Demand for the EZ Reader PLUS is already building. It will be available first at: www.theEZreader.com and www.astak.com. This will be in about 3-4 weeks when the devices arrive. Astak does not like to promise something and not be able to deliver. So, we are waiting to post full info.
This PLUS will be a major player. The original EZ Reader Basic is a tried and true design known as having incredibly problem-free life, far less returns than other products on the market, more than 20 formats, great MP3 capability, and a USER-Replaceable Rechargeable Battery. Nobody that owned the Basic ever said it was not fast enough and they loved the E-INK screen giving 8,000 pages of text to a single charge!!.
The EZ Reader PLUS takes that same perfect design and interface and ruggedness and puts it in steroids! The fastest controller on the market (EPSON) is mated to a 400MHz processor. The speed increase is amazing and rivals or beats ANY OTHER eBook Reader. It still has all the goodies mentioned above... but now the screen is 16 level Gray Scale. The USB is now 2.0!! The memory is a cinch to increase (SD card slot to 16GB). The SD RAM is doubled to 64MB. Internal Memory is 512MB. PLUS, it still comes with a leather crush-resistant case and free ear buds!!
Compare this to anything else on the market! This is lighter (under 6 ounces), far faster, and handles 20 formats and includes Adobe Digital Editions for DRM! If the battery fails: no need to wait 6 weeks and send it off to the factory. Astak will have spare batteries for sale at no mark-up and it takes about 50 seconds to change. The MP3 is fabulous AND you can listen to music while you read!!
The price? Same as the Basic: about $229.
Worth the wait?? You aren't kidding. This is going to be a real blockbuster!!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
New 6 inch EZ Reader PLUS unveiled.
A major surprise, the new Astak EZ Reader PLUS was announced by the factory. We do not have a release date yet butexpect it to be selling within 6 weeks.
Everyone LOVED the Astak EZ Reader Basic. It was of decent speed but had only 4 level gray scale and was held back a wee bit by USB 1.0. This device was rock-solid, though, and was one of the best six inch devices on the market. Many reviewers praised it as a direct competitor to the Kindle 2.
Well, the factory looks like they took an old suggestion of mine and dramatically improved it.
First, they added blazing speed. With a new state-of-the-art Epson Controller and 400 MHz processor... page turns are immediate and books come up quickly. This, by itself, made it better that almsot any other 6 inch.
Then they added 16 levels of Grey Scale for fabulous illustrations and images, USB 2.0, and 64MB of SDRAM!! Now we are talking world class,folks!! Oh, and they also went to 16GB on the SD card slot (enough for 8,000 eBooks and your MP3 music).
Lastly, they left the price the same!! WHEN have you ever heard of a device being changed this much without a price increase?? This will still sell between $229 and $249!!
So, now you get the same rock-solid reliability and easy controls on a device that is a speed demon! Think of your Chevy Cobalt being greatly increased in amenities and receiving the hottest 600 horsepower Corvette Engine!! This new PLUS really moves.
I will post when it starts selling. Save your nickels and dimes and get the ideal 6 inch!! Yes, it now has Hyperlinks and a Search Engine! It now has a Visible Clock too! It also has, as always, twin page-turn stations, a by-the-numbers control system, the crush-resistant case and ear buds included, and the same Grade "A" perfect screen. No corners were cut! The MP3 is still on the Music Zone for wonderful sound quality and yes, it still plays music WHILE you read! OH, and it still has 20 formats on it, Adobe Digital Editions, 26 languages, NINE font sizes in ePub and PDF, and a USER-REPLACEABLE rechargeable battery.
Now, let us see Kindle begin to measure up!!
Everyone LOVED the Astak EZ Reader Basic. It was of decent speed but had only 4 level gray scale and was held back a wee bit by USB 1.0. This device was rock-solid, though, and was one of the best six inch devices on the market. Many reviewers praised it as a direct competitor to the Kindle 2.
Well, the factory looks like they took an old suggestion of mine and dramatically improved it.
First, they added blazing speed. With a new state-of-the-art Epson Controller and 400 MHz processor... page turns are immediate and books come up quickly. This, by itself, made it better that almsot any other 6 inch.
