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

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Mindy

I mean a port for a USB port on the ereader that you can use for a USB memory stick

Of the current crop of E-Ink readers, only the iLiad has this. However, Astak's 9.7" E-Book Reader page says:

Supports 2 USB 2.0 ports (one port with power charge function)

I don't see this in the smaller device specs. So one possibility is that they all have one "client" port for charging and connecting to a Desktop computer, but only the 9.7" has a 2nd "host" port for USB memory sticks. However, the specs are not very clear on this point and don't explicitly mention USB memory sticks.

[vinicius0881]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Vinicius:

I know Touchscreen very well because our POS Division sells the terminals with Touchscreen. I also admit that there are many different types of TouchScreen: resistive, capacitive, SAW and more. Let me see if the factory has this nailed down yet. They told me it was 5-wire resistive Touch at one point but that may have changed. They are at Computex Trade Show in Taiwan right now but I will get the info and post!

robert b

thank you robert! if only i could wait until october...
but i still hope to get one of these mentors in the near future

vinicius

[Luigino]

About USB port on 6" model... wouldn't a microSD save some space rather than an USB port so to transfer books or stuffs to the eReader can be used the microSD where today all notebooks have already integrated the SD/microSD reader; plus on the other hand you can bring documents everywhere you want than the eReader into microSD...
Obviously except if Astak's gonna plan in the next versions of firmware to use the USB port as battery charger then it would be good to have on it.

At least that's my opinion....

[tirsales]

Originally Posted by Luigino

About USB port on 6" model... wouldn't a microSD save some space rather than an USB port so to transfer books or stuffs to the eReader can be used the microSD where today all notebooks have already integrated the SD/microSD reader; plus on the other hand you can bring documents everywhere you want than the eReader into microSD...

Ahem... By far not every notebook has a SD/microSD-Reader, but nearly every Notebook has a USB-Port.
You should use USB whatever else you support - so at least one USB-port is mandatory (could very well be a client/host supporting port, so we could use it both ways - as interface to the notebook and as stick-reader).
Enabling the usb-port to read usb-storage would actually be a nice extra - nearly everybody has a usb-storage somewhere, and you could upload stuff from virtually any station ...
And as a SD-port is available too - everything should be nice

[Luigino]

Originally Posted by tirsales

Ahem... By far not every notebook has a SD/microSD-Reader, but nearly every Notebook has a USB-Port.
You should use USB whatever else you support - so at least one USB-port is mandatory (could very well be a client/host supporting port, so we could use it both ways - as interface to the notebook and as stick-reader).
Enabling the usb-port to read usb-storage would actually be a nice extra - nearly everybody has a usb-storage somewhere, and you could upload stuff from virtually any station ...
And as a SD-port is available too - everything should be nice

Well, in fact you're right but for those notebooks that doesn't have SD/microSD reader, there are around 3 Euro's portable USB SD/microSD to attach to usb port, in this way in fact we can also use photocamera's SD to look at photos we made directly reading on SD...
But as you said, Robert, it's really good to have both (better microSD than SD since they're gonna be new standard than SD even also more smaller than SD and faster on reading)... ;-)

Ciao!
Luigi

P.S.: Still waiting for the 6" model.... ;-)

[alanastoz]

Hi EVeryone this is my first post but I have been avidly following your threads for a while. I currently have the cybook and I recently bought my 7 year old the ebookwise 1150 (less easy to break). I am rapt with both for different reasons but still i am looking at the new readers coming out. OMG the 9.7 Mentor mmmmmmmmm. I have had a look at the Netronix site but there is not a great lot of detail there. ANy ideas on whether they will have both types Mentor/Litebook models or just brand them under EB series? ALso a quick question for you all anyone have a really good, not too heavy light that fits on the cybook? Finding one that is really good is driving me crazy!
Nice to meet you all, Cheers, Gaby

[Walk Broad]

Originally Posted by alanastoz

Hi EVeryone this is my first post but I have been avidly following your threads for a while. I currently have the cybook and I recently bought my 7 year old the ebookwise 1150 (less easy to break).

How's that working for your 7 year old?

I wouldn't mind getting a dedicated reader for my son since the 1150 is so inexpensive.

[alanastoz]

Hi Aaron, This is a good solid unit, great for kids who bang them around. Rather heavy though. It does have a couple of good features such as rotating the page and adjusting the brightness/contrast of the led light but it is definately not for grownups! Once you have had a cybook/mentor/sony you really find these archaic. The reason i bought it for my son is that it is pretty much bomb proof! I'm happy to answer any questions you have just let me know.
Cheers, Gaby

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by alanastoz

Hi Aaron, This is a good solid unit, great for kids who bang them around. Rather heavy though. It does have a couple of good features such as rotating the page and adjusting the brightness/contrast of the led light but it is definately not for grownups! Once you have had a cybook/mentor/sony you really find these archaic. The reason i bought it for my son is that it is pretty much bomb proof! I'm happy to answer any questions you have just let me know.
Cheers, Gaby

some of us might disagree...

[Jack B Nimble]

Regading the eBookwise 1150,

Originally Posted by alanastoz

Hi Aaron, This is a good solid unit, great for kids who bang them around. Rather heavy though. It does have a couple of good features such as rotating the page and adjusting the brightness/contrast of the led light but it is definately not for grownups!

