Epson and 400MHz with ADE and TTS:$229

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

As a former Air Force member who spent 4 years in Germany, PLEASE add the APO/FPOs to the list.

It serves not only military members, but their families who are stationed with them. Families, meaning children! This is the ONLY way to get mail, unless the family has someone in the States who will order it, then repackage it to be sent to the APO.

Let's support our Military who are supporting us.

AJ

Dear AJ and others:

I got the message and thank you all for demanding APO/FPO support!! They are planning to do this with haste!!

I spent many happy hours at Ramstein watching drag races! I was in Germany for three years on an Air Defense missile sitein Schoenborn near Rockenhausen.

[SDRebel]

noob here...
I just signed up, I am really interested in buying one reader and this one seems to be the one, am I right? I thinking the 5" one.

[AJ Starr]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear AJ and others:

I got the message and thank you all for demanding APO/FPO support!! They are planning to do this with haste!!

I spent many happy hours at Ramstein watching drag races! I was in Germany for three years on an Air Defense missile sitein Schoenborn near Rockenhausen.

My husband was assigned to Vogelweh AS which is attached to Ramstein AB at Kaiserslautern GB.

For those who find different cultural things interesting, Vogelweh is not pronouced "Vo gul way" as we American would but "Fo gul vay". (My German friends, did I get this right? It's been 14 years since I was there.)

AJ

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by SDRebel

noob here...
I just signed up, I am really interested in buying one reader and this one seems to be the one, am I right? I thinking the 5" one.

Sony has a new 5" coming out for only 199, but it only comes with a sleeve. For a hard case it's another 40 bucks.

For 229 (20 bucks more than the new Sony), you can get the Astak that comes with the case. and so much more that the new Sony 5" will not do.

As far as costs go, it's unbeatable. Sony may have been the first with a 199 price point, but they had to butcher the unit (no case, no SD card support, no epson controller) in order to reach that price.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by SDRebel

noob here...
I just signed up, I am really interested in buying one reader and this one seems to be the one, am I right? I thinking the 5" one.

Please visit the different Forum areas - Sony, Cybook, Astak, Kindle, and Jetbook (not e-ink).

Look at the features that interest you. Look at file formats, size, cost, performance, etc. and ask questions in the various forums for opinions.

Look at who is answering your questions and HOW they answer your questions.

When analyzing responses, look at who will seem to give you an unbiased opinion.

Also look at biased opinions, in order to better understand someone's bias or opinionated views. Understanding another person's bias allows one to really peek inside a person's head.

Do research and be proactive in gathering information.

Then decide on which unit meets your particular needs.


Don

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by SDRebel

noob here...
I just signed up, I am really interested in buying one reader and this one seems to be the one, am I right? I thinking the 5" one.

Wecome to MobileRead Forum!

I work for Astak and Astak makes the Pocket PRO. There are other 5 inch eBook Readers. Take a look at the Sony 300 and then compare.

The difference between them is as follows:

The Pocket PRO is NOT a stripped-down model. It has the user-replaceable battery and an SD card slot to 16GB and E-Ink technology. The Pocket PRO has Epson Controller and 400MHz processor for far faster page turns, Adobe Digital Editions, MP3 stereo, 8 levels of grey scale, Text-To-Speech, displays 12 formats and 20 languages, weighs under 6 ounces, is backed by USA technical support and warranty, and comes in 6 colors for $229.

While you may or may not yet understand WHY all of this is important... my point would be that after you are no longer new here... you will learn that this remains a landmark device that has all the goodies that this knowledgeable crowd loves and praises. PLUS... it will handle just about any eBook you might want to buy... from HUNDREDS of websites. I call it "landmark" because it is in a class by itself... and that is a very good class.

Also, the Pocket PRO has both left and right hand page advance and a scroll wheel... making it far easier for anyone to feel comfortable with the device! AND... despite all the technical stuff on it... it is one of the easiest devices to operate because it is intuitive!

WELCOME!!

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Please visit the different Forum areas - Sony, Cybook, Astak, Kindle, and Jetbook (not e-ink).

Look at the features that interest you. Look at file formats, size, cost, performance, etc. and ask questions in the various forums for opinions.

Look at who is answering your questions and HOW they answer your questions.

When analyzing responses, look at who will seem to give you an unbiased opinion.

Also look at biased opinions, in order to better understand someone's bias or opinionated views. Understanding another person's bias allows one to really peek inside a person's head.

Do research and be proactive in gathering information.

Then decide on which unit meets your particular needs.


Don

Don knows his stuff and is one of the fairest people on here. As I mentioned, I work for Astak and I love their devices. However, I also said look at the other models.

When you are done looking... THEN you will understand the Pocket PRO!!

[Musicman]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Do research and be proactive in gathering information.

Then decide on which unit meets your particular needs.


Don

These are the two most important things to do before buying a reader.

Everyones needs are not the same and today there are more choices available.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Sony has a new 5" coming out for only 199, but it only comes with a sleeve. For a hard case it's another 40 bucks.

