Adobe Digital Editions for EZ Reader

Astak will have Adobe Digital Editions as an upload available on its new website (www.goEZebook.com) which is now under construction. We will have it for both lines: EZ Reader and Mentor.

We also are close to being able to offer Fictionwise eReader as well. We are waiting for the final SDK and the porting to take place and then that will also be an upload on the new website.

You ARE allowed to have BOTH formats on the same device. Only Mobipocket is exclusive of other formats.

We think that this will be exactly what EZ Reader end users will want and it should do all you want a format to do. NEW EZ Readers arriving the end of this month WILL have Adobe Digital Editions already on them.

IF you have one of the few EZ Reader 6 inch with Mobipocket you have a choice. You may stay with Mobi OR do the upload when they are available. You cannot have Mobi and any other format as Mobi is exclusive. Amazon wanted it this way. On the website we will give ample instructions on how to do all of this. The money has been paid and it is coming very soon.

Astak is overjoyed to have this good news for you and rteally appreciates your patience!

Why no blogs lately??

Dear All:

Thank you for reading my blogs. Right now is a waiting game on just about everything.

The new website looks great and is really coming along... but getting the agreements from the people doing the work is maddening. It has to go throufgh so much bureaucracy. I am hoping that we can do the free walk-through of the site (no buying... just look and make comments) on Tuesday, June 23.

FRY's Electronics is having their best price ever on the EZ Reader, coming up. That will be July 4 or July 5 or both days. We gave in on a huge rebate so this will be the time to buy!! You already know the EZ Reader Basic is a Freedom Machine... Open Format and displays 14 formats!! You can buy books from hundreds of sites!! It is strong, reliable, E-Ink, and has brilliant features. AND... it is backed by Astak with USA support!

We are at battle over exclusivity!! We have spent about 9 months promoting the EZ Reader line (made by Jinke of China) all over North America. Now, we have to battle with Jinke over getting the rights to be exclusive for their product. At stake is the wonderful EZ Reader Pocket PRO. WHY? Because they did not just shrink it into 5 inch size... they improved everything on it. It has the Epson Controller, they upgraded the processor to 400MHz, it has Text-to-Speech, and it supports 16GB SD cards!! And, we want to offer it in 6 colors. WOW!! This thing is SO good that Kindle may just buy one!!

So what does a great device do? It starts conflicts. It is all about numbers. We know we can sell a lot of the Pocket Pro... but Jinke dreams of 100,000 units for one order. They aren't looking for growth... they want the pot of gold now. I mean absolutely NO disrespect for Jinke. They build fabulous devices. We love them. We just need to get them to ride with us just a bit longer. We are on the verge of greatness for Astak and Jinke. Long range... it will be Astak that makes Jinke happy. Long range... we can build a dynamo for them.

Anyhow, it is very hard to speak nothing but praise for a device and then wonder if you will have it to sell. The frustration is unbearable.

So, that is why I am not blogging much. We are waiting for decisions!!

Two samples of Pocket PRO arrived

Today customs released the first two samples of the EZ Reader Pocket PRO. I promised a first analysis so here it is:

The factory has upgraded both the processor (to Samsung ARM9 400MHz processor) and the controller to the Epson High-Speed. So... the first question I had is if it helped.

I am happy to say that page turns are a matter of 1-2 tenths of a second. You do see, if you look hard, a trace of a balck screen but just barely. Page turns are lightning quick and so is bringing up a new book selection.

Lightness: I picked up an EZ Reader 6 inch and then a Pocket PRO. YES, the difference in lightness (weight) is noticeable. The Pocket PRO is the lightest eBook Reader I have ever held and it feels great in the hand.

Scroll Wheel: the Pocket PRO comes with THREE page advance/ regress buttons. There are two buttons on the left, two buttons onthe bottom (#9 and #0) serve for this purpose, and you have a scroll wheel about 2/3 of the way up the right side. The wheel has a stud on it so you do not have to actually rub your finger over the wheel... just move the stud up or down. It works well and I am pleased. Between the three buttons a left hander, right hander, or ANYBODY will find the page turn exactly where they want it.

The USB/charging port has been moved to the TOP on the Pocket PRO. This is because it was a tiny bit cumbersome to charge the 6 inch when it was in the case. Now, charging is a breeze. The headphone jack (3.5mm) is at the bottom right.

There are two large and somewhat deep slots on the upper left and right. Some people think these are extra SD card slots. They are not. They are indentations to allow the crush-resistant leather case to hold the Pocket PRO securely. They do their job. In event of a nuclear detonation the case will still be holding the Pocket PRO like life depended upon it. Great design but watch your finger nails.

Just like the EZ Reader 6 inch, the clarity and resolution of the screen is at least as good, maybe better, than any screen in the business.

There is more but please wait for me to read the user manual and translate it into English fully. We are still discovering the more subtle changes and improvements.

Additional Info on Pocket PRO

I finally got full specs from Jinke last night. Here is some additional info:

The processor is 400MHz. This gives 600 by 800 pixel in 8 grey scale.

It has a USB 2.0 port and supports up to a 16GB SD card.

The working temperature extremes are: 0 degrees C to 40 degrees C.

We should have two samples by Friday of this week and I will be able to provide more info then.

You already know this has the Epson High-Speed Controller.

This product will NOT be sold thru Retail Stores as they always mark it up. We want this to the end user as cheaply as possible so we will sell it only thru our new website: www.goEZebook.com

First specs on Astak EZ Reader Pocket PRO

Dear all:

Here is what I have been able to find out about our new 5 inch Pocket PRO.

The dimensions are: 151mm by 105mm by 10mm in thickness. It weighs 160 grams including the battery. The screen is, of course, E-Ink.

The display has 8 levels of grey scale and it will have the super-fast Epson Controller (which makes almost instantaneous page turns with no "black page" in between). 800 by 600 pixels. Displays both vertically and horizontally!

It has a easy-replace rechargeable battery that the end user can easily change if ever needed. The battery is Li-ion 1000mAh.

The SD card slot supports all the way up to 16GB (with 512MB SD RAM embedded).

It stores and plays MP3. But... like the EZ Reader... this is great MP3 as the device has an equalizer that really works. I own an iPod and this is superior. This has a 3.5mm headphone jack for even the best headphones. I use top-of-the-line noise-cancelling headphones and it is every bit worthy of these!

It comes ported with Adobe Digital Editions!! You will be able to add Fictionwise eReader when the SDK is done.

It supports: txt, pdf, doc, chm,wol, rar, zip, jpg, bmp, tiff, fb2, djvu, gif, epub,html, ppt, prc, pdb, MP3.

It will come offered in 6 colors: black, tanish white, lime green, slate blue, brown maroon, and a violet (pink and purple).

It will be first sold on our new website: http://www.goezebook.com/ and that website will sell books and should also have a search engine for the 500,000 free eBook Google library of classics.

It takes a while to do 6 color samples, get them approved, and then go into plastic production. Release is estimated in two months. Pre-order waiting list in about 6 weeks.

Price will be between $199 and $209 (sometimes on sale and sometimes not).

It comes with that great Astak technical support, a quality FAQ sheet, the full Astak warranty.

The box includes a quality Crush-resistant LEATHER case, ear buds, AC charger, wrist leash, and USB cable. THINK about this when comparing to other devices. You get a great magnetic clasp leather case included! Obviously, this is a hell of a good deal!!

SO... I have been listening to you and I know this unit will never stop pleasing you!!