Blue Pocket Pro finish already coming off

[Morlac]

Originally Posted by bookfanmd

I know I won't be keeping this unit but wanted to see how the different formats looked after the update. When it says:
"4. Then, first holding down the silver "volume up" button on the right side of the EZ Reader, then press the ON button to turn on your EZ Reader. " are they talking about the toggle switch on the right side or another button? My toggle switch is not silver. I tried using it though but the unit just kept turning off and on and never asked if I wanted to do the firmware update.
Does anyone have suggestions?

Thanks.

[EDIT] Wow -- multiple corrections beat me to posting in the time I spent looking up the quote from the Astak site! Such helpful people you find here!


[NOW SUPERFLUOUS POST FOLLOWS...]
To clarify -- the line of directions you refer to is for the 6" EZ Reader. On the official website where you downloaded the update, I'm seeing another line beneath that giving the proper instructions for the 5" Pocket Pro:

"For the 5" Pocket PRO: while holding down the top "page turn" button on the left side of the device, then press the ON button to turn on your device. "

[bookfanmd]

Well that worked. Looks like I'm not the only one directionally challenged. I guess they didn't put their hand out to confirm where right was before writing this. Thanks so much, I sent you some karma.

[bookfanmd]

Thanks all for the firmware help. I had pictures showing over the instructions on the firmware page so just used the FAQ page. It's updated now so thanks again.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by SDRebel

I wonder why they didn't offer this for my issue

I do have to say that the black unit doesn't have this problem at all

Dear SDRebel:

The blacks and the whites had plenty of time to dry before being shipped from China. There should not be a single issue with them.

I am personally sorry for your problem as I remember you well and how you became interested. I apologize for the aggravation.

Because we did the pre-ordering, we rushed so hard to get the units shipped. We did feel that there was sufficient time for the paint to set; but that was obviously not correct.

Ever bought a new car? One thing I learned was that you should not wax a new car for 1-2 months after buying. This is to allow the paint to set. Even though it looks great from all appearances, the paint can still not have set down deep, I guess.

We are not pretending to be paint experts or anything like that... but I sense that this was the main problem. I think once it sets it is fine (as what we are seeing now in our table upon table of coloured Pocket PROs sitting and being inspected a few times each day). Sometimes you try to do things right and it ends up wrong and this was one of those times.

We learned. That does not lessen anybody's frustration however. What we can do we are doing. We are trying to bring them back in at no cost to anyone and ship out units where the paint in definitely set.

We still do not fully understand the paint issue. The units do have the paint in the resin down underneath. Why China Customs required a final respray is still a question.

[bookfanmd]

RobertB -

I sent an email about the finish problems with my blue Pocket Pro to the support address very late Friday night and received a response from Amy W. within an hour after Astak opened up this morning. What happened is disappointing but so far the customer service has been outstanding. Thanks.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by bookfanmd

RobertB -

I sent an email about the finish problems with my blue Pocket Pro to the support address very late Friday night and received a response from Amy W. within an hour after Astak opened up this morning. What happened is disappointing but so far the customer service has been outstanding. Thanks.

Dear Bookfanmd:

Thank you for letting us make things right.

Someone else this morning also had a good point... it is a new release and problems do pop up. I believe firmly that after all is made right... people like you and Griffonwing and many, many others are going to find that what they end up with is a great device.

I am surely not proud nor blind to the slate blue paint problem. I know we are getting in extra batteries to sell as spares or replace where applicable. We are laying in spare USB cables too just to be sure. We are making things right as fast and as painlessly as we can. On the other hand... I KNOW the frustration and I know several just feel it better to get a refund. Those people will be our big loss... but they will lose out too. Fundamentally, the unit is working very well. Overall, people are pleased and the reviewers are very happy and even excited about the Pocket PRO. By getting a refund you give up a great device. In 2-3 months the Pocket PRO will have a reputation for great reliability and be running trouble free.

I am proud that we have stood by our product well and that so many have praised Customer Service. I think, in the end, that will have made all the difference.

[JSWolf]

Robertb, why do they need to be painted if they already have the color as part of the plastic?

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Robertb, why do they need to be painted if they already have the color as part of the plastic?

Sounds like rhetorical question since that question was answered just two posts up from your question.

Originally Posted by Robertb

Why China Customs required a final respray is still a question.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Robertb, why do they need to be painted if they already have the color as part of the plastic?

Originally Posted by Robertb

We still do not fully understand the paint issue. The units do have the paint in the resin down underneath. Why China Customs required a final respray is still a question.

The devices are actually color-molded plastic. However, they put a painted soft-touch layer over it. Apparently China painted them then shipped them out before allowing them time to truly set.

I don't see this as Astaks fault, but the people overseas who rushed the paint job.

[Godzil]

Because if they weren't painted they would be white or gray plastic. That's what happen when you blindly trust a chinese manufacturer without getting samples.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Going by this assumption, Astak was being truthful in stating what they said. As for why Jinke put the skin coatings on the coloured devices, I don't know. I've heard a few guesses about chemicals, possible toxins in the plastic, etc.. But i don't know for sure.

I would suspect that the colored plastic cases hadn't been through testing for lead and other chemical problems. Not that they had any problems, but that whatever process was used to make the color shells hadn't been tested-and-approved the way black & white plastics had been--and rather than pay for the test/approval process, someone decided it'd be simpler, and just as good, to paint the final product with a same-color paint that had been approved. (It might've been a time decision rather than a money decision; someone might not have noticed that the other plastics weren't approved until it was too late to get it done before the release date.)

No idea who might've made the decision to paint the units. No idea who was "supposed" to get the original plastic approved. I certainly don't blame RobertB for not knowing the details of what happened at the finishing-up stages of production, with what might've been a last-minute realization & decision.