Hey, I resemble that remark!

As for,

Originally Posted by alanastoz

Once you have had a cybook/mentor/sony you really find these archaic.

I gave the Sony a month or so, got rid of it and went back to the 1150.

While I will not likely get a Mentor, I do look forward to it, if only to increase the eReader brand. Of late, I am reading more on my PDA and my laptop, and since my laptop is a mac, eReader is my only real choice for mainstream books with DRM. On the other hand, if it is cheap enough, I may get a Mentor just to support the cause, and for those instances when I may be able to use it.

Jack

[nekokami]

My 13-year-old daughter inherited my eBw 1150 when I got my iLiad, but I sort of miss it. The iLiad works better for PDF files, which I need to read for my graduate work, and is somewhat easier to read in sunlight, but the 1150 was great for reading at night.

[Rosethorn1403]

Wow Robertb, the astak has got me completely sold!

I have a few general queries for you,

a) I am Australian, as as of yet we have been ignored by the ereader market, the only one available is the iliad, which is ridiculously expensive.. So, will there be easy shipping/maintenance available to us way down under? In other words, will we have to ship our devices overseas to have them fixed?

b) Am i correct in understanding the difference between the mentor and the litebook is that one uses mobipocket and nothing else, and the other will use other sellers formats etc for example fictionwise. Will there be any significant price difference? And will I be able to hopefully buy one of these wonderful sounding ereaders before christmas?

and lastly

c) Will we be able to buy it eventually with a case or protector etc for travel? most ereaders come with a leather cover or carry case, and will chargers come in multiple regions? eg a european charger is only of use if i lug an adaptor around with me.

Thanks for keeping us all updated!

[Siren]

Robertb,

Since I bought my Sony PRS-505 at about the time it came out, I have noticed the main drawback to be reading PDF files that are large. The ability for 'True Read' of 8" by 11" pages (for the 9.7" Pro Mentor) is truly appealing, but I would like to know how that works exactly without the screen being that large. I know my PRS-505 lets you turn the unit sideways to read in half-page increments, but it is only a 6" screen and does not work well for this.

I must say that I use mobileread for all of my eReader information needs and since I discovered the Mentor earlier today I have been digging for information and am happy to say that Astak's Mentor 9.7" looks like it will meet all the needs I have been desiring for a couple years now (and much more). I am excited to say that I plan to be one of the many who will be Astak's first customers in the eReader market (though I obviously will be one of the ones waiting months after the 5" is released, for the 9.7", so if sales start slow, just know that many of us are waiting for specific versions.).

EDIT: Also, because I will likely forget and do not think to look for new readers often, is there going to be a email list I can sign up for to notify me when the particular Mentor I want comes out?

(As a side question to forum members, is djvu open and are there any ereaders that use it?)

[Mindy]

Well, we're halfway through June so, even assuming a late July launch of the 5", the factories, meeting rooms and (especially) finance departments should be buzzing towards the final countdown.
For same reasons as above it's understandable that updates might be few and far between, and the Astak site doesn't appear to have been updated (at all?) so just wondered if anyone had heard any goss elsewhere?

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by alanastoz

Hi EVeryone this is my first post but I have been avidly following your threads for a while. I currently have the cybook and I recently bought my 7 year old the ebookwise 1150 (less easy to break). I am rapt with both for different reasons but still i am looking at the new readers coming out. OMG the 9.7 Mentor mmmmmmmmm. I have had a look at the Netronix site but there is not a great lot of detail there. ANy ideas on whether they will have both types Mentor/Litebook models or just brand them under EB series? ALso a quick question for you all anyone have a really good, not too heavy light that fits on the cybook? Finding one that is really good is driving me crazy!
Nice to meet you all, Cheers, Gaby

Dear Gaby and all:

We met with Dale DePriest at the Astak facility last week. One of the topics was a light for the 5, 6, and 9.7 inch Mentor/LiteBook. Dale thought this would be a really important thing to do and we concur.

There are two basic ways to power the light. One is to use the battery on the Mentor/LiteBook. The second is to use SuperBright LEDs running off tehir own little battery.

We are looking also at some way to put a small rail-type clip on the top of the Mentor/Litebook and then slide in to lock a gooseneck-type LED light with its own power supply. Nobody else does this; and Dale says that bookstore alligator-type clips do not work very well on eBook Readers. So... this is a hot suggestion and we have sent it to the factory to try to implement. Next step is a rough sketch and then we can go from there.

No, the Netronix EB series is separate from the Mentor/Litebook. Netronix IS building the Mentor/LiteBook (and the inner workings are indeed very similar); but the design is Astak's and we are trying to make it a more user-friendly and more ergonomic machine overall. I would not confuse the two as just the same with a different name.

Yes, everybody thinks the 9.7 inch is a dream machine. BUT... it is not so simple either. A glass screen can crack if you twist it too much. That is what we found with the first attempt. It works but is not rugged enough. So, now we are looking at a Flexi screen that will alleviate the problem. This is the first time anybody really tried to go this big and we expected some techncial problems at first. The best panel makers in the world are working on this and will find a great solution!!

Dale DePriest really set us straight on past history and the strengths and weaknesses of other designs. This guy is really out there working hard for MobileRead Forum members!! We aim to have him back within the month!

Robertb