5" or 6" EZ Reader? - Page 6

Robertb · 10-29-2009, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emt

All:

You should know that when you order a battery for the 5" Astak Reader, they (some outfit called Mobiebook) sock you with a $10 shipping for ordinary shipping!

That's for a $15 item.

Astak - you make a great product but if you want to be a world class company, don't get a reputation for nickel-and-diming your customers

Dear emt:

I don't know why this would cost $10 to ship. Where are you located? I will look into this today.

Just to assure you, we make absolutely nothing off shipping. We do not even charge for shipping prep like everybody else. It SHOULD be in our own interest and our customers to get the lowest possible price. I do not handle shipping but will check in for you right away.

Solicitous · 10-29-2009, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

I just transferred several large files, through the usb cable to the PEZ.

I didn't have any problems, as I have had NO PROBLEMS at all on any aspects of the PEZ.

One of the earlier posts reminded us that the USB port that you use on your computer needs to be the direct port, not an extension, AND some of the computers use internal extensions to the front or back of the unit.
Before you cry foul that it is all PEZs having problems, check to make sure it's not your computer's ports. It seems only a handful of people have this problem, and by deduction reasoning, it is more likely your computer's hardware or software (i.e., firewall) problem than the firmware of the PEZ which works for everyone else.

I empathize to your problem, but please don't demand a change to something that is working, just because you are having problems.

AJ

Requiring a direct port does sound quite a reasonable solution. I have experienced the hang on copying files over to the PP twice. Both occasions the transfer was about 15-20mb, but all my USB ports on my laptop were being used (it did actually finish copying without intervention). I just had a look at my system logs, 5 USB hubs are detected, yet 4 ports exist on my laptop. The USB port issue isn't a problem for me at all. Would be interesting to know from the ones who are having problems if they experience similar issues with other powered USB2.0 devices? ie: other e-readers, late model ipods, mobile phones etc.

AJ Starr · 10-29-2009, 06:31 PM

To all who've had problems with USB port, I'm curious...

Several have mentioned the size of the files you are transferring, from 10/15 mb to 300 mb, what type of files are you transferring?

I just transfered an entire copy of the King James Bible, in epub, and it was only 1.8 mb.

I noticed I have a book that I thought was large, at 18 mb, I think I'll try it on the cable, I had prevously put it on my SD card.

Just curious....

Laura81 · 10-30-2009, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Dave:

Your point is valid and I do not argue it. The battery on the 6 inch was and is a breeze to find online. I CANNOT begin to fathom why the factory went with a special battery. Yes, you can only buy it from us at present. BUT... we are not exactly gouging you on the price. We are fair as a battery source.

We are STILL trying to get the factory to tell us where you can find that battery online. We make no money on the spare battery at all... so IF we can find an online source all would be happier.

As a potential international buyer what would I have to do then if my battery died on the thing? I couldn't buy one in Australia to replace it and I couldn't order one from you due to not being able to ship here... ?

Solicitous · 10-30-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laura81

As a potential international buyer what would I have to do then if my battery died on the thing? I couldn't buy one in Australia to replace it and I couldn't order one from you due to not being able to ship here... ?

Hi Laura, I think I read somewhere that Robert was looking into these for International buyers (but don't quote me). You could always buy a battery from DA Direct in Melbourne as they stock and sell the Hanlin V5 (same as the Pocket Pro). Given the popularity of the 5" e-readers it wont be long I feel before suitable batteries will hit the market.

Laura81 · 10-30-2009, 09:30 AM

If I get a PP though then DA Direct wouldn't have those... only if I get the 6" one and I'd prefer a 5" for the extra features. I guess I'll just have to hope nothing goes wrong with the battery until the shipping issue is resolved.

theducks · 10-30-2009, 11:40 AM

If you have not ordered yet, just have them slip a second one into the same box

Laura81 · 10-30-2009, 11:50 AM

Ah, good idea!

theducks · 10-30-2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solicitous

Requiring a direct port does sound quite a reasonable solution. I have experienced the hang on copying files over to the PP twice. Both occasions the transfer was about 15-20mb, but all my USB ports on my laptop were being used (it did actually finish copying without intervention). I just had a look at my system logs, 5 USB hubs are detected, yet 4 ports exist on my laptop. The USB port issue isn't a problem for me at all. Would be interesting to know from the ones who are having problems if they experience similar issues with other powered USB2.0 devices? ie: other e-readers, late model ipods, mobile phones etc.

