Astak's 5" Pocket Pro $199

[ekaser]

Originally Posted by nitai108

I just ordered mine, but I have two question: I only received the notification of the payment from paypal, but I didn't receive any confirmation of my order form astak, is this normal? And also, I live in Italy, will I receive a 220Volts charger, with a European/German plug or the USA 110Volts? Thanks.

It's very likely that you will recieve an email confirmation from Astak on Monday or Tuesday (U.S. west-coast, Pacific Time), when they open back up for business for the week, but only they can say for sure.

I'm pretty sure Robertb (of Astak) has said before that the products only ship with a 110V adapter, that their intended market is the U.S. While they'll sell and ship internationally, it still ships with the U.S. adapter. However, the charging is done via the USB cable, which you can just plug into the PC. If you need something to take on the road, you'll need to buy your own 220V USB charging adapter (probably not more than 5 to 15 Euros). But I'm not positive, so since it's chargeable from your PC, I'd wait until the unit arrives to see if the included charger has a 110V/220V switch or not.

However, there have been reports of problems when trying to use USB cables other than the one included with the EZ Reader. The included one has a 'choke' around the cable (holds down electrical noise), so it's recommended that you proceed with caution when trying to use non-Astak USB cables with the device.

[DaleDe]

The charger is dual voltage with automatic sensing but the connector is likely to be US so a simple plug adapter will be needed.

[HarryT]

It's not a good idea to use a plug adaptor permanently; I would suggest simply using a generic USB charger bought in whatever one's own country is.

[nitai108]

Ok, thanks ekaser and DaleDe, do you know if they are going to process and ship my device in a few days, or will I have to wait some time? (I ordered the black one.)

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's not a good idea to use a plug adaptor permanently; I would suggest simply using a generic USB charger bought in whatever one's own country is.

I have one, so no problem, I thought it was a non usb charger.

[ekaser]

Originally Posted by nitai108

Do you know if they are going to process and ship my device in a few days, or will I have to wait some time? (I ordered the black one.)

It should ship right away, as they have units in stock of all six colors, and have had the black ones in stock for almost two weeks now. So, assuming payment went through with no problems, I'd expect the unit to ship Monday or Tuesday (but, again, I don't work for Astak, so that's just an "educated guess.")

[nitai108]

Originally Posted by ekaser

It should ship right away, as they have units in stock of all six colors, and have had the black ones in stock for almost two weeks now. So, assuming payment went through with no problems, I'd expect the unit to ship Monday or Tuesday (but, again, I don't work for Astak, so that's just an "educated guess.")

Ok, thanks a lot!

[UchihaNaru]

Originally Posted by frozennorth

I think a lot of people don't check into this when they order. They just see the shipping charges and think that's all they're going to pay extra and compare that to the cost of the item in Canada.

You also wonder why USPS only charges 5$ for the same paperwork UPS charges ten times as much or more.

I'm glad I found out about the express or overnight shipping though. Should I want to order from the US I'll definitely either use USPS or one of the express options.

omg.. what is this extra fees you guys are talking about =X sorry I'm pretty clueless. I just ordered and paid via paypal whatever the site states (which is 199+40 for shipping). I will have to pay extra tax and all that? BTW I am in Australia! Someone please answer my query! Thanks!

[Chiron]

Originally Posted by UchihaNaru

omg.. what is this extra fees you guys are talking about =X sorry I'm pretty clueless. I just ordered and paid via paypal whatever the site states (which is 199+40 for shipping). I will have to pay extra tax and all that? BTW I am in Australia! Someone please answer my query! Thanks!

As far as i know you dont pay taxes from getting the unit shipped to you, all is covered for that price BUT you might pay taxes as customs (that depends your country where you live, some pay taxes as customs and some dont).

[frozennorth]

Originally Posted by UchihaNaru

omg.. what is this extra fees you guys are talking about =X sorry I'm pretty clueless. I just ordered and paid via paypal whatever the site states (which is 199+40 for shipping). I will have to pay extra tax and all that? BTW I am in Australia! Someone please answer my query! Thanks!

A lot of times you have to pay sales tax and sometimes duty and brokerage fees if you import something. It all depends on your customs office. Why don't you give your customs office a call to check what extra charges you might have to pay.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by UchihaNaru

omg.. what is this extra fees you guys are talking about =X sorry I'm pretty clueless. I just ordered and paid via paypal whatever the site states (which is 199+40 for shipping). I will have to pay extra tax and all that? BTW I am in Australia! Someone please answer my query! Thanks!

You will have to pay GST when you receive the unit, plus, perhaps, some form of import duty on top.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by nitai108

I just ordered mine, but I have two question: I only received the notification of the payment from paypal, but I didn't receive any confirmation of my order form astak, is this normal? And also, I live in Italy, will I receive a 220Volts charger, with a European/German plug or the USA 110Volts? Thanks.

You might want to contact the Dutch company Endless Ideas, as they sell the same device as Astak under the name BeBook (http://mybebook.com/) as they are the European distributor. You might can get a charger straight from them.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's not a good idea to use a plug adaptor permanently; I would suggest simply using a generic USB charger bought in whatever one's own country is.

This may be off base, but I always use a surge suppressor with my laptop. I noticed recently that it has two USB connectors as well as standard outlets for the laptop. Since I live in North America mine uses 110v, but others may find similar locally. It's a Belkin BZ103050-TVL. Hope this helps someone.

[edit] Specs:
125v/15A/1875W
Maximum Energy Dissipation: 918 Joules-H-N: 306 Joules-H-G: 306 Joules-N-G: 306 Joules
Maximum Spike Current: 36,000/H-N: 12,000A/H-G 12,000A/N-G: 12,000A
UL Clamping Voltage (3-line): UL 1449 800V
EMI/RFI Noise Filtration: 150kHz-100MHz up to 40 dB
Powered USB output: 5V/500mA each port

Now what voltage does the EZPro use? Is this noise filtration adequate?

[theducks]

The Noise Filtration applies to the AC outlets only.
The USB ports supply 5VDC DC (which is what the PP uses).
500 mA is a USB Maximum-Limit specification.
To get more power for a devices, there is USB Plus Power standard, which has an additional power section to keep the basic USB connectivity compatible.

[kanguro]

The provided USB cable doesn't work for me. I must use proven USB cables that work for my computers. In fact, not all cables and computers behave the same way and it depends on a number of factors if your USB cable is fulfilling the standard 500 mA and 5 V.

I received the american USB/Plug adapter, but I charge the PP directly with the USB port of my computers. It's slower than plug connection but works nice. If you want to use plug you can get a plug-USB adapter for your plug standard for 5$/5€

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by theducks

The Noise Filtration applies to the AC outlets only.
The USB ports supply 5VDC DC (which is what the PP uses).
500 mA is a USB Maximum-Limit specification.
To get more power for a devices, there is USB Plus Power standard, which has an additional power section to keep the basic USB connectivity compatible.

Thanks for the info. So then do I understand correctly that this surge suppressor will work to charge the EZPro but I'll still need to use the supplied USB cable for noise filtration?