Astak Mentor eBook readers with WiFi and Touchscreen (read-only)

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Robert, I too am looking at the EZ Reader, but I must admit I've been more seriously considering buying from BeBook even though I am in the United States, because of the poor design and functionality of the sites that the EZ Reader is for sale at. This sounds nitpicky, I know, but if I'm not confident of where I'm sending my money, I'm not buying from there, see what I mean?
Also, every site I have seen the EZ Reader at does not mention the formats it reads. I'm almost certain it would be the same as the BeBook's formats, but without that in writing I can't be positive, and unless I am positive it reads the formats I need it to read, I'm not going to order it.
Also, at CES the colors were unveiled..when will those actually be available for order?

Thanks,
Shel

Dear Shel:

On next Monday, February 2, 2009, Astak will have a PayPal option up on our www.mobiebook.com website that the entire world can use. I apologize for our stupidity on not getting this done sooner... but we are still new at this.

I know you and others have brought this up and I appreciate the comments. I try to run Astak from a friendly and open standpoint. We are not a huge name in the world (but have been in business since 1992). Sony and Amazon dwarf us. We just have a better product, are trying to go open format as much as possible, and are not fond of DRM. People will NOT buy the EZ Reader or Mentor lines because I am friendly... but our willingness to work fairly and decently with people is our edge. We take your ideas and try to build with your wants in mind. In short: we try to sell what YOU want and not what we have come out with. Because of this, we think our products are better designed, more user friendly, and have the features people want. Witness the new EZ Reader PRO which is in a class by itself. Solving the Canada payment problem quickly is our way.

Formats supported by the EZ Reader are: pdf, doc, jpg/bmp, txt, mp3, pdb, html, lit, and prc. This should be exact to BeBook but let me know.

Also: Astak IS coming out with accessories!! We are finally tackling the issue of lighting for the screen, finally coming out with several new top-shelf leather cases (always with magnetic clasp), and developing a solar charger. It will take about 2 months or so to see them... but they will be up on our website when we have them. Other ideas are planned as well. I am also trying to slide our accessories and our devices more towards the women market. Women buy about 40% of all eBooks and I want units and accessories that show a more feminine and jazzy styling for women. New device colors are a good start; but I would like to go beyond this. We are working on that!

Robert B

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Shel:

On next Monday, February 2, 2009, Astak will have a PayPal option up on our www.mobiebook.com website that the entire world can use. I apologize for our stupidity on not getting this done sooner... but we are still new at this.

I know you and others have brought this up and I appreciate the comments. I try to run Astak from a friendly and open standpoint. We are not a huge name in the world (but have been in business since 1992). Sony and Amazon dwarf us. We just have a better product, are trying to go open format as much as possible, and are not fond of DRM. People will NOT buy the EZ Reader or Mentor lines because I am friendly... but our willingness to work fairly and decently with people is our edge. We take your ideas and try to build with your wants in mind. In short: we try to sell what YOU want and not what we have come out with. Because of this, we think our products are better designed, more user friendly, and have the features people want. Witness the new EZ Reader PRO which is in a class by itself. Solving the Canada payment problem quickly is our way.

Formats supported by the EZ Reader are: pdf, doc, jpg/bmp, txt, mp3, pdb, html, lit, and prc. This should be exact to BeBook but let me know.

Also: Astak IS coming out with accessories!! We are finally tackling the issue of lighting for the screen, finally coming out with several new top-shelf leather cases (always with magnetic clasp), and developing a solar charger. It will take about 2 months or so to see them... but they will be up on our website when we have them. Other ideas are planned as well. I am also trying to slide our accessories and our devices more towards the women market. Women buy about 40% of all eBooks and I want units and accessories that show a more feminine and jazzy styling for women. New device colors are a good start; but I would like to go beyond this. We are working on that!

Robert B

Robert, thank you for your reply! From the BeBook site: - Supported file formats: pdf, mobi, prc, epub, lit, txt, fb2, doc, html, rtf, djvu, wol, ppt, mbp, chm, bmp, jpg, png, gif, tif, rar, zip, mp3.

