Another CES... a report from Astak

Robertb · 01-12-2010, 01:29 PM

Dear All:

Another CES has come and gone. I bummed out my knee before the first day and struggled to walk most of the show. CES is a mess before it opens. For a full report on what CES was like I will post a new entry on my blog today (www.robertbEZ.blogspot.com).

There have been no days off and little sleep for ten days now so please forgive bad writing.

The hit of the show from my perspective was the Pocket PRO. It finally caught the attention of a lot of reviewers and of the attendees. We were mobbed.

Astak showed prototypes of new 7 inch Mobile Internet Devices. These are a lot more than Dedicated eBook Readers as they have Voice Over Internet Protocal, full browsers, and display everything from games to full color anything you want. The projected retail price of the Astak Spectrum is $290.

Astak also showed the first Wi-Fi and Touchscreen device in 6 inch. What sets this unit apart is the Touchscreen is clear... you do not lose resolution like on other Touchscreens. The clarity is simply amazing to see.

We also are contemplating bringing in the first 9 inch (not 9.7). This has a keyboard and Touchscreen plus Wi-Fi. We also are thinking of carrying a similar 6 inch with keyboard.

Most of this will shake out over the next two months. We have a cornicopia of great eBook Readers now available to us; and decisons now need to be made on what to carry and what the price will be and what colors may be a part of each model. If everything goes smoothly, many of these new introductions will be Astak offerings within three months.

I know most of you will wish to have details. I cannot provide them yet. What we showed now has to become reality. We were delighted with the quality and the features of the potential devices we will carry. Now we have to figure out how to make all these great devices become ready for market. There are business decisions to be made now. Packaging has to be readied and specs have to be firmed up.

ALL I can tell you now is 2010 looks like it will be an amazing year for Astak!!

wallcraft · 01-12-2010, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

Astak also showed the first Wi-Fi and Touchscreen device in 6 inch. What sets this unit apart is the Touchscreen is clear... you do not lose resolution like on other Touchscreens. The clarity is simply amazing to see.

We also are contemplating bringing in the first 9 inch (not 9.7). This has a keyboard and Touchscreen plus Wi-Fi. We also are thinking of carrying a similar 6 inch with keyboard.

These are presumably Jinke devices? Note that they updated their web pages before CES to include the A6 and A9, see CES pre-announcement from Jinke.

Chiron · 01-12-2010, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

We also are contemplating bringing in the first 9 inch (not 9.7). This has a keyboard and Touchscreen plus Wi-Fi. We also are thinking of carrying a similar 6 inch with keyboard.

Yay, finally what i was hoping for,now i pray that is the A9 model released from Jinke. Seems March/April will be a good time to wait for a new model

Robertb · 01-12-2010, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

These are presumably Jinke devices? Note that they updated their web pages before CES to include the A6 and A9, see CES pre-announcement from Jinke.

Cannot say anything at this time about the clear Touchscreen device.

Netronix also showed a 9 inch device in our booth at CES.

In reality, people LOVED the display on the Mentor Lite. That was commented upon time and again.

Davimee · 01-12-2010, 06:45 PM

Does the name Mentor Lite suggest there is some sort of lighting on the device so you don't need a book light, or is it referring to the device's weight? Or are you allowed to share that?

Robertb · 01-12-2010, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davimee

Does the name Mentor Lite suggest there is some sort of lighting on the device so you don't need a book light, or is it referring to the device's weight? Or are you allowed to share that?

Dear Davimee:

When the original Mentor roadmap was laid out by the factory there were to be about four Mentors that looked alike but had different features. The one that was offered was the "basic" model and then still others would have Wi-Fi, 3G, Touchscreen, and 16,000 pages to a single charge. So, we named it Mentor Lite... indicating that there would be more full-featured models later.

The factory still MAY do this... but right now seems to have found new devices entirely. It is too late to change the name. The Mentor Lite remains a fabulous six inch that is really drawing attention. The display on it at CES was noted by attendees as incredibly sharp. While the name no longer seems to have much meaning... the device is shaping up to be very loved!

Davimee · 01-12-2010, 07:15 PM

Robertb, that makes sense. Thanks! I am thinking more and more about getting an ebook reader, and I like the idea of the smaller size of the Pocket Pro. I am hoping it will be small enough to fit in my purse, but I'll have a better idea once I'm able to see one in person. Thanks for all your information!

French · 01-12-2010, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davimee

Robertb, that makes sense. Thanks! I am thinking more and more about getting an ebook reader, and I like the idea of the smaller size of the Pocket Pro. I am hoping it will be small enough to fit in my purse, but I'll have a better idea once I'm able to see one in person. Thanks for all your information!

I can attest to the fact that the pocket pro does indeed fit very well in a purse. While there are things to admire in the Kindle and Nook, at the end of the day I LOVE the form factor of my Pocket Pro so much I am willing to overlook some of the nicer features on the Kindle and Nook (mainly OTA downloading of books).

I find myself reading a lot more now with consistency because I always have my Pocket Pro with me. And it's so light (and especially in comparison to the Kindle and Nook). All in all I am very pleased with my purchase of the Pocket Pro. I hope you get to see one in person soon...the form factor is fabulous.

lilila · 01-12-2010, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robertb

In reality, people LOVED the display on the Mentor Lite. That was commented upon time and again.

Just got myself a white mentor lite last week. The support of epub, html and PDF files is great. However, You have to reset it once in a while. So I have to give up the protective book cover. The book boots relatively fast.

There is also a Green book by netronix, currently sold in Taiwan. The green book is exactly the same as Mentor Lite (I compared the specifications carefully already), but with a newer firmware version number 1.12.8.

Is there going to be a new firmware for Mentor soon?