Does the SD Card reader count?
The PEz is the only device that has a problem. I tried a USB floppy drive (uses the 5V power) and it even works on the front ports that fail with the PEz.

Solicitous · 10-30-2009, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laura81

If I get a PP though then DA Direct wouldn't have those... only if I get the 6" one and I'd prefer a 5" for the extra features. I guess I'll just have to hope nothing goes wrong with the battery until the shipping issue is resolved.

They don't have the Pocket Pro, but they do have the Hanlin V5 which is identical to the Pocket Pro, so they should have batteries in stock.

Just a heads up, it can take a few battery cycles to get the battery working to optimum performance. My first charge was about 3-400 pages (I was loading lots of different books to compare formats, but still). My second was 2000 pages, and my third...well I'm still going. So first charge isn't an indicator of how good the battery is. Or as theducks suggested, get a second one slipped into the box :P

Solicitous · 10-30-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Does the SD Card reader count?
The PEz is the only device that has a problem. I tried a USB floppy drive (uses the 5V power) and it even works on the front ports that fail with the PEz.

Good question, I just checked and my logs indicate that the SD port is a pci device, not a USB driven one. PCMCIA is also a pci device, so I don't know what the 5th one is. Sorry I can't be much more help, but as I've said before it has only happened twice and I can't replicate the problem anymore.

rling · 10-31-2009, 07:42 PM

For those having USB problems, I came across a possible solution with the PC at work (Dell Quadcore running Windows XP SP3). It appears that the PocketPro needs exclusive use of the USB controller.

Findings to date:
1) The PocketPro will not connect, as long as any USB port is used (printer, USB chip, drives etc).
2) Disconnect all USB devices, and connect the PocketPro, and it would be automatically recognised, and working perfectly.
3) Once PocketPro is connected, other USB devices will not be recognised until the PocketPro is disconnected.

Not sure if it is an XP quirk that needs this setup, or a quirk of my PC.

theducks · 10-31-2009, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rling

For those having USB problems, I came across a possible solution with the PC at work (Dell Quadcore running Windows XP SP3). It appears that the PocketPro needs exclusive use of the USB controller.

Findings to date:
1) The PocketPro will not connect, as long as any USB port is used (printer, USB chip, drives etc).
2) Disconnect all USB devices, and connect the PocketPro, and it would be automatically recognised, and working perfectly.
3) Once PocketPro is connected, other USB devices will not be recognised until the PocketPro is disconnected.

Not sure if it is an XP quirk that needs this setup, or a quirk of my PC.

Gee! That is just great if you need to use a USB Mouse or Keyboard

My Dell Dimension 4600 (XP SP3) did not have another USB device connected (except for the internal "USB hubs") and it still has problems

This problem is really inconsistent .
I just installed Calibre (Ubuntu 9.10) on my laptop which the PEz is flaky under XP and it is presently building a "Library" without a hiccup

silverraven · 11-04-2009, 04:33 PM

I'm in the market for an ebook reader. I'm thinking of getting one for my 83 year old mother. So obviously, there are different considerations for her than would be for someone younger.
1. The font needs to be able to be made good size, as well as the menus. And the words need to be very crisp on the page.
2. Don't care one bit about a touch screen, as long as it is easy and ergonomic to push a button to change a page.
3. She lives 4 hours away from me. Obviously I can't be there to load her books on. I need to be able to load up a SD card and mail it to her. The bigger the better.
4. Doesn't need to have any Whispernet, or what ever you want to call it. No internet access needed.
5. User replaceable battery is *very* important!
6. Many of the books I will be providing for her will be PDFs. Think library type books.
7. Simple simple simple simple to use. Did I mention simple?

Now, in case you are wondering why I put this under this topic instead of making a new one is because I am wondering which would be better for her, the 5" Pocket Pro or the 6" Mentor Lite? Are they both basicly the same machine, except for screen size. And, is the Mentor Lite available yet? If so, where from?

