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

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by John F

Robertb, the callous disregard for human life is reprehensible. I suggest that you delay the release of the Pocket Pro for 3 months to allow people to properly cope with this disaster.

My point has been made!

[rixte]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Right now, everything appears to be exactly on schedule. Allowing U.S. Customs does not delay things, we should be shipping out on August 31.

I agree with Griffonwing. This relatively inane stuff about "vapourware" is really a little weird. Astak has released almost exactly on schedule with all our devices. People who first shout "vapourware" are people who aren't buying or even looking at Astak. Also, YOU (the people saying this) are showing you have no real concept of what it takes to design, gain formats, price, build, and ship eBook Readers. My God, people, have you ever brought anything this complex to market in your lives? The intangibles alone, that you have almost no control over, can delay your entire planning. One setback on one feature can delay shipping by months!

This naivette about how hard it is to get things done on time is just astonishing. There was a Typhoon in Taiwan last week. Some of our employees have family in South Taiwan. They are surrounded by flooding, cannot evacuate, and are sitting on rooftops hoping for a food drop. People have lost families and relatives and friends in this disaster. Yet... you sit here complaining about "vapourware"??? our chief graphics person is hoping for a phone call that her family is alive! The Typhoon also greatly impacted China. They have their own mudslides and deaths to worry about. Despite all of this Astak is on time... much to the desire of our factories to stay on schedule.

This callous disregard for human life makes me ashamed.

....

That's a lot of insulting of your potential customer base there.

[John F]

Originally Posted by rixte

....

That's a lot of insulting of your potential customer base there.

rixte, your callous disregard for human life has me outraged.

[rixte]

Originally Posted by John F

rixte, your callous disregard for human life has me outraged.

It's because I lack a soul.

[SDRebel]

soooo...Robert, when are we seeing devices with wi-fi?
I just preordered the pocket pro, but I wonder about the ones with wi-fi

[Stensie4JC]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Also, YOU (the people saying this) are showing you have no real concept of what it takes to design, gain formats, price, build, and ship eBook Readers. My God, people, have you ever brought anything this complex to market in your lives? The intangibles alone, that you have almost no control over, can delay your entire planning. One setback on one feature can delay shipping by months!

This naivette about how hard it is to get things done on time is just astonishing.

This callous disregard for human life makes me ashamed.

No, Robert, we have not. That is to say, *I* have not, and IMHO the average joe has not. We don't know what it takes. I don't know how many people would automatically associate the typhoon with a delay in Astak's supply. My husband is in China, in typhoon territory, and I have ordered a Pocket Pro, and even though those two things are important to me, I didn't associate them right away. I work in a customer service field, and get blamed for things that are not my fault all the time. I get flak from people about things being slow when they are actually on a reasonable time frame. I know the desire to scream at clients, "You're not the only person in the world, you know!" I know the cries of "vaporware" can be frustrating, but the best and most dignified thing you can do is let the results speak for themselves, and the naysayers can choke on their own vapors!

[HansTWN]

I live in Taiwan. Sure the typhoon had a great impact. But not in every area, almost all the tech companies are north of Taichung. And an average of 6 Typhoons hit Taiwan every season. Life does not come to a halt in the whole country for weeks when one strikes, only while it lasts. You hope for the best for the affected people, you donate some money or supplies to help, and continue. How much worse would the situation be if we all stopped each time a disaster happens? How much slower would recovery be?

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by SDRebel

soooo...Robert, when are we seeing devices with wi-fi?
I just preordered the pocket pro, but I wonder about the ones with wi-fi

Dear SDRebel:

You will love the Pocket PRO!! What color did you decide upon?

We are actively expecting Wi-Fi devices pretty soon. I cannot give details before release because of the NDA; but it is fair to say we hope that late September or early October MAY see a release. They are being readied for us... that is for sure.

As soon as I am permitted you will see me shouting it all over the threads and having people write me and say "shut up". People are getting so sick of me espousing the Pocket PRO on other threads there is a lynch party forming. I do not care. I think the Pocket PRO is going to prove itself to be one of the best releases in a long time and will endure.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

I live in Taiwan. Sure the typhoon had a great impact. But not in every area, almost all the tech companies are north of Taichung. And an average of 6 Typhoons hit Taiwan every season. Life does not come to a halt in the whole country for weeks when one strikes, only while it lasts. You hope for the best for the affected people, you donate some money or supplies to help, and continue. How much worse would the situation be if we all stopped each time a disaster happens? How much slower would recovery be?

Dear HansTWN:

Agree, the tech-rich North came thru alright. The South was horribly hit. I agree with you that we cannot stopfor disasters... but slosh on.

