No more new models

[sagars24]

With the current situation in the ebook market, I would be really surprised if Astak came out with a new model. I think the best best for Astak would be clear out their existing stock before the Kindle 3 goes on sale.

[hidari]

I would disagree. For me and others the huge range of formats, adaptability, and DRM free reading trump Amazon by a long shot. Fine, The mainstream can enjoy being part of the Kindle Empire, but I will happily buy products from smaller companies willing to market decent 5 inch, 6 inch and larger devices. That is what the market is all about; choice.

Most people own an ipod. I would not touch that mp3 player with a claw of a dead crow. I prefer my Cowon i7 that can drag and drop WITHOUT a software program and handles many formats.

[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by hidari

Fine, The mainstream can enjoy being part of the Kindle Empire...

I'm sorry, but I take umbrage with the term "empire" in this context.

I believe the more fitting term is "hive".

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by eGeezer

I'm sorry, but I take umbrage with the term "empire" in this context.

I believe the more fitting term is "hive".

Like the Borg, a collective. No individual thought, move as one. Hmmm

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by hidari

I would disagree. For me and others the huge range of formats, adaptability, and DRM free reading trump Amazon by a long shot. Fine, The mainstream can enjoy being part of the Kindle Empire, but I will happily buy products from smaller companies willing to market decent 5 inch, 6 inch and larger devices. That is what the market is all about; choice.

Most people own an ipod. I would not touch that mp3 player with a claw of a dead crow. I prefer my Cowon i7 that can drag and drop WITHOUT a software program and handles many formats.

The problem is that this could be a pie-in-the-sky intellectual justification at odds with market reality. People want to justify their own desire for something by inferring that there MUST be enough other people who feel the same way to keep a product alive. But the reality is, it doesn't always work out that way. It will be great if Astak stays alive--I'd love that. But they aren't even in the position of lets say... RC Cola compared to Pepsi and Coke. They're in a position where the big players (Amazon and B&N at least) can actually take a LOSS to drive the prices down, because they have other revenue streams to support them. Where the competition can also get quantity discounts on parts far beyond their capability. Where the competition has infinitely better distribution and marketing.

Now coming back from those arguments that there's still GOT to be a niche to sell to people who favor open formats is certainly the truth. The question is whether or not that niche is big enough to keep a product line viable. Companies like Astak are in the unfortunate position that they have to lower their prices, thereby cutting their margins, thereby subsisting on very little per unit, and they have to hope that the number of people who seek them out instead of the big boys is large enough to give them an overall profit.

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by Spiffy

The problem is that this could be a pie-in-the-sky intellectual justification at odds with market reality. People want to justify their own desire for something by inferring that there MUST be enough other people who feel the same way to keep a product alive. But the reality is, it doesn't always work out that way. It will be great if Astak stays alive--I'd love that. But they aren't even in the position of lets say... RC Cola compared to Pepsi and Coke. They're in a position where the big players (Amazon and B&N at least) can actually take a LOSS to drive the prices down, because they have other revenue streams to support them. Where the competition can also get quantity discounts on parts far beyond their capability. Where the competition has infinitely better distribution and marketing.

Now coming back from those arguments that there's still GOT to be a niche to sell to people who favor open formats is certainly the truth. The question is whether or not that niche is big enough to keep a product line viable. Companies like Astak are in the unfortunate position that they have to lower their prices, thereby cutting their margins, thereby subsisting on very little per unit, and they have to hope that the number of people who seek them out instead of the big boys is large enough to give them an overall profit.

But where Astak differs from other ereader sellers is they have an ebookstore, just like the big players (Amazon, B&N, Kobo). Others, such as Pocketbook, Jetbook, Aluratek etc do not have an ebookstore so they are surviving purely on profits from the reader.

I have said before and said again, money is no longer to be made on devices, content is the only real profit generating stream.

