New 6" reader?

[silverraven]

I really like the form of the EZ Reader as opposed to the Mentor Lite(button placement). Will there be an updated model of the 6" EZ Reader with the Samsung Arm9 400MHz processor and 16 GB SD card support? Or, am I just being silly worrying about the speed difference between processors?
S

[wallcraft]

The 5" Pocket Pro has the faster processor and a newer display controller, but it is only about 25% faster at turning pages than the 6" Basic. It is faster opening ebooks though and transferring them via USB.

It seems that Jinke is moving on to the A6 and A9 with SiPix screens. These are more "full featured" than the Hanlin V3, e.g. including WiFi and a touch screen.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by silverraven

I really like the form of the EZ Reader as opposed to the Mentor Lite(button placement). Will there be an updated model of the 6" EZ Reader with the Samsung Arm9 400MHz processor and 16 GB SD card support? Or, am I just being silly worrying about the speed difference between processors?
S

Dear Silverraven:

I have been on this forum for Astak almost 1.6 years now. In all that time I have yet to see anybody who owns a 6 inch EZ Reader complain it is slow. While it does not have the Epson Controller or the high-horsepower 400MHz processor... it flips pages quite decently.

About 5 months ago I asked the factory if they would consider a "V3-B"... a new EZ Reader Basic with everything that the Pocket PRO has. They laughed, chuckled like I was a nut case, and asked WHY??

While the 6 inch will never be "souped up"... I think you will find, if what you want is a light, reasonably fast, easy-to-use, and always reliable way to read eBooks and play MP3... that the EZ Reader Basic is still the best choice out there. By the way,the EZ Reader came with an Equalizer for music. It was and is FABULOUS. Not even the Pocket PRO has that!

Technically, the factory says "use an SD card to 4GB". Reality is the factory told me that it will run an 8GB without any problem. So, don't let that worry you!

[silverraven]

Thank you very much for the info. Now the decision, wait for the new ereaders to come out, get the 5" or 6" now.
Wish I could make up my mind!!!
S

[silverraven]

OK, one more question. Is there a screen quality difference between the two, one being 4 level gray scale the other being 8?
Oh, and does anyone know if Newegg will be carrying the 5" in other colors again?
S

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by silverraven

OK, one more question. Is there a screen quality difference between the two, one being 4 level gray scale the other being 8?
Oh, and does anyone know if Newegg will be carrying the 5" in other colors again?
S

The difference in gray scale is only noticeable when viewing pictures. Actual reading of books there is no difference. That said from the screenshots I have seen of the 6" model the pictures under a 4-gray scale screen do still look really nice.

For reading I personally would not use the gray scale factor as a major deciding factor, IMHO it comes down to whether a 5" or 6" screen size suits you better.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by silverraven

Thank you very much for the info. Now the decision, wait for the new ereaders to come out, get the 5" or 6" now.
Wish I could make up my mind!!!
S

Dear silverraven:

All I can say is this: there will be new models BUT I expect they will have more features too. I would expect the 9 inch will have Wi-Fi, Touch Screen, and a lot of other features you may not need. The intent of the factories seems to just be the 9 inch should get the kitchen sink.

Meanwhile, the little 5 inch Pocket PRO is a pleasure, costs $199, comes in colors, reads to you, and offers really useful small features that make it just right. I cannot make your decision for you... but why wait. Unless you want touch screen and wireless I would advise against waiting and start enjoying!

NewEgg does have all 6 colors now in stock!

And, yes, trying to be as objective as I can be... there is a huge difference between 4 level and 8 level grey scale on ILLUSTRATIONS! If you do not look at a ton of illustrations and only read... I do not think you will ever notice the difference.

[manifestor]

Originally Posted by Robertb

About 5 months ago I asked the factory if they would consider a "V3-B"... a new EZ Reader Basic with everything that the Pocket PRO has. They laughed, chuckled like I was a nut case, and asked WHY??

I can tell them why. EZ Reader/V3 is obviously not powerful enough for the more demanding ADE. The page flip IS sluggish with reflowed pdf. I mostly go back to xpdf mode for this reason.

And 32MB SDRAM is meager. I won't read some of my bigger pdf files (50MB+) on my EZ Reader because it's painfully slow to load them and navigate in them.

[manifestor]

Originally Posted by Robertb

And, yes, trying to be as objective as I can be... there is a huge difference between 4 level and 8 level grey scale on ILLUSTRATIONS! If you do not look at a ton of illustrations and only read... I do not think you will ever notice the difference.

I agree. The difference is not so dramatic between 8 level and 16 level. But the difference is HUGE jumping from 4 level to 8 level . (on illustrations)

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Technically, the factory says "use an SD card to 4GB". Reality is the factory told me that it will run an 8GB without any problem. So, don't let that worry you!

I can vouch for 16GB working as well. Using one in my BeBook, which is the same hardware as the EZ Reader.

[DaleDe]

One reason not to make the 6" like the 5" is that there is a wealth of alternate OS's for the 6" device and additional capabilities. An upgrade that maintained compatibility with this firmware would be welcomed (such as a faster processor) I am sure but so far the 5" does not have this kind of wide spread support. Check the Hanlin forum here at mobileread to see what is available.

Dale

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by manifestor

I can tell them why. EZ Reader/V3 is obviously not powerful enough for the more demanding ADE. The page flip IS sluggish with reflowed pdf. I mostly go back to xpdf mode for this reason.

And 32MB SDRAM is meager. I won't read some of my bigger pdf files (50MB+) on my EZ Reader because it's painfully slow to load them and navigate in them.

Thanks for letting me know. Now another question. Seems like the Mentor Lite is the 'Ugly Stepchild' of the Astak line and very seldom gets talked about, and the Pocket Pro is the favorite. Does anyone own and love the Mentor Lite here? If so, I may have to rethink the whole single button dislike issue I have!
S

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by silverraven

Thanks for letting me know. Now another question. Seems like the Mentor Lite is the 'Ugly Stepchild' of the Astak line and very seldom gets talked about, and the Pocket Pro is the favorite. Does anyone own and love the Mentor Lite here? If so, I may have to rethink the whole single button dislike issue I have!
S

Dear Silverraven:

I would say the Mentor Lite is the Pretty Stepchild. It is a great device and at CES people loved the screen on it.

You will find a lot of information on the Mentor Lite on my blog: www.robertbEZ.blogspot.com

Here is the reason: Astak has two lines. One is the "EZ Reader" and one is "Mentor". They are made by different factories. Both factories are rivals and HATE that we have two lines. So... it is often better not to discuss this split. The Mentor Lite is a quality device and the one-touch buttons make it unique. I can recommend it wholeheartedly. BUT... This Astak Dedicated Forum can be traced back to a single LONG-G-G thread 1.5 years ago and that was about the EZ Reader 6 inch. Then the EZ Reader Pocket PRO came up and was instantly welcomed. So, even though it is an Astak thread... most of the members are EZ Reader oriented.

Some day this will change. The Mentor Lite is a class device. It will be getting top billing soon enough!