Sony or ASTAK

[bbusybookworm]

I'm pretty split on this one right now, as while I personally like Sony's design and Build Quality, I've ordered the Astak for the additional formats supported and the avalibility of other firmwares

Back to the original question, Both the Sony and the Astek are going to be available in retail, and while Sony currently has a Higher Brand profile then Astak, better pricing or promotion by a few retailers could really push up Astak's visibility.

So, its going to be a bit of a toss-up IMHO, until we can see how widley available both are going to be, and any future promotions.

[rixte]

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

I'm pretty split on this one right now, as while I personally like Sony's design and Build Quality, I've ordered the Astak for the additional formats supported and the avalibility of other firmwares

Back to the original question, Both the Sony and the Astek are going to be available in retail, and while Sony currently has a Higher Brand profile then Astak, better pricing or promotion by a few retailers could really push up Astak's visibility.

So, its going to be a bit of a toss-up IMHO, until we can see how widley available both are going to be, and any future promotions.

The Pocket Pro is only going to be available from Astak's website, which I think is going to be problematic unless they do some serious promotion.

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by rixte

The Pocket Pro is only going to be available from Astak's website, which I think is going to be problematic unless they do some serious promotion.

Well initially at least.

The Original EZ Reader was available in stores, and I see no reason why the new model will not be sometime in the near future.

I'm sure that once Astak has a sufficient supply, they are going to cut deals with Electronic retailers to get it on shelves, especially before the holiday season.

[Kris777]

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

Well initially at least.

The Original EZ Reader was available in stores, and I see no reason why the new model will not be sometime in the near future.

I'm sure that once Astak has a sufficient supply, they are going to cut deals with Electronic retailers to get it on shelves, especially before the holiday season.

I think if people will see both models - Sony and ASTAK on the same shelves
for the same price - 99% will buy Sony.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

Well initially at least.

The Original EZ Reader was available in stores, and I see no reason why the new model will not be sometime in the near future.

I'm sure that once Astak has a sufficient supply, they are going to cut deals with Electronic retailers to get it on shelves, especially before the holiday season.

Astak says that the low price can only be offered if they cut out the middle man. I warned them that their connection with Fry's would cause them grief.

Dale

[Kris777]

I think if they cut out the middle man they will also cut out 90% of potential customers

[griffonwing]

Robert says they will ship by August 31. Sony says they will ship last week of August (last I checked).

Even if Sony ends up shipping a week before Astak, they still don't hold a candle to what Astak is offered up, if you compare them side by side. This is, after all, my own personal opinion and is subject to copyright

However, to one who has already invested heavily in Sony format BBeB books, LRF/LRX, then frankly... I dunno. I used to think they had a good, solid point. But now...?

Sony plans on switching over their entire bookstore to ePub by then end of the year, which is only 4 months away. In 4 months, Sony's books will be readable on the Pocket Pro, and any other ePub device.

After that, the phrase "I have all these BBeB books" will be moot, and the 300 will be even further outclassed. I do like the direction Sony has taken, but their ePub conversion, combined with the extreme limitations/expandability of the 300 make for a very poor business decision, and is very likely gonna end up hurting the company.

Unless there is something that I have overlooked, and am just not seeing clearly...

[Hellmark]

If the 505 wasn't an option when I bought mine, I'd have gone ezreader/bebook for sure. The only things I liked about the 505 over the hanlin devices is now not the same for the 300.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Robert says they will ship by August 31. Sony says they will ship last week of August (last I checked).

Even if Sony ends up shipping a week before Astak, they still don't hold a candle to what Astak is offered up, if you compare them side by side. This is, after all, my own personal opinion and is subject to copyright

However, to one who has already invested heavily in Sony format BBeB books, LRF/LRX, then frankly... I dunno. I used to think they had a good, solid point. But now...?

Sony plans on switching over their entire bookstore to ePub by then end of the year, which is only 4 months away. In 4 months, Sony's books will be readable on the Pocket Pro, and any other ePub device.

After that, the phrase "I have all these BBeB books" will be moot, and the 300 will be even further outclassed. I do like the direction Sony has taken, but their ePub conversion, combined with the extreme limitations/expandability of the 300 make for a very poor business decision, and is very likely gonna end up hurting the company.

Unless there is something that I have overlooked, and am just not seeing clearly...

If you don't mind - I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for the moment. The Astak Pocket Pro clearly looks better on paper, but the fact is that no one on MR (except RobertB who is under NDA) has really handled it. Further, I'd go so far to say that there's probably no one who's had the opportunity to compare the two units side by side.

I don't know anything about Astak products from personal experience, so I can't speak to them - but I do know about Sony products as I've owned many of them over the years.

Sony generally makes excellent hardware with superb build quality. Even the much-maligned PRS-700 is a very well-constructed device. There are going to be people who go for the 300 purely because it's Sony hardware - and that number may rise if the 300 has a metal shell. And moving away from Sony proprietary software is a good thing for many people.

Meanwhile, no matter what the build quality of the Pocket Pro is, it doesn't have the reputation that Sony has. It may be better, it may be worse - but most people do not associate Astak's name with quality the way they do Sony's.