Thanks so much for reading this and giving me your opinion. There are so many readers out there it is hard to make a decision. But, I think I have narrowed it down between these two and the Sony PRC-600 (since the 505 isn't available any longer). At least if I can decide between the two Astaks then that will be one more off my list!

Sena

GA Russell · 11-04-2009, 05:05 PM

Sena, it sounds like a 6" reader would be more appropriate because your mother will need a large font to read.

I don't believe that the new Astak Mentor Lite 2 is available yet. I have been considering getting one.

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10-29-2009, 06:31 PM	#78
AJ Starr Guru Posts: 815 Karma: 1029784 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nebraska, USA Device: PEZ, Color Libre, 2@Sony T1, Onyx i62HD	To all who've had problems with USB port, I'm curious... Several have mentioned the size of the files you are transferring, from 10/15 mb to 300 mb, what type of files are you transferring? I just transfered an entire copy of the King James Bible, in epub, and it was only 1.8 mb. I noticed I have a book that I thought was large, at 18 mb, I think I'll try it on the cable, I had prevously put it on my SD card. Just curious....

10-30-2009, 09:30 AM	#81
Laura81 Addict Posts: 360 Karma: 407796 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Victoria, Australia Device: Paperwhite 5	If I get a PP though then DA Direct wouldn't have those... only if I get the 6" one and I'd prefer a 5" for the extra features. I guess I'll just have to hope nothing goes wrong with the battery until the shipping issue is resolved.

10-30-2009, 11:40 AM	#82
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,078 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	If you have not ordered yet, just have them slip a second one into the same box

10-30-2009, 11:50 AM	#83
Laura81 Addict Posts: 360 Karma: 407796 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Victoria, Australia Device: Paperwhite 5	Ah, good idea!

10-31-2009, 07:42 PM	#87
rling Connoisseur Posts: 90 Karma: 12 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Adelaide, Australia Device: Mentor Lite, Nook Color, Pocket Pro	For those having USB problems, I came across a possible solution with the PC at work (Dell Quadcore running Windows XP SP3). It appears that the PocketPro needs exclusive use of the USB controller. Findings to date: 1) The PocketPro will not connect, as long as any USB port is used (printer, USB chip, drives etc). 2) Disconnect all USB devices, and connect the PocketPro, and it would be automatically recognised, and working perfectly. 3) Once PocketPro is connected, other USB devices will not be recognised until the PocketPro is disconnected. Not sure if it is an XP quirk that needs this setup, or a quirk of my PC.

11-04-2009, 04:33 PM	#89
silverraven Guru Posts: 970 Karma: 3438612 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle 4NTB x 4	I'm in the market for an ebook reader. I'm thinking of getting one for my 83 year old mother. So obviously, there are different considerations for her than would be for someone younger. 1. The font needs to be able to be made good size, as well as the menus. And the words need to be very crisp on the page. 2. Don't care one bit about a touch screen, as long as it is easy and ergonomic to push a button to change a page. 3. She lives 4 hours away from me. Obviously I can't be there to load her books on. I need to be able to load up a SD card and mail it to her. The bigger the better. 4. Doesn't need to have any Whispernet, or what ever you want to call it. No internet access needed. 5. User replaceable battery is very important! 6. Many of the books I will be providing for her will be PDFs. Think library type books. 7. Simple simple simple simple to use. Did I mention simple? Now, in case you are wondering why I put this under this topic instead of making a new one is because I am wondering which would be better for her, the 5" Pocket Pro or the 6" Mentor Lite? Are they both basicly the same machine, except for screen size. And, is the Mentor Lite available yet? If so, where from? Thanks so much for reading this and giving me your opinion. There are so many readers out there it is hard to make a decision. But, I think I have narrowed it down between these two and the Sony PRC-600 (since the 505 isn't available any longer). At least if I can decide between the two Astaks then that will be one more off my list! Sena

11-04-2009, 05:05 PM	#90
GA Russell Ticats win 4th straight Posts: 7,694 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Sena, it sounds like a 6" reader would be more appropriate because your mother will need a large font to read. I don't believe that the new Astak Mentor Lite 2 is available yet. I have been considering getting one.