Then they added 16 levels of Grey Scale for fabulous illustrations and images, USB 2.0, and 64MB of SDRAM!! Now we are talking world class,folks!! Oh, and they also went to 16GB on the SD card slot (enough for 8,000 eBooks and your MP3 music).
Lastly, they left the price the same!! WHEN have you ever heard of a device being changed this much without a price increase?? This will still sell between $229 and $249!!
So, now you get the same rock-solid reliability and easy controls on a device that is a speed demon! Think of your Chevy Cobalt being greatly increased in amenities and receiving the hottest 600 horsepower Corvette Engine!! This new PLUS really moves.
I will post when it starts selling. Save your nickels and dimes and get the ideal 6 inch!! Yes, it now has Hyperlinks and a Search Engine! It now has a Visible Clock too! It also has, as always, twin page-turn stations, a by-the-numbers control system, the crush-resistant case and ear buds included, and the same Grade "A" perfect screen. No corners were cut! The MP3 is still on the Music Zone for wonderful sound quality and yes, it still plays music WHILE you read! OH, and it still has 20 formats on it, Adobe Digital Editions, 26 languages, NINE font sizes in ePub and PDF, and a USER-REPLACEABLE rechargeable battery.
Now, let us see Kindle begin to measure up!!
Seeking help for any problems
Astak has a Dedicated Astak Forum at MobileRead Forum. Here you can go to have tons of fellow Astak device owners help you with problems. It is a great way to get things done and I monitor the forum much of the time. The link to go to that Dedicated Astak Thread is:
http://mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=204
You can also contact Astak direct at: 1-866-368-8788 or by sending an email to: support@astak.com
I am not a tech person... we have specialists for that, of course. We ARE here to help! But, in any case, the forum is a wonderful and easy way to get advice and make reading on an Astak device a real pleasure!
Also, thank you for all those who wrote about the User Replaceable Rechargeable Battery that Astak puts in all their devices. We see this as a HUGE plus as dealing with a faulty sealed-in battery is very expensive and time-consuming!
http://mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=204
You can also contact Astak direct at: 1-866-368-8788 or by sending an email to: support@astak.com
I am not a tech person... we have specialists for that, of course. We ARE here to help! But, in any case, the forum is a wonderful and easy way to get advice and make reading on an Astak device a real pleasure!
Also, thank you for all those who wrote about the User Replaceable Rechargeable Battery that Astak puts in all their devices. We see this as a HUGE plus as dealing with a faulty sealed-in battery is very expensive and time-consuming!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
User Replaceable Batteries and type of battery
Once again I have received word that another person made the choice to buy the Astak over the Sony because of the User-Replaceable battery. People should realize (and that means REVIEWERS also) that this is growing more important.
Here is why. As prices for quality eBook Readers have broken the $199 barrier... the projection is that new chipsets now in development and new screens now starting development will bring the price down to the sweet spot of $150 for a basic E-INK machine. I don't know when... but likely later this year. This makes the User-Replaceable rechargeable battery that Astak has in ALL their models a major decision maker.
WHY? Let us suppose you buy a Fernley eBook Reader with a sealed-in battery. I use that name as purely fictitious BUT most of the major brands have sealed-in. This Fernley has sealed in. After a year the Fernley starts to hold a poor charge and the battery charge life gets awful. The end user calls Fernley and is told he must pay to mail it to Fernley. Fernley will charge him $80-$100 to replace the battery for their trouble. Fernley than charges him to send it back. The poor end user is left without a device for six weekls! Now he hates Fernley and he understands WHY USER-Replaceable rechargeable batteries make the Astak a great idea.
Now, every eBook Reader has different power requirements. It has to do with providing a long battery-charge life and powering all the features. One battery (maybe a Nokia phone battery) may not work well in all situations. Astak stocks spare bateries which cost very little. And they pop in and out with one screw. Maybe it is a 2 minute job to replace the battery. This allows two things: the swift and cheap replacement of a bad battery and the carrying of a fully-charged spare battery the user can pop right in for long trips. But, my point is that Astak also wishes all batteries can be as readily available online as the 6 inch EZ Reader. Unfortunately the wonderful Pocket PRO has Text-To-Speech and numerous other features that required a battery other than a phone battery. That is the way the factory designed it.