I am very glad to hear about Astak's upcoming accessory line, and I think you are making a wise decision to gear some of those accessories toward women. Although function beats form for me, that isn't the case for everyone, and even I am as female as the next one and if the functional is also pretty I'm all for it!
That is one of the BeBook's advantages right now for me, it comes with a cover, USB cables, and earphones. And right now that price is $279, which unfortunately is cheaper than the promotion bundle at Mobieread for $329 which includes: ‧ AC Power Adapter
‧ Stereo Earbuds
‧ Wrist Leash
‧ User’s Manual
‧ Carrying Leather Case X 1 with Magnetic Clasp
( Retail Price USD$19.99)
‧ Two(2) 1GB SD Card
(Retail price $12.84)
Pre-loaded with 100 Classics Titles
‧ SD Card Reader
(Retail Price USD $ 9.99)

When you add the extra stuff, however, it's comparable, though since I don't need the SD card reader, I have most of the classics titles already, and a couple of SD cards already also, I don't know if it's justifiable for me. Fifty dollars is fifty dollars...

I'm going to assume from your lack of reply as to when the colored cases will be available for order that you don't have this information as of yet. The other thing that BeBook's site has that Mobieread does not is the firmware updates for download, and very easily found. That is a huge plus.

In conclusion, I think you downplay your friendliness and openness, RobertB. I believe if the other companies had spokespersons like you who were willing to speak up and answer questions and maintain a policy of openness and customer service like you are doing, their sales would skyrocket. That is a huge, huge, huge, advantage you have going, and I hope you continue that policy. To be honest, Amazon's policy of being mysterious has pretty much turned me off. I hate speculating and waiting and speculating some more, but that's just me.

Shel

[cobalt8]

Again, I agree with you. I was SO close to getting a Kindle. I had accumulated $150 in gift cards over Christmas to be used towards the purchase. However, Amazon's behavior has definitely turned me off and it caused me to start looking at all of the other offerings in the ereader world.

As far as the firmware goes, I'm 99% sure that you can use the BeBook firmware with the EZ Reader. There are plenty of threads on this site that talk about the ability to use BeBook or Hanlin V3 firmware openly between the rebranded Hanlin V3 devices. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by cobalt8

Again, I agree with you. I was SO close to getting a Kindle. I had accumulated $150 in gift cards over Christmas to be used towards the purchase. However, Amazon's behavior has definitely turned me off and it caused me to start looking at all of the other offerings in the ereader world.

As far as the firmware goes, I'm 99% sure that you can use the BeBook firmware with the EZ Reader. There are plenty of threads on this site that talk about the ability to use BeBook or Hanlin V3 firmware openly between the rebranded Hanlin V3 devices. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

No one corrected you, so I'm betting you're right. I thought I was a computer geek before I got to these forums, but I find that I have no idea exactly what functions a device's firmware covers. Is that part of what determines what formats a device will read? I've seen some conflicting results on upgrading the BeBook's firmware with the latest release too, not to mention that no one seems to have a definitive answer on whether BeBook handles DRM'd Mobipocket books with this latest firmware.
In another thread, someone who had a BeBook posted that although it does a lot of formats, it doesn't do many of them well. That gave me pause; so I'd like to hear from other BeBook owners about that issue.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

No one corrected you, so I'm betting you're right. I thought I was a computer geek before I got to these forums, but I find that I have no idea exactly what functions a device's firmware covers. Is that part of what determines what formats a device will read? I've seen some conflicting results on upgrading the BeBook's firmware with the latest release too, not to mention that no one seems to have a definitive answer on whether BeBook handles DRM'd Mobipocket books with this latest firmware.
In another thread, someone who had a BeBook posted that although it does a lot of formats, it doesn't do many of them well. That gave me pause; so I'd like to hear from other BeBook owners about that issue.

The firmware contains the operating system and the application used to read the eBooks as well as whatever library management you have available. Some devices have support for more than one reading application. Most devices include applications for other use such as view graphics files or playing audio.

All Hanlin V3 devices, including EZ Reader, BeBook, and the 1/2 dozen or more others support DRM on Mobipocket books. All Hanlin devices have better support for some formats than others. Most agree that the mobi support is fine and particularly in the last releases it is much improved.