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by Solicitous

But where Astak differs from other ereader sellers is they have an ebookstore, just like the big players (Amazon, B&N, Kobo). Others, such as Pocketbook, Jetbook, Aluratek etc do not have an ebookstore so they are surviving purely on profits from the reader.

I have said before and said again, money is no longer to be made on devices, content is the only real profit generating stream.

You do realize there's a big loophole in this argument though?

If Astak's hallmark is being an "open" reader, than the only thing driving people to THEIR e-bookstore versus any others is customer loyalty. After all, their customers can buy their eBooks anywhere.

It's possible the extra revenue from the eBookstore may put them in a slightly better position than Pocketbook, Jetbook, Aluratek, etc., but even so its going to be a drop in the bucket compared to Amazon, B&N and even Sony. They may not wind up in the WORST position among the small eReader companies, but its still going to be a far weaker one than they've grown used to. With a margin that small it doesn't automatically mean they can't stay in business, but it DOES mean that the effects of any mis-step are amplified.

Not that even in a worst case Astak would necessarily go anywhere. They've sold other products before eBook readers, and no doubt will sell yet others after (like Mobile Internet Devices, for example). The question is more whether or not they find they are able to continue to carve out enough profit to keep producing single purpose eInk eBook readers, or whether they have to fold it into whatever LCD-based MID devices they start selling.

The good news for us is that not everything is dependent on one company, since several others worldwide sell the same hardware. So worst case, its not like updated firmware, batteries and other parts for the units we have will go away. The question is more about what the company will try to sell going forward.

[hidari]

As far as I know Astak sells many products besides ebook readers....perhaps it is only a portion of their business....or even a side business,,, Thus not as critical as to what the ebook market is doing so some degree.

Maybe Astak will have to stop one day....but I for one like to support smaller companies....

Plus, There is a huge world market still waiting to be tapped outside of the Myopia that is the North Amerikan Market..... It actually does exist.... there are companies besides Mcdonalds, M$ and Crapple...

[hidari]

Originally Posted by eGeezer

I'm sorry, but I take umbrage with the term "empire" in this context.

I believe the more fitting term is "hive".

Or a Walled Garden Prison.... depending on how you look at it...

[Spiffy]

Originally Posted by hidari

Plus, There is a huge world market still waiting to be tapped outside of the Myopia that is the North Amerikan Market..... It actually does exist.... there are companies besides Mcdonalds, M$ and Crapple...

Yes, but Astak doesn't sell in those places. IBook, Pixelar, BeBook and other companies have those markets selling the same hardware as Astak.

[sagars24]

I belive in supporting smaller companies too, and I did buy an mentor. But I was really unhappy with how it performed compared to the kindle. My decision to keep the kindle was completely based on the performance and ease of use. Mentor not resuming to the same page was a big con for me compared to the kindle. I also feel like Kindle is not really locked to the Amazon store. Just like mentor you can transfer your own books or books you buy from other vendors. Also, if you are tech savy enough to make the Astak reader work for you, I am sure you know how to make your way around DRM.

Other than the dictionary (which i really need) kindle is really stable, atleast once in every 10 times my mentor would crash , either while opening a book or starting and it never opened to the last book I was reading or the location in the book I was at.

I am not trying to sell the kindle over astak. I am just trying to get a good ereading experience and sharing mine with you guys.

[pagansoul]

I got a message from ShopNBC, the Aluratek Libre ebook Reader Pro is on sale for $109.90.
Woops...it was a one day sale on Aug 1st and it's back to $169, missed it.
Features

5" LCD reflective light screen
Supports PDF (Adobe Digital Edition DRM/non-DRM), TXT, FB2, EPUB (Adobe Digital Edition DRM/non-DRM), MOBI (non-DRM only), PRC (non-DRM only) and RTF electronic book formats
Supports BMP, JPG, GIF, and animated GIF picture formats
Includes 100 free eBooks in the internal memory
Content search for easy navigation between books and pages
Bookmark and auto page turn function
Adjustable font type and size
Screen rotation support (portrait and landscape mode)
Supports English and French languages
Built-in MP3 player with background playback support
SD card slot for up to 32GB card
Internal lithium-ion polymer battery (24 hrs continuous use / 2 weeks standby time)
Battery level indicator and low level warning
Works with PC or Mac

[Acreo Aeneas]

Originally Posted by hidari

Most people own an ipod. I would not touch that mp3 player with a claw of a dead crow. I prefer my Cowon i7 that can drag and drop WITHOUT a software program and handles many formats.

