Astak announces 5 inch Pocket PRO for $199

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by Robertb

To All:

I have a new blog posted today. I have been swamped lately; but my blogs will now come much more frequently.

Blog is: www.robertbEZ.blogspot.com

RobertB,

I read your July 2nd blog. Thanks for keeping Wifi OFF the Pocket Pro. Reviewers seem to think the Kindle is the only device with wireless. My iPod Touch has it too and I wish it allowed cable downloads of my eBooks instead. I suspect that the Kindle works because it’s a one format device and the only eBook source it can reach is Amazon.

My iTouch can be set to connect to any book store site and that occasionally causes me some trouble. But mostly I hate having to depend on the bookstores I’ve used to never go out of business and for the DRM on my books to never change. I have a lot more money invested in the books than the hardware to render them so I’d much prefer to download my books and take responsibility for keeping them backed up myself. I’ve never owned a digital device that didn’t need a reset someday so I want my backups in a format I can be certain of.

Wireless might be necessary for people who lack access to a computer or the Internet. We can hope that ‘brick and mortar’ bookstores will someday include a kiosk where people can download eBooks. After B&N bought Fictionwise I wandered into their local store and had waves of nostalgia wash over me. It was a good enough experience to make shopping there worthwhile. Get a new eBook, buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks and read for awhile. Who knows, maybe the two companies can agreed to the reverse process someday and put a B&N eBook kiosk in Starbucks.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

RobertB,

I read your July 2nd blog. Thanks for keeping Wifi OFF the Pocket Pro. Reviewers seem to think the Kindle is the only device with wireless. My iPod Touch has it too and I wish it allowed cable downloads of my eBooks instead. I suspect that the Kindle works because it’s a one format device and the only eBook source it can reach is Amazon.

My iTouch can be set to connect to any book store site and that occasionally causes me some trouble. But mostly I hate having to depend on the bookstores I’ve used to never go out of business and for the DRM on my books to never change. I have a lot more money invested in the books than the hardware to render them so I’d much prefer to download my books and take responsibility for keeping them backed up myself. I’ve never owned a digital device that didn’t need a reset someday so I want my backups in a format I can be certain of.

Wireless might be necessary for people who lack access to a computer or the Internet. We can hope that ‘brick and mortar’ bookstores will someday include a kiosk where people can download eBooks. After B&N bought Fictionwise I wandered into their local store and had waves of nostalgia wash over me. It was a good enough experience to make shopping there worthwhile. Get a new eBook, buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks and read for awhile. Who knows, maybe the two companies can agreed to the reverse process someday and put a B&N eBook kiosk in Starbucks.

Dear 6Charlong:

This is an old Dale Depriest idea. I loved it and my boss thought that a Kiosk was too old fashioned. We manufacture POS hardware at Astak. Doing a suitable KIOSK would be easy for us.

Frankly, I LOVE the idea of walking into a B&N and strolling the aisles to find the books I want and then stroll to the KIOSK to have all my purchases downloaded to my device. Maybe the KIOSK even spits out a discount coupon for 50 cents off your Starbucks. To me... KIOSK is the way to go with retail stores!

[ahammer]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear 6Charlong:

This is an old Dale Depriest idea. I loved it and my boss thought that a Kiosk was too old fashioned. We manufacture POS hardware at Astak. Doing a suitable KIOSK would be easy for us.

Frankly, I LOVE the idea of walking into a B&N and strolling the aisles to find the books I want and then stroll to the KIOSK to have all my purchases downloaded to my device. Maybe the KIOSK even spits out a discount coupon for 50 cents off your Starbucks. To me... KIOSK is the way to go with retail stores!

you sould show him redboxs stocks.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear 6Charlong:

This is an old Dale Depriest idea. I loved it and my boss thought that a Kiosk was too old fashioned. We manufacture POS hardware at Astak. Doing a suitable KIOSK would be easy for us.

Frankly, I LOVE the idea of walking into a B&N and strolling the aisles to find the books I want and then stroll to the KIOSK to have all my purchases downloaded to my device. Maybe the KIOSK even spits out a discount coupon for 50 cents off your Starbucks. To me... KIOSK is the way to go with retail stores!

The idea is only old fashioned if you think brick-and-mortar bookstores are old fashioned. Maybe they are, but that's part of their charm: big old easy chairs, hot coffee or tea and a leisurely hour of reading. That old fashioned charm is something I miss while buying pbooks from Amazon. But charm or not, I will only buy paper books when paper is the reasonable format--like books with large pages, ones that depend on images, maps or diagrams, books for very young children, etc. But when I'm in bookstore for something, I'd like to be able to get a novel, too, and that B&N store had some enchanting displays.

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

RobertB,

I read your July 2nd blog. Thanks for keeping Wifi OFF the Pocket Pro. Reviewers seem to think the Kindle is the only device with wireless.

Maybe in the States. Here in Europe the trend has not started yet and due to the number of different countries and regulations, I seriously doubt it will be easy, so WiFi is not an asset here. And a very good thing it is, indeed.
Any chance to see it sold it here ?
By the way, RobertB, since you are usually very helpful, does the mobi restrictions on format apply also for the non-DRM ?
Bye

[wallcraft]

There are no restrictions on DRM-free MOBI, but you would typically need to use a 3rd party reader. Robertb's blog says MOBI (PRC) is supported:

It supports: txt, pdf, doc, chm,wol, rar, zip, jpg, bmp, tiff, fb2, djvu, gif, epub,html, ppt, prc, pdb, MP3.

It would be nice to get confirmation that this isn't a typo, because the latest LBook (Hanlin V3) beta firmware has dropped MOBI support entirely.