Dale

[cobalt8]

My understanding is that firmware does determine the type of formats that a device can read. I believe that I read somewhere that the Astak line is moving away from Mobi and towards ePub DRMed content. Robert can probably address the validity of this statement. I'm pretty sure that Mobi insists on being the exclusive format for a device if their DRM is to be used. This represents at least one good reason for a move towards ePub.

One of the other key points about the Hanlin V3/BeBook/EZ Reader family that I like is that the OpenInkpot project supports them. OpenInkpot is an open source firmware project that has a heavy presence on these forums. They're continually adding features and support for new formats from what I can tell. Also, the stock firmware for these devices seems to be updated very regularly, so support for formats at least has a medium for improvement.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

In another thread, someone who had a BeBook posted that although it does a lot of formats, it doesn't do many of them well. That gave me pause; so I'd like to hear from other BeBook owners about that issue.

I may have said something like that, see EZ Reader: Initial Impression. Since then I have discovered how easy it is to make scans of the device using my HP all in one printer. So see BeBook font sizes and types for scans of MOBI and FB2 ebooks on the EZ Reader, and post #1252 for scans of a PDF (formatted for the screen). These are all examples of the Hanlin at its best. Let me know if you have a particular format or particular ebook you would like to see Hanlin screen scans for.

One of the advantages of the Hanlin V3 is that you can use OpenInkPot's entirely independent firmware on it. This is the only firmware that does not support MOBI DRM, but it does support a wide range of DRM-free formats with a relatively consistent level of quality (via FBReader). The latest OI snapshot even includes Cool Reader 3, which is used by the standard Hanlin firmware for some DRM-free formats, so you can choose FBReader or CR3 on a book by book basis, see 20090123 snapshot.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Robert, thank you for your reply! From the BeBook site: - Supported file formats: pdf, mobi, prc, epub, lit, txt, fb2, doc, html, rtf, djvu, wol, ppt, mbp, chm, bmp, jpg, png, gif, tif, rar, zip, mp3.

I am very glad to hear about Astak's upcoming accessory line, and I think you are making a wise decision to gear some of those accessories toward women. Although function beats form for me, that isn't the case for everyone, and even I am as female as the next one and if the functional is also pretty I'm all for it!
That is one of the BeBook's advantages right now for me, it comes with a cover, USB cables, and earphones. And right now that price is $279, which unfortunately is cheaper than the promotion bundle at Mobieread for $329 which includes: ‧ AC Power Adapter
‧ Stereo Earbuds
‧ Wrist Leash
‧ User’s Manual
‧ Carrying Leather Case X 1 with Magnetic Clasp
( Retail Price USD$19.99)
‧ Two(2) 1GB SD Card
(Retail price $12.84)
Pre-loaded with 100 Classics Titles
‧ SD Card Reader
(Retail Price USD $ 9.99)

When you add the extra stuff, however, it's comparable, though since I don't need the SD card reader, I have most of the classics titles already, and a couple of SD cards already also, I don't know if it's justifiable for me. Fifty dollars is fifty dollars...

I'm going to assume from your lack of reply as to when the colored cases will be available for order that you don't have this information as of yet. The other thing that BeBook's site has that Mobieread does not is the firmware updates for download, and very easily found. That is a huge plus.

In conclusion, I think you downplay your friendliness and openness, RobertB. I believe if the other companies had spokespersons like you who were willing to speak up and answer questions and maintain a policy of openness and customer service like you are doing, their sales would skyrocket. That is a huge, huge, huge, advantage you have going, and I hope you continue that policy. To be honest, Amazon's policy of being mysterious has pretty much turned me off. I hate speculating and waiting and speculating some more, but that's just me.

Shel

Dear Shel:

Thank you very much for words on openess. I appreciate that!

Shel, the colored EZ Readers are a major want for me. We ordered only a very few to show at CES because everybody at our office thought I was crazy that colors are wanted. At CES we showed the colors and the response was overwhelming. What had been holding thing up was our next order with the factory. They had minimums for the colors. Until yesterday we just could not reach those minimums.