*waves my S9 and D2 around the air while laughing*

Astak's already coming out with a new 6" Reader, so you can't say Astak's not releasing new models when they are.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Spiffy

You do realize there's a big loophole in this argument though?

If Astak's hallmark is being an "open" reader, than the only thing driving people to THEIR e-bookstore versus any others is customer loyalty. After all, their customers can buy their eBooks anywhere.

It's possible the extra revenue from the eBookstore may put them in a slightly better position than Pocketbook, Jetbook, Aluratek, etc., but even so its going to be a drop in the bucket compared to Amazon, B&N and even Sony. They may not wind up in the WORST position among the small eReader companies, but its still going to be a far weaker one than they've grown used to. With a margin that small it doesn't automatically mean they can't stay in business, but it DOES mean that the effects of any mis-step are amplified.

Not that even in a worst case Astak would necessarily go anywhere. They've sold other products before eBook readers, and no doubt will sell yet others after (like Mobile Internet Devices, for example). The question is more whether or not they find they are able to continue to carve out enough profit to keep producing single purpose eInk eBook readers, or whether they have to fold it into whatever LCD-based MID devices they start selling.

The good news for us is that not everything is dependent on one company, since several others worldwide sell the same hardware. So worst case, its not like updated firmware, batteries and other parts for the units we have will go away. The question is more about what the company will try to sell going forward.

Dear Spiffy and Hidari and Solicitous and more:

Yes, we do have other profit centers than just eBooks. But, almost everything is down right now so while we will fight on... this is a poor time for the controlling companies in eBook devices to rub everybody else out.

Yes, our hopes are on our eBook Store (www.EZread.com). we are still looking and searching to bring new devices to market. The PLUS goes on sale next Friday night. It is incredibly light, brutally fast, and very strong. It also is selling AT OUR COST. We make nothing and it STILL is more expensive than I would like! We have about three new devices now we are appraising. You will see new devices from Astak... we just cannot focus on selling them anymore. They are NOT what drives us.

Yes, having an eBook Store is a worry too. You have to attract new business all the time. BUT... our devices have NOT been a draw to our store. I wish they were. I have pleaded with people to support us with this store... and it goes unheard. A few have been wonderful. But, even with the lower price you need a lot more.

We are changing our eBook Store 101%. It will still have the lowest prices (and it already does have this)... but we are redesigning with an interactive forum, a wish list, PayPal, Agency Model eBooks, tons of Independent Author eBooks, reviews, ,interviews with authors chit-chat, and a lot more. Then in about two months or so comes a blockbuster add-on to it.

So... we are finding where we can fight and putting our forces there!

[cfrizz]

Robert, right now I have 23 agy 5 books that I want to buy. They are:

Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles

1 Interview with the Vampire (1976)
2 The Vampire Lestat (1985)
3 The Queen of the Damned (1988)
4 The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
5 Memnoch the Devil (1995)
6 The Vampire Armand (1998)
7 Merrick (2000)
8 Blood and Gold (2001)
9 Blackwood Farm (2002)
10 Blood Canticle (2003)

Carol Higgins Clark Regan Reilly Series

1. DECKED
2. SNAGGED
3. ICED
4. TWANGED
5. FLEECED
6. JINXED
7. POPPED
8. BURNED
9. HITCHED
10. LACED
11. ZAPPED
12. CURSED
13. WRECKED

I know that Carol's aren't there, & only 4 of Anne's are. I like buying in bulk, if all of these books come to your new store at reasonable prices, I PROMISE I will buy all of them from EZReads!