I do think he should be looking into who told him that there was no paint, only molded plastic, and when that changed. I don't necessarily think he owes us, customers & potential customers, the details of whatever miscommunication happened in Aztak, but it'd be nice to know if this was an information mix-up, or a last-minute change that there was no time to inform everyone about.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

The devices are actually color-molded plastic. However, they put a painted soft-touch layer over it. Apparently China painted them then shipped them out before allowing them time to truly set.

I don't see this as Astaks fault, but the people overseas who rushed the paint job.

The blue devices appear to be color-molded plastic. The maroon ones are not, can't say anything about other colors.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

I, too, took off my battery door, and the plastic below it WAS blue. The stripes shown in the purple picture were the same way on mine, but the material of the door WAS blue. Apparently the stripes are the way their manufacturing process leaves the bottom side when painting this rubber coating. I imagine the full case would have this type of stripes on the inside also. It's hard to paint both sides of an item without some indications left.

You seem to only want to criticize eveything eveyone says, and you don't indicate you have a PEZ, just a Sony. Are you TRYING (and Not succeeding) to disrupt this forum?

Yes, I am being critical and there is a reason...first I was interested in this device as well as the 9.7" color display that was announced a while back. So I will comment and observe and question all I want. Don't care much if it meets with your, or anyone else's approval.

One needs to remember the bragging by Astak about this device. Turns out most of the spin fell quite short of the mark. I have followed Astak from early on in "the BIG thread" and even offered several suggestions which were used. But as time wore on less and less valid statements were forth coming as was Astak's demeanor and vicious criticism of other devices here on MR. BTW, on multiple occasions Astak's statements about other brand's devices were shown to be patently false. Astak chose to go down that road then he needs to live with the same critical eye when looking at and evaluating Astak's products.

Discussing the flaws and being objectively critical is "disruptive"? Just because I did not drink the Kool-aid does not mean I cannot follow and contribute to ANY THREAD on this board. Feel free to ignore them.

I had high hopes for Astak at one time, they seem to have super CS, seem to want to do the right thing in order to keep positive comments coming and the original EZReader was nice enough. But they seem to drop the ball when it counts these days. Maybe they are trying to do too much too soon and that can lead to the issues people are seeing. Don't forget the paint is the least worrisome of the issues people have posted about.

I WAS a big supporter of Astak but you would have had to read that big thread to find it...

BTW, maybe a company with more background in dealing with this sort of thing would have explained to anyone who pre-ordered devices there was an issue and an external layer of paint was going to be required to allow shipping these devices into the US (or out of China, whatever...) and give them the option of canceling the order. Doing a proper paint job would have caused a bit of a delay but then again, which do you prefer getting it right or getting it right-now?

We will NEVER know the real reason for any of this...BUT, if you blindly believe it is completely out of Astak's hands, well, not much anyone can say beyond, wow??!! Astak is small and trying to grow a big nice business. Often that leads to this sort of fiasco because they are ordering in, relative to the actual mfg's bigger customers, small quantities. So I doubt a full batch of plastic case material would be mixed just for them. That could be the problem. Resin plastics are very fussy. This issue could be the result of an single drop of color additive or hardener or ?? It all depends on the formula. Humidity can also be a BIG factor here...under the wrong conditions this can happen, especially when a company is trying to learn it on the fly.

Do not forget also these things are made in the country that shipped 1000s of tubes of toothpaste which killed people because it contained anti-freeze only to say "...oh, we're sorry..." at least the guy who did that allegedly hung himself, or was encouraged to do so. Maybe these days China customs is indeed being over cautious with potential hazardous materials (I mean it would be bad form to have plant managers hanging themselves every other week)...that is the ONLY reason I could see for the case to require painting AFTER the fact. I would have thought this was taken care of before during the prototyping phase...

There are a lot more holes in the story. Maybe holes is the wrong word, inconsistencies might be better...and that rests solely on Astak's Marketing Wonks (I really mean that as a joke not mean spirited...I have hired and fired a lot of marketing folks, they are all wonks, even the one's I liked...about on the level as attorney's. ). Remember we do not even know if one person is posting under Astak's ID. Nothing unusual there for a company to spread that workload...I tend to believe it is only one person, but we do not know for sure.

And I do believe that they really do not know what the reason for this might be...I doubt it was drying time at all. I would believe it had more to do with the type of paint used for the surface to which it was being applied. If the surface is not squeaky clean and properly prep'd and itself is completely cured and the out-gassing is done, then the paint won't stick. Also it might be there was too much paint applied all at once. Heck they could have been doing them by hand one at a time. Lots of places for something to go wrong.

Also, if you read, I suggested if someone like their reader...get the black or white version instead...nobody has reported any issue with those builds. Never did I say not to ever buy the reader only to be aware of the issues and not to convince yourself yours will be "the" perfect one. The production line has issues.

I feel Astak owes those loyal supporters not only a free exchange (shipping both ways) but also a credit they can use once the online bookstore gets going. Yeah, they might lose a bit in the near term, but in the long term people will be happy.

And where do you read I have a Sony?

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

And where do you read I have a Sony?
__________________
Devices:

• Sony nx73v -- scored at thrift store for $16 (my fav reader), nice transflective display.
• Nokia N800 Internet Tablet -- Not my favorite device but it is OK. Still it has a 4.3" display.
• Kindle 1 -- not much I like about the device, especially the display.

[slayda]

It's all Griffonwing's fault, him with the slate blue parot that he fryed think of himself as the Arkansas Col. The ghost of that parot is haunting RobertB and making everything slate blue have a problem.

Astak should have been like Henry Ford and the Model-T (you can have any colour you want as long as it's black).