Yesterday we landed FRY's Electronics. They really wanted our EZ Reader and they got it. SO... colors may be a month away as we can now place a huge order.

The big news is that FRY's wanted the Bundle Pack. That will be all the items you listed PLUS 200 free ebooks preloaded. They want these on their shelves in two weeks. I do not know what they will sell at, but expect a real bargain price. You may want to wait for that.

ALSO... the regular EZ Reader non-bundle DOES include: AC Power Adapter, Stereo Ear Buds, Leather crush-resistant case with magnetic clasp (works like a dream), Wrist Leash, Users Manual, and even a small screwdriver for opening the battery door. That comes with 8 classic titles preloaded. I hand-picked the titles so these are not "Adventures in Boredom"... works like "Call of the Wild" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame", and "Grimms Fairy Tales" and "Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe" (the master of the macabre) all are on there. If you have not read "Call of the Wild" by Jack London and you like animals... you have missed incredible reading.

Again... thank you!!

Robert B

[Skyblue]

Hi Robertb

For accessorys have you thought about skins? For example the kindle has skins -

http://www.istyles.com/amazon-kindle-skin-p-11902.html

I know its something I would be very interested in!

Cheers

[cobalt8]

Originally Posted by Skyblue

Hi Robertb

For accessorys have you thought about skins? For example the kindle has skins -

http://www.istyles.com/amazon-kindle-skin-p-11902.html

I know its something I would be very interested in!

Cheers

I agree. I think that the Kindle community has definitely gotten the accessories thing right. There are several companies offering skins and custom cases for the Kindle.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by cobalt8

Again, I agree with you. I was SO close to getting a Kindle. I had accumulated $150 in gift cards over Christmas to be used towards the purchase. However, Amazon's behavior has definitely turned me off and it caused me to start looking at all of the other offerings in the ereader world.

As far as the firmware goes, I'm 99% sure that you can use the BeBook firmware with the EZ Reader. There are plenty of threads on this site that talk about the ability to use BeBook or Hanlin V3 firmware openly between the rebranded Hanlin V3 devices. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Dear All:

This is a good time to clear up the DRM issue on the EZ Reader. Realize that I cannot talk badly about any other company and have to be careful not to step on toes.

The EZ Reader, as all know, is a Hanlin V3. The Hanlin V3 is made by Jinke in China... the largest eBook Reader manufacturer in the world and great people who listen and take suggestions and have 800 engineers, and really know eBook Readers. That device that we ordered came with a legal loading of Mobipocket in it (Mobi is owned by Amazon). The devices arrived and there was nothing we ever found that said "cannot be used in the USA". After the shipment arrived, Amazon said (in effect): "do not use". This was a business decision (not a good one in my mind) but it was a business decision. We tried hard to cooperate in every way; but the door remained closed, bolted, locked, and wrought with warnings. Plus, we wanted to NOT see any problem between Jinke and Amazon.

On the other hand, Fictionwise, a fabulous firm that is friendly and open to all, welcomed us. Fictionwise makes eReader. Most everyone on MobileRead Forum liked eReader very much and eReader can lead to ePub down the road; and they are developing an SKU for us which should be done in weeks.

When that SKU is done we will post a firmware upgrade on our website (www.mobiebook.com) that will let ALL EZ Reader owners put eReader on their device and will remove the rendered unworkable Mobipocket (as Mobipocket is EXCLUSIVE and cannot be placed along with any other format on a device). We are still trying to do no wrong against Amazon. In the meanwhile you can download thousands of free eBooks from links on our website AND all EZ Readers come preloaded with great classic books.

This was a major upset; but we honored everyone's wishes; and came out with what we feel is a far better solution.

eReader is NOT exclusive. It works fabulously; and the books seem to me to cost less on Fictionwise. It is a win-win for the end users.

The above is my personal version and I think I have offended nobody while threading lightly.

Robert B

I held off saying this because I wanted no problems with litigation. We have abided by the rules laid down.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Skyblue

Hi Robertb

For accessorys have you thought about skins? For example the kindle has skins -

http://www.istyles.com/amazon-kindle-skin-p-11902.html

I know its something I would be very interested in!