One end user did urge me to please try to use phone batteries in the future. This is an intelligent request; and we will try. But, fundamentally, the factories design the unit and its insides and they decide what battery is needed. Astak only can recommend and we will.
But, whatever Astak model you buy (or REVIEW) it has a USER-REPLACEABLE rechargeable battery and that makes economic sense. The Fernley and its real sister devices are out of step with economics!
Here is why. As prices for quality eBook Readers have broken the $199 barrier... the projection is that new chipsets now in development and new screens now starting development will bring the price down to the sweet spot of $150 for a basic E-INK machine. I don't know when... but likely later this year. This makes the User-Replaceable rechargeable battery that Astak has in ALL their models a major decision maker.
WHY? Let us suppose you buy a Fernley eBook Reader with a sealed-in battery. I use that name as purely fictitious BUT most of the major brands have sealed-in. This Fernley has sealed in. After a year the Fernley starts to hold a poor charge and the battery charge life gets awful. The end user calls Fernley and is told he must pay to mail it to Fernley. Fernley will charge him $80-$100 to replace the battery for their trouble. Fernley than charges him to send it back. The poor end user is left without a device for six weekls! Now he hates Fernley and he understands WHY USER-Replaceable rechargeable batteries make the Astak a great idea.
Now, every eBook Reader has different power requirements. It has to do with providing a long battery-charge life and powering all the features. One battery (maybe a Nokia phone battery) may not work well in all situations. Astak stocks spare bateries which cost very little. And they pop in and out with one screw. Maybe it is a 2 minute job to replace the battery. This allows two things: the swift and cheap replacement of a bad battery and the carrying of a fully-charged spare battery the user can pop right in for long trips. But, my point is that Astak also wishes all batteries can be as readily available online as the 6 inch EZ Reader. Unfortunately the wonderful Pocket PRO has Text-To-Speech and numerous other features that required a battery other than a phone battery. That is the way the factory designed it.
One end user did urge me to please try to use phone batteries in the future. This is an intelligent request; and we will try. But, fundamentally, the factories design the unit and its insides and they decide what battery is needed. Astak only can recommend and we will.
But, whatever Astak model you buy (or REVIEW) it has a USER-REPLACEABLE rechargeable battery and that makes economic sense. The Fernley and its real sister devices are out of step with economics!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
NINE font size increases standard
When the Pocket PRO first hit the market it came out with three font sizes. As Astak is the ONLY eBook Reader manufacturer to have an Astak Dedicated Forum on MobileRead Forum, we immediately heard from end users that three font sizes were not enough. Within one month this was enlarghed to five (5) font sizes. We expected applause on our forum. The reaction was "still not enough"! Within one more month we went to NINE (9) font sizes!!
THAT did the trick and people loved nine font sizes AND the two pages of font style choices to choose from as well.
Every day, I, RobertbEZ, am on that Astak thread listening, solving problems, finding answers, and thanking every end user personally. WHY? Because those Astak Forum members chose the six colors of ther Pocket PRO! They also asked for and got: hyperlinks, a Search Function, better battery charge life, and a visable clock. Astak reaches out to end users!
Yet, some reviewers persist in living in the past. They do not realize the quiet improvements we and 0ur Forum Members have made! They play down the Pocket PRO for only having 3 font sizes! That is ancient history! We have been at nine for many months now!
Now... is this customer service? You bet it is! We let the most learned eBook Reader people on the planet make our devices better by encouraging complaints as well as accolades! Join in on our Astak Dedicated Forum. Go to www.theEZreader.com under "support" and see our FAQ sheet for a link to our forum!!
THAT did the trick and people loved nine font sizes AND the two pages of font style choices to choose from as well.
Every day, I, RobertbEZ, am on that Astak thread listening, solving problems, finding answers, and thanking every end user personally. WHY? Because those Astak Forum members chose the six colors of ther Pocket PRO! They also asked for and got: hyperlinks, a Search Function, better battery charge life, and a visable clock. Astak reaches out to end users!