[MaggieScratch]

Well, I have a comfy chair and good tea at my own place. But I think ebooks can be sold in brick and mortar stores--let people browse the books in the bookstore (or let the booksellers handsell them), then the customer takes the book to cashwrap, pays for it, receives a code, and downloads it from the kiosk to an SD card or to their device (or can go home and download it on their computer if they prefer, or if they don't have their device/card with them).

You'd think booksellers would love such a system--I know lots of people who have read entire books sitting in the cafe of a bookstore, without buying them!

[mobelby]

Robert,

Great to see we're finally nearing the launch of the Hanlin V5/Bebook mini/Astak Pocket Pro.

Since I last posted I've acquired a new iphone 3gs and it has changed my perspective again on what I need from an ereader.

The iphone goes with you everywhere and has both wifi and 3G so my previous need in an ereader for wireless connectivity has gone completely after using the following on the iphone - safari, wikitap, NYT, google news, google mobile, bloomberg.

All I want now is a cheap, user friendly, fast device that reads books and nothing more (although text search and capability for a built in dictionary akin to Stanza on the iphone would be very welcome).

To this end the Pocket Pro meets all my needs and it's a bonus that it remains pocketable whilst still having a much bigger screen than the iphone.

I really hope and have a good feeling that this device will be a success. Now bring it on already .............

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by brudigia

Maybe in the States. Here in Europe the trend has not started yet and due to the number of different countries and regulations, I seriously doubt it will be easy, so WiFi is not an asset here. And a very good thing it is, indeed.

WiFi is the same everywhere and works world-wide. What "regulations" are you referring to? Are you perhaps confusing WiFi with cellular wireless communications?

[rgeorg]

He's probably referring to the widespread availability of free, public WiFi access that you find in the US - but not in Europe so far. Therefore, having WiFi doesn't bring the universal advantage that it might in many urban US settings.

Or, perhaps he is referring to the Kindle/Whispernet use and how with the various European carriers and regulations it would be difficult to duplicate in Europe?

Either way, it doesn't really make sense (in Europe) to pay for additional connectivity features in a device.

[Mnementh]

Originally Posted by HarryT

WiFi is the same everywhere and works world-wide. What "regulations" are you referring to? Are you perhaps confusing WiFi with cellular wireless communications?

Incorrect.

802.11a is legal in the states and is not legal in the U.K. which is a real shame as it is a better specification overall.

The U.K. also limits the channels you can broadcast your Wi-FI signal on (not sure about the rest of europe).

All WI-FI is not created equal

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by brudigia

Maybe in the States. Here in Europe the trend has not started yet and due to the number of different countries and regulations, I seriously doubt it will be easy, so WiFi is not an asset here. And a very good thing it is, indeed.
Any chance to see it sold it here ?
By the way, RobertB, since you are usually very helpful, does the mobi restrictions on format apply also for the non-DRM ?
Bye

Mobi's exclusivity applys to main formats such as eReader and Adobe offer. They do not apply to non-DRM formats. That is why the original EZ Readers came WITH Mobi but also supported about 12 other formats.

There is no chance you will see the EZ Reader Pocket PRO itself sold in stores in Europe. You CAN buy it from our website (when released) and we will ship to Europe. There IS a European alternative to the Pockert PRO. It is known as the "Mini". I do not believe it comes in colors; but otherwise is almost exact.

Thank you for all your comments!!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by mobelby

Robert,

Great to see we're finally nearing the launch of the Hanlin V5/Bebook mini/Astak Pocket Pro.

Since I last posted I've acquired a new iphone 3gs and it has changed my perspective again on what I need from an ereader.

The iphone goes with you everywhere and has both wifi and 3G so my previous need in an ereader for wireless connectivity has gone completely after using the following on the iphone - safari, wikitap, NYT, google news, google mobile, bloomberg.

All I want now is a cheap, user friendly, fast device that reads books and nothing more (although text search and capability for a built in dictionary akin to Stanza on the iphone would be very welcome).

To this end the Pocket Pro meets all my needs and it's a bonus that it remains pocketable whilst still having a much bigger screen than the iphone.

I really hope and have a good feeling that this device will be a success. Now bring it on already .............

Dear Mobelby:

I am with you. I bought a Smartphone for all that it does and enjoy the dedicated eBook Reader (EZ Reader) for what it does... allow me to read comfortably.

Yes, everything on the Pocket PRO is finally moving and we are all really upbeat here at Astak. This week our General Manager is in China talking with the factory and getting everything in writing to gain exclusivity (we hope). We think it will be an absolutely KILLER product that will combine the convenient size with a pumped-up and faster machine that offers so much more than even normal 6 inch devices offer. AND... I LOVE the idea of great colors so users can personalize their experience!!

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Yes, everything on the Pocket PRO is finally moving and we are all really upbeat here at Astak. This week our General Manager is in China talking with the factory and getting everything in writing to gain exclusivity (we hope). We think it will be an absolutely KILLER product that will combine the convenient size with a pumped-up and faster machine that offers so much more than even normal 6 inch devices offer. AND... I LOVE the idea of great colors so users can personalize their experience!!

Thanks for the info. Keep us updated on how the China talks go. Exclusivity would give you something that Kindle and Sony do not have and cannot offer.

Keep us informed.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Thanks for the info. Keep us updated on how the China talks go. Exclusivity would give you something that Kindle and Sony do not have and cannot offer.

Keep us informed.

The General Manager left this morning for his talks with Jinke in China. We pray all goes smoothly. We have SO much that we can and will bring to the table.

Anyway, I expect some news coming back to us Wednesday or Thursday. We are really excited.