FRY's Electronics Astak EZ Reader Blow-Out

[sockmonkey]

I contacted FRYs regarding my order status. FRYs customer service responded to my questions (or thinly veiled rant) with courtesy and diplomacy, via email. I was assured that my original order date would show on the invoice, thus validating the rebate. The CSR also said that FRYs was expecting more stock later this week, that they should fulfill backorders in time to qualify for the rebate. We'll see.

As it stands, I have no quibbles with FRYs the giant box retailer. It's the internet operation that's shaky. When it comes to online shopping, the difference between FRYs and Newegg is the difference between night and day.

Sock

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Elsi

So, I'm still thinking about which netbook I want to get.

While my personal favorite is an ASUS 10" I appreciate a deal when I see one. Check out Woot.com today for a good refurb price on an ACER 10".

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

While my personal favorite is an ASUS 10" I appreciate a deal when I see one. Check out Woot.com today for a good refurb price on an ACER 10".

Call me a nut, but I want to snag a NorhTec Edubook someday. Underpowered, but well constructed, and it runs on AA batteries! (8 NiMH AA's to be precise.)

A netbook that'll last as long as I do....(Now, we'll see if I can get Win 2000 SP4 up on it...)

[Thrasymachus]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Congrats to those who got it in-store, best wishes to those who are awaiting delivery. I hope it works out OK for you, although sock monkey's story doesn't imply a happy ending is coming.

I was starting to get a bit worried too, but my EZ Reader was delivered today, so I'm happy about that.

First impressions: The overall presentation of the device seems cheap compared to the PRS-505 ... but the screen has a much whiter background than the Sony. No idea why that should be the case.

The pre-loaded books are a bunch of classics in PDB -- and the formatting (font, etc.) is quite unattractive. The default font is the blandest sans serif imaginable.

Now I have it plugged in for the requisite 12 hours.

[Kris777]

Originally Posted by sockmonkey

When it comes to online shopping, the difference between FRYs and Newegg is the difference between night and day.

Sock

100% agree. Newegg is the best online store and their price almost always is unbeatable! This is my favorite website to buy notebooks, displays and other electronics. I never had any problems with them.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Thrasymachus

I was starting to get a bit worried too, but my EZ Reader was delivered today, so I'm happy about that.

First impressions: The overall presentation of the device seems cheap compared to the PRS-505 ... but the screen has a much whiter background than the Sony. No idea why that should be the case.

The pre-loaded books are a bunch of classics in PDB -- and the formatting (font, etc.) is quite unattractive. The default font is the blandest sans serif imaginable.

Now I have it plugged in for the requisite 12 hours.

You can download your own fonts and substitute them for the default one.

Dale

[deltame]

Can anyone please confirm whether a separate SD card reader is (should be) included in the package? I just received my order today but it appears while 2 GB SD is included but not a card reader/writer.

OR did they consider the EZ Reader device itself a card reader/writer?

Originally Posted by Robertb

This is a BUNDLE Pack and includes free 2GB SD card, card reader-writer, 200 free pre-loaded classics, and comes WITH a crush-resistent leather case, USB cable, AC charger, wrist leash, ear buds, and even a screwdriver for the easily replaceable and rechargeable battery.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by deltame

Can anyone please confirm whether a separate SD card reader is (should be) included in the package? I just received my order today but it appears while 2 GB SD is included but not a card reader/writer.

OR did they consider the EZ Reader device itself a card reader/writer?

When you charge it via USB, will it show up as multiple storage devices? I have a cell phone that I can plug in and access not only my onboard mem, but also my mini SD card, with different drive letters for each.

This may be the way the EZ reader does it as well. If so, you can just fill the SD card via the USB port.

[DixieGal]

Originally Posted by Thrasymachus

Now I have it plugged in for the requisite 12 hours.

How do you feel about it today, now that it is charged up?

[deltame]

I don't know -- from Robert's description it appears a card reader-writer is part of the add-on bundle instead of a feature of the device hardware.

