EZ Reader PLUS Opening Day August 14

[Robertb]

Dear All:

The long awaited EZ Reader PLUS will start selling at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 14! It is the lightest and fastest 6 inch device on the planet... but not the cheapest.

Should you buy a PLUS?? Well, let us look into this device. It is sold by Astak and that is good. You already know the Astak Support is very strong and the warranty is sturdy and I wrote the User Manual and it is a thorough one. You know I am on here if you need me.

So what makes it great? The 6 inch PLUS uses the same sturdy and dependable EZ Reader design and many of the innards too. It should be reliable from the second it goes on sale. It has a 16 level gray scale screen, the absolute fastest EPSON controller with 400MHz processor, 20 formats, Adobe Digital Editions, 27 languages, USB 2.0, MP3, a 64MB SD-RAM for fast downloading and fast opening of books, 16GB SD card, a quality magenetic clasp crush-resistant case and ear buds included, a user-replaceable rechargeable battery, and much more!

We are selling it at our cost at $199. Why not less? Because this really is our cost and we cannot afford to lose money... just break even.

Is this your next eBook Reader? For those that are not looking for expensive features... they just want to READ with lightning fast speed on a beautiful screen and with expandable memory aplenty... THIS is a potent eBook Reader!! You would look into this if customer service matters to you. IF you are looking for no problems, fast workings, no need to buy extras, and great illustrations... I think the PLUS will be a great choice!

You can buy it at the appointed time at either: www.theEZreader.com (domestic) or www.astak.com (International).

[eGeezer]

Amazing!!!

A post by Robertb that has gone unreplied for over a day.

I know its disappointing that it will take another week, but at least having the price set and availability within a week seems worth comment.

Hey, Robertb. Has anyone at Astak considered offering something like a SquareTrade extended warrantee option with Astak EZReaders? Never heard of them before, but I'll sure be buying one with the next new ereader I buy.

Got a broken EZ PPro screen so am pondering the Plus as an option instead of spending the money to get the screen fixed. Now that I've had the 5" PPro for 8 months, I'm not seeing the 1" difference in size as a big deal. After all, even tho the PPro fits nicely into a jeans pocket, what fool would trust the "crush-proof" case to to be that invincible?

(No, I did NOT have it in a jeans pocket when the screen broke. Not sure how it broke.)

I agree with Robertb that the Plus price isn't really out of line with the price reductions in other brands, considering you get the case (and ear bugs to a minor degree) included -- and especially if it is as improved as he has stated repeatedly.

Of course, no wifi, but I haven't missed it yet. Perhaps when I see all the ebooks I want to buy at $7 or less, then maybe I will come to regret the lack of being able to bypass my computer to pull them off a dedicated store shelf with ease.

However, I suspect I will be buying my 5th new ereader by that time, and will be taking ice skating lessons in Hell, as well.

[Solicitous]

Good news Robert, unfortunately a little late for me (I've committed elsewhere for my second reader).

I'm going to give you an ulcer, but what impact will this have on the 5"? Astak plan to drop the price or no longer carry that line?

[bzyzny]

this is exciting news! it's been a long wait since i sold my pocket pro in march in anticipation of the 6 inch, and i was real tempted to get the nook wifi, but it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel. the main reasons i plan to buy astaks new ebook reader is because it is incredibly light weight, has excellent hardware and software features, and i like to root for the under dog! i hate huge companies like amazon that use their market dominance to push out the little guys. i just wish astak would open up their source code more and make it the developers choice! imagine how awesome it would be to have a thriving homebrew community for this device!

[Solicitous]

Actually the source is opened. You can download source from Jinke, or Astak (http://astak.com/developer_ebook.asp). There are a couple of people doing it, Buggins seems to be the popular one.

[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by bzyzny

... the main reasons i plan to buy astaks new ebook reader is because it is incredibly light weight, has excellent hardware and software features, and i like to root for the under dog! i hate huge companies like amazon that use their market dominance to push out the little guys...

Precisely put with far fewer words than I ever manage to use.

[Acreo Aeneas]

Oiy, wish I had another $200 laying around. That 6-inch with the 16 gray levels is soooo tempting. The better contrast alone would be worth it in my book. Too bad no scrolly wheel.