Yet, some reviewers persist in living in the past. They do not realize the quiet improvements we and 0ur Forum Members have made! They play down the Pocket PRO for only having 3 font sizes! That is ancient history! We have been at nine for many months now!
Now... is this customer service? You bet it is! We let the most learned eBook Reader people on the planet make our devices better by encouraging complaints as well as accolades! Join in on our Astak Dedicated Forum. Go to www.theEZreader.com under "support" and see our FAQ sheet for a link to our forum!!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A Problem with Simple Reason Sometimes
Today we received a letter from a person who purchased an Astak EZ Reader and went to purchase eBooks for it. The person contacted customer service and asked what format(s) she should buy in. She was told that we recommend EPUB and PDF as we have Adobe Digital Editions on the device and that would allow the loading of DRM (copyrighted) eBooks.
Unfortunately, she went to fictionwise.com and purchased a DRM eBook in eReader DRM. Astak is still trying to gain approval to port eReader on their device. We have been trying for a year and it has been well documented. I have said we do not have eReader yet and, although we are trying, there is little to report. The box the unit comes in states the formats that the EZ Reader will accept... some 20 formats. eReader is not listed!
Now she expects to be reinbursed for the device and the eBook she purchased from Fictionwise in the wrong format. So, I again urge everyone to read this blog, tune into the Astak Dedicated Forum on MobileRead Forum, and read the box about what formats you can download in. All of the formats are also on our FAQ sheet at: www.theEZreader.com under "support".
You can download DRM eBooks in Adobe Digital Editions now. Those formats are EPUB and PDF. All other formats are for non-DRM eBooks and there for your convenience for the downloading of even the most obscure titles that are NON-DRM!!
I realize that DRM is confusing. Astak is praying that someday there will be no DRM. But, right now if you want copyrighted eBooks they have to be in EPUB or PDF.
Unfortunately, she went to fictionwise.com and purchased a DRM eBook in eReader DRM. Astak is still trying to gain approval to port eReader on their device. We have been trying for a year and it has been well documented. I have said we do not have eReader yet and, although we are trying, there is little to report. The box the unit comes in states the formats that the EZ Reader will accept... some 20 formats. eReader is not listed!
Now she expects to be reinbursed for the device and the eBook she purchased from Fictionwise in the wrong format. So, I again urge everyone to read this blog, tune into the Astak Dedicated Forum on MobileRead Forum, and read the box about what formats you can download in. All of the formats are also on our FAQ sheet at: www.theEZreader.com under "support".
You can download DRM eBooks in Adobe Digital Editions now. Those formats are EPUB and PDF. All other formats are for non-DRM eBooks and there for your convenience for the downloading of even the most obscure titles that are NON-DRM!!
I realize that DRM is confusing. Astak is praying that someday there will be no DRM. But, right now if you want copyrighted eBooks they have to be in EPUB or PDF.
Monday, February 15, 2010
New Astak products coming!
CES resulted in a lot of new ideas and concepts for Astak. One of the first new products out is a wireless router that is far more!! Shaped like a beautiful football, this device is Touch Screen. You'll be proud to set it on your finest furniture and on your nightstand. It has a full clock and alarm function. It plays videos and does a slide show of your favorite pictures. Using twin side-firing stereo speakers you get internet radio and excellent sound. It has 2GB of memory to store all your stereo music. You can customize it to bring up YOUR favorites... everything from the latest news to weather to stock quotes and more... always right at your fingertips!
I do not want to give out all the details yet as it is due to release in two weeks.
What I want to do is make eBook Reader fans aware of the scope of Astak Consumer Electronics. Every now and then we are going to chat on here about Security Cameras, IP Network Cameras, the latest in eBook Readers, amd new and creative products. Astak is becoming a major force in this Consumer Electronics arena and you will want to know more.
Details upon release!
I do not want to give out all the details yet as it is due to release in two weeks.
What I want to do is make eBook Reader fans aware of the scope of Astak Consumer Electronics. Every now and then we are going to chat on here about Security Cameras, IP Network Cameras, the latest in eBook Readers, amd new and creative products. Astak is becoming a major force in this Consumer Electronics arena and you will want to know more.
Details upon release!
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