrr, USA - southern Ozark mountains Device: Slate Blue PEZ (Astak Pocket Pro), CVSCX-9300 Quad-band watch phone	My order made it through. Well. Astak now has my money, anyway

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