There's also the fact that Sonys are going to be everywhere. I live in a small town of 25,000 people - and we had the 505 on the shelf in four different locations.

Not even Amazon is holding a candle to Sony in retail presence. Yes the Pocket Pro looks like a great machine - but the Sony is the one people will see if they walk into a store.

For what it's worth (and I'm a Sony owner) I'd go for the Pocket Pro over the 300 (so long as I could get it in the price parity window). However, I think the 300 will sell quite well and satisfy many purchasers.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

If you don't mind - I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for the moment.

...SNIP for Space....

For what it's worth (and I'm a Sony owner) I'd go for the Pocket Pro over the 300 (so long as I could get it in the price parity window). However, I think the 300 will sell quite well and satisfy many purchasers.

I agree with you on all points. Sony does have the name. Astak will most likely never come close to achieving such brand recognition.

I do agree, also, that their build quality is very good, and even their design. i actually much prefer the side buttons on the 505 than the buttons on the EZ Readers.

Sony's stepping away from their proprietary format is also a very bold step for the company. It's going to be tumultuous time for Sony, in that their books will be available to be read on a majority of readers, and could very well hinder their unit sales to a certain degree.

I did not state this before, as it never really formed in the brianpan, but they will most likely see a return on investment by the increase in book sales because of this change. It's a balance of unit sales vs ebook market. Sony's book sales will most likely achieve Kindles success, and may very well top them with their more-readily-available format.

As far as comparing it to Astak, I suppose you might compare like a good mp3 player. iPod has the country beat in sales, marketing/advertising, etc.. I have an 8GB Creative Zen Microphoto. It's does more than an iPod of equal value (at the time of purchase, anyway), but not many people have heard of it. I did my research, played with both units, and chose the Zen.

Hopefully, once the PEZ ships outs, reviews will start to come in, and people can judge by actual reviews instead of PR marketing.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

As far as comparing it to Astak, I suppose you might compare like a good mp3 player. iPod has the country beat in sales, marketing/advertising, etc.. I have an 8GB Creative Zen Microphoto. It's does more than an iPod of equal value (at the time of purchase, anyway), but not many people have heard of it. I did my research, played with both units, and chose the Zen.

LOL My step-daughter prefers her mother's Zen to her own iPod. It's much better value for money. (The iPod was a gift from her father.)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Robert says they will ship by August 31. Sony says they will ship last week of August (last I checked).

Even if Sony ends up shipping a week before Astak, they still don't hold a candle to what Astak is offered up, if you compare them side by side. This is, after all, my own personal opinion and is subject to copyright

What I want to know about the Astak device is will they have the same annoying ADE page number issue that the EZ Reader has? I've seen photos in another thread of the EZ Reader and when the font size is made larger, so are the ADE right side page numbers. At least with Sony, those right side page numbers are small and stay small even if you increase the font size.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I want to know about the Astak device is will they have the same annoying ADE page number issue that the EZ Reader has? I've seen photos in another thread of the EZ Reader and when the font size is made larger, so are the ADE right side page numbers. At least with Sony, those right side page numbers are small and stay small even if you increase the font size.

The only one I know who can answer that right now is Robert. Others can answer that once they're shipped and such.

Does the same thing happen on OIP?

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Kris777

I think if people will see both models - Sony and ASTAK on the same shelves
for the same price - 99% will buy Sony.

I agree with what Kris suggested... IF people spot both models at the same price ... a large percentage will buy Sony due to the name. Unless Astak and I make a concerted effort to educate the public on the differences... most people will go with brand name recognition.

THIS is why it is critical that Astak get the word out. In my opinion, for what it is worth, the Sony is a relatively stripped-down device. I do not mean this as a put-down of Sony (who is a fine company)... it is meant as a simple statement of fact.

The PRS-300 has 8 level grey scale and Adobe Digital Editions. It has a sealed-in battery and no SD card slot. The Pocket PRO has 8 level grey scale and Adobe Digital Editions, has a user-replaceable rechargeable battery, and has an SD card slot to 16GB. Plus, the Pocket PRO gives you Text-To-Speech, displays 12 formats and 20 languages, has MP3 stereo, comes with a crush resistant case with magnetic clasp and ear buds included, has a scroill wheel and page advance both right and left side, and gives you a choice of 6 colors.

The problem for Astak is getting people to get past the brand name and look at what comes in and with the Pocket PRO. That means getting reviews and getting the press involved! As I have mentioned before... "Reality means little, Perception is EVERYTHING"!! Astak has a battle to let people know that the difference between these two machines in incredible... and that Astak offers complete customer support and technical help based in the USA. The Astak is NOT a flunky brand that will not last. Rather, it has great assistance for a device that has far less returns. Our work is cut out for us!

This poll is a shame. It means even the device-educated people on MobileRead Forum simply are not seeing the facts or they would be totally in the Astak court.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by Robertb

This poll is a shame. It means even the device-educated people on MobileRead Forum simply are not seeing the facts or they would be totally in the Astak court.

Actually, Bob, the poll only asked who was going to ship out first.. and has nothing to do with quality/specs or anything else.

Originally Posted by Kris777

JetBook is the first 5" eBook reader (with quality screen) available in US Market. Who will be the next: Sony or ASTAK (both companies announced 5" screen units)?