Astak's press release for the EZ Reader

[wallcraft]

I agree that the switch from Netronix to Jinkie is a disappointment for those of us who were looking for something new (either technically or in terms of price). However, what remains is a solid US presence for an established E-Ink device. This will be only the 3rd EInk vendor with US-based service and support. Part of the success of the Kindle is down to Amazon's well deserved reputation for support. Astak will have to prove itself in this area, but if they can do so I can easily see them selling plenty of readers and expanding into retail stores.

Jinkie seems to be executing Bookeen's original strategy of providing wide support for ebook formats better than Bookeen, and their rebranding of the same device (and software) under multiple names from multiple sellers is also working surprisingly well.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

However, what remains is a solid US presence for an established E-Ink device.

Well, that isn't even a certainty at this point. We shall see...

[borax99]

No ereader support, no sale. Not from Sony, not from Astak, not from anyone. Waste of time.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by borax99

No ereader support, no sale. Not from Sony, not from Astak, not from anyone. Waste of time.

I disagree. Having eReader would be the reason to not purchase such a device. The conversion tools to eReader are not all that wonderful.

[bill_mchale]

I think it ultimately depends on the reader Jon. Of someone has spent most of their time up to now reading on their PDAs using ereader as opposed to mobipocket, I can see why such a person would want ereader in a dedicated reading device.

Personally, I would prefer ereader over Mobi if for no other reason than Apple support (not talking about third party here, I mean by the actual owners of the format) is better with ereader than it is with mobi.

--
Bill

[Rosethorn1403]

sigh, I still like the idea of the Astak, as nothing except the Iliad is available here in Australia (if you buy sony or cybook on ebay or the like, you void the warranty) but it's looking more and more like just another hype, and at the same price as the sony etc

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by astra

Just out of curiosity, what is this about?

Have you not seen the TV ads? The first few started with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. Now, they are moving onto the "I'm a PC" ads. The slogan is "Windows @ Software without walls."

BOb

EDIT: Sorry you're in the UK... I assume they don't run there. Here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SiBBi35zKY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWPf1BWtkw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3fuphN0yFE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10mbTUQFVUI

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

I think it ultimately depends on the reader Jon. Of someone has spent most of their time up to now reading on their PDAs using ereader as opposed to mobipocket, I can see why such a person would want ereader in a dedicated reading device.

Personally, I would prefer ereader over Mobi if for no other reason than Apple support (not talking about third party here, I mean by the actual owners of the format) is better with ereader than it is with mobi.

--
Bill

The eReader format was designed for smallish type screens such as a PDA. That is the reason for no paragraph indents and the lin spaces between paragraphs. But, on a larger screen such as a 6" eink screen, this will not look good. It's formatting is not meant for such screens. And the larger you go, the worse it will look.

Now you do not have to have eReader format eBooks in that format. But most commercial eReader eBooks are formatted that way.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The eReader format was designed for smallish type screens such as a PDA. That is the reason for no paragraph indents and the lin spaces between paragraphs. But, on a larger screen such as a 6" eink screen, this will not look good. It's formatting is not meant for such screens. And the larger you go, the worse it will look.

...to you.

When I create RTFs for my Sony, I prefer no paragraph indents, a little space between the paragraphs, and left-justification. Those are my preferences. And I think they look absolutely fine and good that way.

Not everyone wants it your way.

[bill_mchale]

Jon,

Maybe fictionwise is changing that... or maybe they are having different readers handle paragraphs differently, but the several ebooks I have gotten from them use normal indentation.

In addition, I think the alternate formating is just fine. I am quite use to reading that way, so lack of paragraph indents doesn't bother me in the slightest as long as there is a blank line there.

--
Bill

[astra]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

...to you.

When I create RTFs for my Sony, I prefer no paragraph indents, a little space between the paragraphs, and left-justification. Those are my preferences. And I think they look absolutely fine and good that way.

Not everyone wants it your way.

Do you mean someone would create books with spaces between paragraphs??? Atrocity!

Just checked out Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Look inside and there are no spaces between paragraphs. It is a crime to have spaces between paragraphs on 6" screen, because it is even smaller than a standard hard back edition (it would be a crime on 9" as well )

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by astra

Do you mean someone would create books with spaces between paragraphs??? Atrocity!

I wish this would be left out to the reader (both the device and the person). I create my mobipocket books using <P></P> for the paragraphs. The default mobipocket reader renders these with some indent and just a bit of vertical space (less than half a line). I hope some future version (especially in the Cybook) will allow to modify this (I would set it to some indent and no vertical space).

Of course, if I want to override the default settings for some specific paragraph, I use the WIDTH and HEIGHT attributes, and never add "&nbsp;" or blank lines.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by astra

Do you mean someone would create books with spaces between paragraphs??? Atrocity!

Well, We are not talking about entire empty line between two paragraphs, just a space that is a few pixels (less than 1mm) wider than "normal" space between two lines inside paragraph. Also the first line intendation for the paragraph is only about 4mm wide in books that I format for my reader. And margins are almost non-existent. This, together with sans-serif font and left justification enables me to squeeze quite a lot of *very readable* text on the screen.

I really do not understand why there are 15 mm (and sometimes more!) wide margins on commercially available (Sony and also Kindle) books. THAT is atrocity if you ask me!
This trying to recreate printed page at any cost remainds me of the very first cars that were built exactly like horse carriages without a horse ;-)
See
http://voteview.com/images/daimler1.jpg
http://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/cars/carhist.htm
http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Fo...dsFirstCar.jpg
http://voteview.com/images/duryea1.jpg
for pictures.

[astra]

Originally Posted by kacir

This trying to recreate printed page at any cost remainds me of the very first cars that were built exactly like horse carriages without a horse ;-)
See
http://voteview.com/images/daimler1.jpg
http://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/cars/carhist.htm
http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Fo...dsFirstCar.jpg
http://voteview.com/images/duryea1.jpg
for pictures.

Funny

But that's me. I never read ebooks before Sony Reader because I like the way printed book - hard back edition - is made. Sony Reader was the first gadget that resembled a paper book for me and still is as a matter of fact.
I wish Sony made 8 or 9" reader, that would be a perfect reader at home for me. Very much like hard back edition format

I didn't realise that spacing between paragraphs does not mean a whole empty line. It is a very different matter then.
I leave the default 10 margins left/right/top and zero bottom. But it is not mm, I think it is pixels, 2-3 mm? And ident 6, to make it a bit more prominent.
All my books are done in BD. Does it insert spacing between paragraphs?

I agree that margins I have seen in commercially available sony books is atrocity.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The eReader format was designed for smallish type screens such as a PDA. That is the reason for no paragraph indents and the lin spaces between paragraphs. But, on a larger screen such as a 6" eink screen, this will not look good. It's formatting is not meant for such screens. And the larger you go, the worse it will look.

You always say this...but I have read several eReader books on laptop and desktop screens and the formatting was not a problem in the least. So opinions can differ.