For 229 (20 bucks more than the new Sony), you can get the Astak that comes with the case. and so much more that the new Sony 5" will not do.

As far as costs go, it's unbeatable. Sony may have been the first with a 199 price point, but they had to butcher the unit (no case, no SD card support, no epson controller) in order to reach that price.

Dear Griffonwing:

Great summation really. Do not forget that the aforementioned device also has a sealed-in battery that cannot be changed by the user and lacks MP3!

I like Sony BUT I wonder if Sony snooped about the 5 inch. It is quite a coincidence.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by SDRebel

I just signed up, I am really interested in buying one reader and this one seems to be the one, am I right? I thinking the 5" one.

In the US, your only real choice for 5" EInk screens is between the Sony PRS-300 and the EZ Reader Pocket Pro. Both will be available late August, and both appear to be very good options. The Sony will probably be a bit slower turning pages and has fewer features, but the hardware and software are of high quality with good styling. The Pocket Pro will be a bit faster with more features (SDHC card, text to speech, folders) and also has high quality hardware and software, with perhaps not quite as good styling (but more colours too choose from). I think the Pocket Pro is better value for money, and the more capable device, but the PRS-300 is a good option too.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

My husband was assigned to Vogelweh AS which is attached to Ramstein AB at Kaiserslautern GB.

For those who find different cultural things interesting, Vogelweh is not pronouced "Vo gul way" as we American would but "Fo gul vay". (My German friends, did I get this right? It's been 14 years since I was there.)

AJ

Dear AJ:

Kaiserslautern (known as K-Town) had a great PX!!

[rixte]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Griffonwing:

Great summation really. Do not forget that the aforementioned device also has a sealed-in battery that cannot be changed by the user and lacks MP3!

I like Sony BUT I wonder if Sony snooped about the 5 inch. It is quite a coincidence.

This seems like a really weird statement, considering how many versions of 5" devices are coming out at the same time.

[khalleron]

Much as I'm tempted by the admittedly awesome features and included accessories of the Pocket Pro, as well as all the pretty colors, until eInk designs more durable screens, I'm afraid a plastic body is a dealbreaker for me.

Sony has all-metal bodies - they're the only ones that do.

The only thing that might win me over is a full warranty against screen damage.

Again, I'm not slamming the Pocket Pro by any means - if it's all you describe, it's incredibly tempting at the price.

Just my two cents for those trying to decide.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

In the US, your only real choice for 5" EInk screens is between the Sony PRS-300 and the EZ Reader Pocket Pro. Both will be available late August, and both appear to be very good options. The Sony will probably be a bit slower turning pages and has fewer features, but the hardware and software are of high quality with good styling. The Pocket Pro will be a bit faster with more features (SDHC card, text to speech, folders) and also has high quality hardware and software, with perhaps not quite as good styling (but more colours too choose from). I think the Pocket Pro is better value for money, and the more capable device, but the PRS-300 is a good option too.

I feel that Sony's option to unload every non-essential embellishment from a reader, and have a solid CORE product is a good thing. Sony has had years of experience with their PRS line, and the units seems quite solid in both hardware and software. So I would have no qualms against purchasing a Sony Reader product.

The PRS-300 has no SD card (lower cost), unimpressive controller (lower cost), simple sleeve (much lower cost), no TTS, no folder support, no user-changeable battery. Just a product that does one thing, and one thing only, read a few book formats, and an ability to store a few hundred on an internal flash memory.

However, where I see absolutely nothing at all wrong with their decision to take this route, I heartily am appalled at the price they give this gimped unit.

It's only 20 bucks cheaper than Astak's unit, which, when compared, is a 20 bucks anyone would gladly spend for the multitude of improvements.

The PRS-300, in my humble opinion, should be introduced at $129.00, if not $99. The unit, in it's gimped state, is not worth the high price that they are suggesting.

I would not pay more than 129.00 for such a device. The device itself, taken for it's own merits, might be a 200 dollar device. But you have to take into consideration the competition, and price accordingly.

With a price point of 199, you have to wonder how much of that is going to be pure profit, taking into account how much stuff is missing.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by khalleron

Much as I'm tempted by the admittedly awesome features and included accessories of the Pocket Pro, as well as all the pretty colors, until eInk designs more durable screens, I'm afraid a plastic body is a dealbreaker for me.

Sony has all-metal bodies - they're the only ones that do.

The only thing that might win me over is a full warranty against screen damage.

Again, I'm not slamming the Pocket Pro by any means - if it's all you describe, it's incredibly tempting at the price.

Just my two cents for those trying to decide.

I have a phone here at work, with a hard plastic shell casing (one of those intercom, multi-line work phones). We recently had one with metal casing. It didn't last long. In many cases, I have more luck with hard plastic cases than I do with metallic ones.

The plastic, even hard plastic, has some give for screw tightening, shock absorption, scratch resistance, and such.

Metal casing has very little, from my experience, for this. Falls cause dents or flaring of the corners that allow dirt/water to get in. Scratches are very visible as well.

I would much rather purchase a polymer plastic cased device than a metallic one. It also seems to grip better for me.