Cheers

WOW!! Now I have seen the light. I think skins is a great idea and will today put that into our pot of accessories that we want! Great suggestion!! Many thanks for suggesting this!!

I can think of some skins that may be really women-oriented too... so I can get that going!!

To use a very old venacular: "RIGHT ON!!".

Robert B

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear Shel:

Thank you very much for words on openess. I appreciate that!

Shel, the colored EZ Readers are a major want for me. We ordered only a very few to show at CES because everybody at our office thought I was crazy that colors are wanted. At CES we showed the colors and the response was overwhelming. What had been holding thing up was our next order with the factory. They had minimums for the colors. Until yesterday we just could not reach those minimums.

Yesterday we landed FRY's Electronics. They really wanted our EZ Reader and they got it. SO... colors may be a month away as we can now place a huge order.

The big news is that FRY's wanted the Bundle Pack. That will be all the items you listed PLUS 200 free ebooks preloaded. They want these on their shelves in two weeks. I do not know what they will sell at, but expect a real bargain price. You may want to wait for that.

ALSO... the regular EZ Reader non-bundle DOES include: AC Power Adapter, Stereo Ear Buds, Leather crush-resistant case with magnetic clasp (works like a dream), Wrist Leash, Users Manual, and even a small screwdriver for opening the battery door. That comes with 8 classic titles preloaded. I hand-picked the titles so these are not "Adventures in Boredom"... works like "Call of the Wild" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame", and "Grimms Fairy Tales" and "Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe" (the master of the macabre) all are on there. If you have not read "Call of the Wild" by Jack London and you like animals... you have missed incredible reading.

Again... thank you!!

Robert B

No, Robert.. Thank you! You have gone above and beyond on answering my questions, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I will be anxiously awaiting the FRY's promotion of the EZ Reader. I have indeed read Call of the Wild, and a lot of other Jack London titles and enjoyed them very much.

[ccccclark]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear All:

This is a good time to clear up the DRM issue on the EZ Reader. Realize that I cannot talk badly about any other company and have to be careful not to step on toes.

The EZ Reader, as all know, is a Hanlin V3. The Hanlin V3 is made by Jinke in China... the largest eBook Reader manufacturer in the world and great people who listen and take suggestions and have 800 engineers, and really know eBook Readers. That device that we ordered came with a legal loading of Mobipocket in it (Mobi is owned by Amazon). The devices arrived and there was nothing we ever found that said "cannot be used in the USA". After the shipment arrived, Amazon said (in effect): "do not use". This was a business decision (not a good one in my mind) but it was a business decision. We tried hard to cooperate in every way; but the door remained closed, bolted, locked, and wrought with warnings. Plus, we wanted to NOT see any problem between Jinke and Amazon.

On the other hand, Fictionwise, a fabulous firm that is friendly and open to all, welcomed us. Fictionwise makes eReader. Most everyone on MobileRead Forum liked eReader very much and eReader can lead to ePub down the road; and they are developing an SKU for us which should be done in weeks.

When that SKU is done we will post a firmware upgrade on our website (www.mobiebook.com) that will let ALL EZ Reader owners put eReader on their device and will remove the rendered unworkable Mobipocket (as Mobipocket is EXCLUSIVE and cannot be placed along with any other format on a device). We are still trying to do no wrong against Amazon. In the meanwhile you can download thousands of free eBooks from links on our website AND all EZ Readers come preloaded with great classic books.
This was a major upset; but we honored everyone's wishes; and came out with what we feel is a far better solution.

eReader is NOT exclusive. It works fabulously; and the books seem to me to cost less on Fictionwise. It is a win-win for the end users.

The above is my personal version and I think I have offended nobody while threading lightly.

Robert B

I held off saying this because I wanted no problems with litigation. We have abided by the rules laid down.

I have been buying Mobi format books (*.PRC). Are these going to work after the Firmware upgrade?

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by ccccclark

I have been buying Mobi format books (*.PRC). Are these going to work after the Firmware upgrade?

Thanks for asking, I'm curious too.