[Skyblue]

I'm definitely going to be ordering one. Robertb are they going to be comming in colours (other than black or white) or is that only the 5" readers?

[eGeezer]

Since Robert posted back at the end of June that the 5" PPro colors were being reduced to Black and White (other color availability limited to stock on hand), I would expect we won't be seeing the Plus in any other colors, as well.

Just a wild guess on my part, of course, but I am sure the extra colors represent additional cost which cannot be supported at this time amidst this wantonly insane market with reckless price-slashing well below cost.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by eGeezer

Since Robert posted back at the end of June that the 5" PPro colors were being reduced to Black and White (other color availability limited to stock on hand), I would expect we won't be seeing the Plus in any other colors, as well.

Just a wild guess on my part, of course, but I am sure the extra colors represent additional cost which cannot be supported at this time amidst this wantonly insane market with reckless price-slashing well below cost.

I believe the issue was, they had to order minimum quantities of each special color. That made inventory (and capital invested) huge.

[vgiridar]

Welcome to Plus.

How does this stack up against Nook and K3. My guess is as follows

The biggest plus for K3 is the new screen that is expected to be marginally or vastly better based on who you are and what you would be using it with. K3 also claims to process PDF way better than K2 (PDF reviews were generally very negative for K2). Now add case (a definite need) and that takes cost of wi-fi to about $170 or so.

Nook at $149 also is WIP as far as firmware goes. The + point for Nook is lack of keyboard so you can do a lot without keyboard but with some battery drain.

Browsers in both devices could be useful to a certain degree. But both have the potential for target advertising based on knowledge of your preferences.

Sony Touch has been offering free case at $189-$199. As cases are very good this could be attractive buy except for the comment that sony touchscreen tends to make the screen a little less of a pleasurable read. No browser and expensive bookstore

The biggest difference between Amazon and others is that Amazon was ready with content before device. Kindle was just offered as an attractive product for regular Amazon shoppers. For all others - even B&N - it is other way - trying to create and provide content for device owners thereby unable to meet amazon's range or offerings. Most of the kindle owners demand are more than adequately met by Amazon because they buy Kindle to access Amazon content. Seriously it is a losing game to compete with Amazon. With their content and loyal customer base, they can recover all losses - if any - from cheaper K3. and Just take them out of all equations.

I believe comparison would show that Plus is probably overpriced by about $25 or so. Can plus being open and generally good battery life and range of formats supported make up that gap. I do believe Nook and Sony are not in long-term (B&N is on sale and how much money they would continue to lose on nook)

In case Astak can continue to provide good models and reliable service, there would be a market for them.

Also looks like Pocket Pro would be replaced by Plus. All this time Astak was not just getting rid of older 6" but also PP so they will push only Plus. In a way it is good. I don't think the current market any vendor shiould try to to have too many offerings - have just one and perfect it for both sale, stock, service and updates.

Best wishes

[Semp]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear All:

We are selling it at our cost at $199. Why not less? Because this really is our cost and we cannot afford to lose money....

Plus $50 very ridiculous delivery price

[theducks]

Originally Posted by vgiridar

Also looks like Pocket Pro would be replaced by Plus. All this time Astak was not just getting rid of older 6" but also PP so they will push only Plus. In a way it is good. I don't think the current market any vendor shiould try to to have too many offerings - have just one and perfect it for both sale, stock, service and updates.

Best wishes

The plus should replace the Basic which was a 6" device (and looks similar)
The Pocket Pro (PEz) is a different beast, 5" with a Jog wheel and other features.

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by theducks

The plus should replace the Basic which was a 6" device (and looks similar)
The Pocket Pro (PEz) is a different beast, 5" with a Jog wheel and other features.

But the question of price. Is dropping from 6" to 5", losing the volume buttons and adding the scroll wheel, dropping from 64 to 32mb ram, 16 to 8 levels of gray scale worth the same?

[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by theducks

I believe the issue was, they had to order minimum quantities of each special color. That made inventory (and capital invested) huge.

Well, there you go, then. Much cheaper to stock 300 ea of two colors than 100 each of 6 colors. Just making that up, but makes sense financially.