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

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

Agree, plus the Ref Blue PC

Also the Dark Slate Blue 2965 from griffonwing (though I couldn't find it) I love slate blue

This range of blues, not the cyan or aqua line.

The bottom right-hand corner of Page 4.

[MaggieScratch]

I like blue. It's my color. I used to get everything pink but I'm kind of over it now (though I still like pink...just redid my bedroom in pink and green). But for something I carry around every day, I like blue. A nice royal blue would be ideal but I like the idea of a dark slate blue as well. The electric blue is fine, too. I just like blue. :-) If that didn't happen, I would probably go with black or white, but some color would be fun.

ETA: The 2965 is lovely.

I have a Cybook Gen3, and am happy with it, but would love something more portable. As Robert has already pointed out, Astak being based in North America is a plus for me, being a resident of the U.S. I'm interested in all the 5" devices coming out--Bookeen and BEBook, for instance--but if Astak came out with such a device, especially at a ~$200 price point, I would buy it in a minute.

I am looking for a basic reading device. ePub please, and at least non-DRM Mobi would be awesome, as would eReader now that you're doing business with them. I mostly read public domain classics but I'd love to start making and collecting ePub docs if that's the way the wind is blowing.

I saw on Teleread that BEBook's 5" device will have the option for a wifi SD card (at an additional cost). That would be cool if possible. Good folder management or some other way of managing files and at least a half GB of onboard memory would be very much appreciated. I know it's early but I can't wait to hear more!

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by Robertb

For BLUE, I kinda like PMS2728 and PMS 280.

I agree with you on Blue 280...

[AJ Starr]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

The bottom right-hand corner of Page 4.

Found it, yes, dark slate blue. Maybe a little lighter...

[pkovak]

Blue: Reflex Blue or 286 (Reflex Blue is directly above 286)
Purple: 2597 or 527
Green: 356

Most probably I would go for Reflex Blue, it's dark enough not to be obtrusive when reading. Keep in mind that red color means danger and human eye&brain company is especially tuned to look for it.
Oh, and please, don't do the same mistake as many companies, eReader surface should be anything but reflexive - you don't want to reflex light to user's eyes and eReaders will be held all the time when used, reflexive surface looks much worse with all those fingerprints. Gleamless surface would fare much better. I am sure you know that, practicaly anyone should know that, but still there are tons of devices in computer industry released every month with reflexive surface.

[brecklundin]

Ironically I have been pondering what color reader bezel would work best...for my K1, well, nothing will make the display look better. Soon as the warranty is done I am going to crack the case and buy a few cans of Krylon to see that works best but I doubt anything can really save that gen1 display. Gen2's are not much better...

If I had to ponder a guess, I have been thinking in terms of print books...a nice dark brown that is not too dark but also not too red (mahogany might be too far) would be the most aesthetically pleasing to me...I still would buy one with that Asus bamboo case because, well, that is kinda silly.

I am actually surprised I like the white on the K1 we have, still hate the display but the bezel is not a distraction. Greens and blues are good too because of how our eyes/brain respond to them. Blue is not called "the seducer of the mind" for no reason. It is a color that people tend to subconsciously associate with relaxation. I would find a non-earth tone color palette distracting, save for white. And I thing we are just conditioned to black for laptops.

BTW, if any of your devices are going to come with a glossy display, you should be flogged nekkid at sunrise, but otherwise there is a very inexpensive fix on the consumer end. It is using Boxwave Clear Touch Anti-Glare. But never having used on on a non-backlighted display, I have no idea how significant the light loss will be:

http://www.boxwave.com/products/cleartouch/index.htm

But for your Pixel Qi based reader it might be a way to reduce the layers by using a glossy display for those who want one yet allow the addition of a protector from Boxwave. Of course you can go in the other direction as well by having a matte finish display and using the glossy display protector from Boxwave which has virtually zero light loss. I use the Anti-glare on my Nokia N800 and love it. The thing actually improves the touch screen response on mine.

[pkovak]

RobertB, what's the chance that your eReaders will have more then color? I am speaking about a picture, relief, few touches of a pen, etc - something that change normal cover into work of art?