Right now we are donating to organizations to help in the relief!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Stensie4JC

No, Robert, we have not. That is to say, *I* have not, and IMHO the average joe has not. We don't know what it takes. I don't know how many people would automatically associate the typhoon with a delay in Astak's supply. My husband is in China, in typhoon territory, and I have ordered a Pocket Pro, and even though those two things are important to me, I didn't associate them right away. I work in a customer service field, and get blamed for things that are not my fault all the time. I get flak from people about things being slow when they are actually on a reasonable time frame. I know the desire to scream at clients, "You're not the only person in the world, you know!" I know the cries of "vaporware" can be frustrating, but the best and most dignified thing you can do is let the results speak for themselves, and the naysayers can choke on their own vapors!

Dear Stensie:

Yes, right now all of us are clearly focused on the Pocket PRO. We are VERY pleased that some major tech review firms, such as Gizmodo, are doing reviews of both the EZ Reader Basic and the Pocket PRO. Finally, the word is getting out.

Some reviewers, like Rob P. of the Washington Post, are still burying their heads in the sand... but that can be beneficial for the other reviewers.

Speaking engagements are happening. I really think the Printed Electronics USA Trade Show in San Jose, California, (December 2&3) will be a great show and a chance for people to notice what is going on with eBook Readers and where they are going from here. All eyes are still on CES where we have a 1050 sqaure foot booth (Las Vegas, January 7-10).

I appreciate your comments and the naysayers will come around.

[UncleDuke]

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this thread reads like a paid ad for the astok reader

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[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by UncleDuke

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this thread reads like a paid ad for the astok reader

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Below is Robert's first post in this thread.

Originally Posted by Robertb

Hello community. My name is Robert and I work for Astak in San Jose, California. Astak is introducing three new eBook devices at the IDPG show in New York on May 14. The eBook devices are known by the name "Mentor". Mentor will come in three sizes: 5 inch, 6 inch, and 9.7 inch. They all use E-ink technology and have stereo headphone/earbud jacks. You can do slide shows on them. WiFi (802.11g) and Touchscreen will be options. Resolution is 800 x 600 pixels. One charge lasts for about 8,000 pages. All will have SD card slots expanding the memory up to 4GB. The 5 inch is projected to sell at about $159.

He never hid who he was.

People who want to know about the devices come here to learn about them and when they'll be available.

I get annoyed when he drops in on a Sony, or Cool-er, or other thread and disparages those products in favor of his own, but here? Here, I expect him to hawk his wares. With his typical enthusiasm, too.

I don't have to come back to this thread if I'm not interested in reading his sales pitch.

No one else does either.

[SaraD]

Originally Posted by Robertb

We are actively expecting Wi-Fi devices pretty soon. I cannot give details before release because of the NDA; but it is fair to say we hope that late September or early October MAY see a release. They are being readied for us... that is for sure.

Hi Robert,

By "late September or early October MAY see a release" do you mean the actual device is coming, or permission to give details about forthcoming devices? I think you mean that the devices will potentially be avaliable in September or October, but want to clarify.

And thank you for mentioning this because I have been debating about sending a private message to ask if any other devices would be released by Astak before the holidays. One of these things will be my present this year.

[SaraD]

Originally Posted by UncleDuke

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this thread reads like a paid ad for the astok reader

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Nope - not a paid ad in any way shape or form! I have no paid affiliation with Astak or any consumer electronics company and I believe that is true for everyone on this thread except for Robert.

In my case I don't have a reader of any kind yet and I've been shopping for a year now (holding out for the Epson controller & updated chassis) not yet seeing anything that I want to spend that much money for. It might be a Pocket Pro or one of the other upcoming devices that Robert just mentioned - I'll wait & see. Robert does a great job of listening to what folks want and trying to get it for us. He did that with the Pocket Pro (ballpark price and colors) and I really wish a company like Eagle Creek or REI or somebody would do half as good a job listening to what I want in a small daypack so I could buy it.

Perhaps relations will improve a bit when the new device forums that Alex mentioned are opened so this thread leaves the News section.

[robvarga]

Originally Posted by UncleDuke

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this thread reads like a paid ad for the astok reader

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Dear UncleDuke,

I don't know of any products called astok reader.

If you really had to troll around here with this comment which by the way states a conclusion anyone could arrive to by him/herself, you could have at least typed the company name (Astak) correctly. As for whether the thread is indeed a paid ad or not, I don't really know, since I am not affiliated in any ways at all with either Astak or RobertB or the forum owners. (I just want to buy a new device as soon as I am able to).

Considering the recent and in my opinion fairly hostile behaviour exhibited by the powers-that-be of the forum towards RobertB's activity in this thread, I would guess it is not a paid ad. Unpaid maybe :-).

If anyone is hurt by my opinion expressed in the previous paragraph, then I apologize and hurting them was not intended.

Anyway, why does it hurt you that a company provides information about their e-book reader products in a thread that is clearly designated to be about Astak products on the forum of a site dedicated to e-books and e-book readers so that we (their prospective customers) can have those infos?

If you don't like the thread this way and/or it causes real or perceived bodily or psychological harm to you, you are in no way obligated to read this thread. Of course you are still free to do so. We really don't force it on you.

Best regards.

Robert