Davimee · 01-12-2010, 08:20 PM

French, thanks! I'm hoping to get out to Car Toys tomorrow to have a look at them! I have a relatively small purse, but seeing it in person will give me an idea if it will fit in my purse, or if I'll have to eventually buy a bigger purse.

erosco · 01-12-2010, 10:06 PM

Robert, are you only considering 6" and 9" models with keyboards? The a9t is much more appealing to me.. I've never much gone on an ereader needing a keyboard.. netbook - yes, ereader - no...

ssophon · 01-12-2010, 10:28 PM

Robert,

I wish the new one would also support Thai language, or least have a plan to support, as well since I saw the existing EZ reader already have.

I am exciting about the 9" device which should be the thing I am looking for. I need a big screen so I can carry a lot of my PDF documents on the device.

Hopefully I can see the product in the market soon.

93terp · 01-13-2010, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by French

I can attest to the fact that the pocket pro does indeed fit very well in a purse. While there are things to admire in the Kindle and Nook, at the end of the day I LOVE the form factor of my Pocket Pro so much I am willing to overlook some of the nicer features on the Kindle and Nook (mainly OTA downloading of books).

I find myself reading a lot more now with consistency because I always have my Pocket Pro with me. And it's so light (and especially in comparison to the Kindle and Nook). All in all I am very pleased with my purchase of the Pocket Pro. I hope you get to see one in person soon...the form factor is fabulous.

Ditto to everything French said!

Robertb · 01-13-2010, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erosco

Robert, are you only considering 6" and 9" models with keyboards? The a9t is much more appealing to me.. I've never much gone on an ereader needing a keyboard.. netbook - yes, ereader - no...

Dear erosco:

Actually we are looking seriously at both with keyboard and without in both sizes. We realize that a keyboard on an eBook Reader seems to add to the cost and the length... and not all will want that!!

Thank you for this question!!

Robertb · 01-13-2010, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 93terp

Ditto to everything French said!

Dear 93terp and French:

Thank you for helping others on the benefits and form factor of the Pocket PRO. Coming from other members is always better than coming from me. I am grateful that you posted!!

01-12-2010, 01:29 PM	#1
Robertb Astak Director, Bus. Devl Posts: 2,560 Karma: 2500000 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Astak Pocket PRO	Another CES... a report from Astak Dear All: Another CES has come and gone. I bummed out my knee before the first day and struggled to walk most of the show. CES is a mess before it opens. For a full report on what CES was like I will post a new entry on my blog today (www.robertbEZ.blogspot.com). There have been no days off and little sleep for ten days now so please forgive bad writing. The hit of the show from my perspective was the Pocket PRO. It finally caught the attention of a lot of reviewers and of the attendees. We were mobbed. Astak showed prototypes of new 7 inch Mobile Internet Devices. These are a lot more than Dedicated eBook Readers as they have Voice Over Internet Protocal, full browsers, and display everything from games to full color anything you want. The projected retail price of the Astak Spectrum is $290. Astak also showed the first Wi-Fi and Touchscreen device in 6 inch. What sets this unit apart is the Touchscreen is clear... you do not lose resolution like on other Touchscreens. The clarity is simply amazing to see. We also are contemplating bringing in the first 9 inch (not 9.7). This has a keyboard and Touchscreen plus Wi-Fi. We also are thinking of carrying a similar 6 inch with keyboard. Most of this will shake out over the next two months. We have a cornicopia of great eBook Readers now available to us; and decisons now need to be made on what to carry and what the price will be and what colors may be a part of each model. If everything goes smoothly, many of these new introductions will be Astak offerings within three months. I know most of you will wish to have details. I cannot provide them yet. What we showed now has to become reality. We were delighted with the quality and the features of the potential devices we will carry. Now we have to figure out how to make all these great devices become ready for market. There are business decisions to be made now. Packaging has to be readied and specs have to be firmed up. ALL I can tell you now is 2010 looks like it will be an amazing year for Astak!!

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01-12-2010, 06:45 PM	#5
Davimee Happy Wife & Momma Posts: 532 Karma: 1634 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: USA Device: Purple Astak Pocket Pro! :)	Does the name Mentor Lite suggest there is some sort of lighting on the device so you don't need a book light, or is it referring to the device's weight? Or are you allowed to share that?

01-12-2010, 07:15 PM	#7
Davimee Happy Wife & Momma Posts: 532 Karma: 1634 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: USA Device: Purple Astak Pocket Pro! :)	Robertb, that makes sense. Thanks! I am thinking more and more about getting an ebook reader, and I like the idea of the smaller size of the Pocket Pro. I am hoping it will be small enough to fit in my purse, but I'll have a better idea once I'm able to see one in person. Thanks for all your information!

01-12-2010, 08:20 PM	#10
Davimee Happy Wife & Momma Posts: 532 Karma: 1634 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: USA Device: Purple Astak Pocket Pro! :)	French, thanks! I'm hoping to get out to Car Toys tomorrow to have a look at them! I have a relatively small purse, but seeing it in person will give me an idea if it will fit in my purse, or if I'll have to eventually buy a bigger purse.

01-12-2010, 10:06 PM	#11
erosco Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Kindle PW2	Robert, are you only considering 6" and 9" models with keyboards? The a9t is much more appealing to me.. I've never much gone on an ereader needing a keyboard.. netbook - yes, ereader - no...

01-12-2010, 10:28 PM	#12
ssophon Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 26 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Irving, TX USA Device: iPad	Robert, I wish the new one would also support Thai language, or least have a plan to support, as well since I saw the existing EZ reader already have. I am exciting about the 9" device which should be the thing I am looking for. I need a big screen so I can carry a lot of my PDF documents on the device. Hopefully I can see the product in the market soon.