[Emu]

pixel qi display ready:


-> http://pixelqi.com/blog1/2009/05/28/...qi-3qi-screen/
-> https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=46779&page=3

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

The bottom right-hand corner of Page 4.

THAT is how badly Griffonwing wants Slate Blue!! He changed his appearance! I will have to look into slate blue more closely!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Emu

pixel qi display ready:


-> http://pixelqi.com/blog1/2009/05/28/...qi-3qi-screen/
-> https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=46779&page=3

This is great stuff!! Thank you for posting this in this thread!!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

Ironically I have been pondering what color reader bezel would work best...for my K1, well, nothing will make the display look better. Soon as the warranty is done I am going to crack the case and buy a few cans of Krylon to see that works best but I doubt anything can really save that gen1 display. Gen2's are not much better...

If I had to ponder a guess, I have been thinking in terms of print books...a nice dark brown that is not too dark but also not too red (mahogany might be too far) would be the most aesthetically pleasing to me...I still would buy one with that Asus bamboo case because, well, that is kinda silly.

I am actually surprised I like the white on the K1 we have, still hate the display but the bezel is not a distraction. Greens and blues are good too because of how our eyes/brain respond to them. Blue is not called "the seducer of the mind" for no reason. It is a color that people tend to subconsciously associate with relaxation. I would find a non-earth tone color palette distracting, save for white. And I thing we are just conditioned to black for laptops.

BTW, if any of your devices are going to come with a glossy display, you should be flogged nekkid at sunrise, but otherwise there is a very inexpensive fix on the consumer end. It is using Boxwave Clear Touch Anti-Glare. But never having used on on a non-backlighted display, I have no idea how significant the light loss will be:

http://www.boxwave.com/products/cleartouch/index.htm

But for your Pixel Qi based reader it might be a way to reduce the layers by using a glossy display for those who want one yet allow the addition of a protector from Boxwave. Of course you can go in the other direction as well by having a matte finish display and using the glossy display protector from Boxwave which has virtually zero light loss. I use the Anti-glare on my Nokia N800 and love it. The thing actually improves the touch screen response on mine.

Nobody has mentioned brown yet... a brown not quite to Mahogany could look great!!

You commented about greens and blues and I am happy that you did. The Luchscher Color Tests showed that people respond best to light lime green and light tan.

I will look into the Boxwave Clear Touch Anti-Glare today and see how pricing might work. This is a valuable tip and I appreciate it!!

[cheese bogart]

I was going to suggest a chocolate brown, like a milk chocolate.

[cheese bogart]

Found some nice browns on your chart.
Page 7 no. 4485.
Page 8 no. 462 and no. 463

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by pkovak

RobertB, what's the chance that your eReaders will have more then color? I am speaking about a picture, relief, few touches of a pen, etc - something that change normal cover into work of art?

Dear pkovak:

The temporary color conversation is about the new 5 inch EZ Reader PocketPRO and we all seem to see that as the wrong machine to add a lot of features. The Pocket PRO is a pocket eBook Reader that can be carried easily and hits the $200 barrier.

Don't worry... Astak is still more than ever into improving the twin lines with useful features.

The Mentor and EZ Reader lines are both coming out with Adobe Digital Editions and eReader formats, 8 and 16 color greyscale, color screens, and bigger processors. Years ago I was a pinball fanatic... not as much for the game itself as for the Backglass Artwork. For example, "Mystic" had a backglass that was a work of art. I photographed it and used it on several sales brochures with incredible results. So... I understand what you are getting at.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by cheese bogart

Found some nice browns on your chart.
Page 7 no. 4485.
Page 8 no. 462 and no. 463

Duly noted. I will look today at 4485, 462, and 463!! I cannot promise a brown only because I live in a world where there are owners and where there are limits on how many colors we can choose. BUT, I am not against excluding another color to add something like brown in an interesting shade.

Any others that want to see a BROWN of some nature?? Please chip in.

Cheese Bogart... your comments are most welcome!