I charge the device via AC (its actually being charged right now) and would prefer to take advantage of an external card reader to routinely download books to the SD card then pop it into e-book device (EZ Reader) without having to connect the Reader itself to my computer. This is because I plan to use my desktop for the new e-book thing (I have the laptop for my k2), and it would be a hassle to locate the USB port in the back of the machine to connect EZ Reader every time I need transfer files. If an external card reader is not included then I may buy one on my own, so that I'd keep it connected to the desktop in at all times. Am I too strange, or is my thinking flawed?

Originally Posted by griffonwing

When you charge it via USB, will it show up as multiple storage devices? I have a cell phone that I can plug in and access not only my onboard mem, but also my mini SD card, with different drive letters for each.

This may be the way the EZ reader does it as well. If so, you can just fill the SD card via the USB port.

[griffonwing]

What might be cheaper is to get a 6ft long USB cord that you keep permanently plugged into the back of the machine. Store it in an easily-accessible location so you just have to reach over, grab the USB cord, and plug in.

But getting a multi-card read wouldnt hurt either. This would allow you do read USB key drives, SD cards, Flash cards, multiple different kinds.

[deltame]

Thanks, I already have what you described setup for downloading audio-books from my local library to the MP3 player(s). Now I just don't know whether it would be a good (valid) approach for transferring contents to the SD card to use with EZ Reader for e-books. Well I can always connect the book reader to the same USB cord that's already there, duh!! why was I thinking I need setup another one with external card reader (heh, b/c Robert list instilled me with a separate card reader included in the package) - I could just improvise with what I have, cheaply :-). Thanks so much, Griffonwing!

Originally Posted by griffonwing

What might be cheaper is to get a 6ft long USB cord that you keep permanently plugged into the back of the machine. Store it in an easily-accessible location so you just have to reach over, grab the USB cord, and plug in.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by deltame

Thanks, I already have what you described setup for downloading audio-books from my local library to the MP3 player(s). Now I just don't know whether it would be a good (valid) approach for transferring contents to the SD card to use with EZ Reader for e-books.

Hrmm. I figure that any way to get files onto an SD card would work for me. I suppose I'm just not understanding exactly where youre coming from.

What you might also want to keep in mind, though, if if your ebook reader supports folders. If so, you might want to have the folders and books set up on your PC the way you want them to be stored. This way, you simply copy and paste the folders onto the car, and the subfolders/files copy over exactly where you had them.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by mtnmedic

I'm a sci-fi reader, amateur astronomer, Paramedic and computer tech who is always reading SOMETHING.

Congrats on your new reader. That was quite a trek to same $20.

BTW: If you like SF try out the Bane Free Library... Lots of good SF for free. That's a great price.

BOb

[Thrasymachus]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

How do you feel about it today, now that it is charged up?

I'm still getting used to it, but I'm beginning to see more positives. I realized yesterday that my initial negative reaction stemmed mostly from the learning curve that comes with any new device. I haven't yet gotten so far as to replace the default font (I'll probably change it to Georgia), but I was looking at how the device handles different formats, and got mixed results. The best by far was a really lovely edition of the Father Brown stories in MOBI format, downloaded from this site (thanks to whoever posted it!), which seems to have an embedded font. It looks absolutely terrific on the EZ Reader -- even better than a book I'm currently reading in the same font and basic layout on the Sony Reader.

A big problem I haven't had a chance to really address yet is that the EZ Reader will not appear on my Vista laptop at home when I plug in the USB cable, but it appears with no problem on my XP computer at work. With the Vista system, nothing at all happens on either the EZ Reader or the laptop when I connect the cable. I'm wondering if maybe I told it by default to "do nothing" when I connect. But we'll see.

The EZ Reader doesn't handle certain file types very well, it appears. It reboots when I load a DJVU file and hit the zoom button. And for any file (unless I'm missing something), there are only three zoom levels: small, medium, and landscape. The Sony Reader has small, medium, large and landscape for most file types.

I just noticed this morning that the EZ Reader does odd things with an RTF file: all hyphens are deleted, and punctuation at the end of a line often appears at the start of the next line
. <-- Like that.

But I have to play around with it some more to see if these things can be fixed.