ASTAK EB-05EZWHT 5in Pocket PRO EZ Reader-review
Astak is a non-name-brand company that plunged into the e-Reader market a couple of years ago when it was firmly established as one of the most productive e-Book reader developers. The review below is of 5’’Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro.
Compared to 6’’ Kindle Wireless Reading Device (Choose device for e-book reading) the model is smaller, but just like with other 5’’ non-touchscreen e-Book readers (for example, Sony Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300) ), this is probably an advantage. The model’s list price is $199, the same as for the Sony, so it would be a good idea to compare these two devices. Both the models are also compatible with Adobe Digital Editions that lets you download and read electronic books in the secure ePub file type. Apart from Amazon Kindle, this format is more and more popular with online booksellers.
Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro is 6’’ high by 4,1’’ wide by 4’’ deep. It weighs 6 ounces, so the size is very similar to Sony PRS-300. Unlike, for example, the iPhone, it would be difficult to call Astak’s device a pocket one, but it will still fit easily in most inside pockets of sports jackets or in a cargo pant pocket.
Speaking about the design, EZ Reader Pro has a rubberized finish. According to Astak, this material is less likely to be scratched than that of Sony Readers. The feel of Astak’s device is quite nice indeed, but Sony still looks glossier and sleeker.
A more pleasant addition of EZ e-Book reader is its exceptionally nice cover made of faux-leather with a magnetic clasp – it will keep the cover conveniently closed when you finish reading.
The internal memory of the device is 512 MB but you can easily increase it up to 16 GB with memory cards, thanks to the SD expansion slot. The user replaceable battery allows up to 2 weeks of reading on a single batter charge. All these are quite satisfactory characteristics.
Astak e-Book reader is available in several colors: black, white, blue, red, purple and pink. Just like most other e-paper devices, both the 5’’ and 6’’ Astak EZ Readers use the e-Ink technology which helps to make the letters on the screen look more like print. Unfortunately, one of the infamous features of e-Ink is present in this device as well: when turning a page or scrolling from one menu item to another, the screen takes some seconds to refresh. Also, until the page is refreshed, there may be some ghosting of the menu screen (to pop it up you must press a button). Apart from that, the screen is quite easy on the eyes with its 800x600 resolution and 8-level gray scale. However, like with all other readers like this, the environment should be well-lit: there’s no backlight like in laptops.
One of the main advantages of 5’’Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro is the number of file types it supports. Here’s the full list: TXT, RTF, DOC (Microsoft Word), Adobe PDF (reflow capability), PDB, EPUB, FB2, HTML, PRC, LIT, WOL, TIF, CHM, ZIP, RAR, DJVU, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP and MP3. As you can see, you can even listen to music as you read or see image files – without any color, they look like something on Etch-a-Sketch.
EZ Reader Pro is not connected to any global electronic book store like Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Sony. However, you can still download book from lesser known stores, such as Books on Board or Shortcovers. Other websites also offer numerous free books.
If you want to download a title from Shortcover, you must have Adobe Digital Editions installed on your computer. Download the e-book (it will be a secure ePub file), then transfer it using Adobe software to the e-Reader via USB. You can either read documents, e-books and PDF files vertically or you can manually rotate the screen so that the text is in horizontal (landscape) mode.
With the Adobe Software you can also borrow books from local libraries that have this technology support. You just download the ePub file from your local library, transfer it to the Pocket Pro Reader, and after a set period the file expires automatically (usually it’s 14 to 21 days).
Apart from library lending, you can also download Google Books that are available in the open format. Most of these books are public domain from before WWI, but that means that there are also a lot of classics, such as Jane Austen, William Shakespeare or Arthur Conan Doyle. And once again, all these books are absolutely free.
With a pair of earphones you can activate the built-in text-to-speech function, so you’ll be able to listen to practically any document. While Amazon Kindle can only voice certain titles (depending on whether the author or publisher allows it), EZ Pocket Pro supports any text. Unfortunately though, the voice is much more monotonous and robotic than Kindle’s implementation, so it isn’t likely that Astak users will resort to it very often.
Although EZ Reader Pocket Pro isn’t a bad device, the interface isn’t one of it’s strengths since navigation seems to be a little difficult. For example, if you want to zoom in a PDF text, you push buttons 3 times. First you enter the menu, then you select “zoom” and only then you can choose one of the sizes (extra-large, large, medium, small, or extra-small).
Another irritating thing is that you can’t scroll down your library items with the rocker switch on the side of the device. You must instead press the number of the item you need on the set of number buttons under the screen. The side rocker button is only used for turning pages when reading a book or to list to the next set of titles in a large file folder.
By the way, Cool-er e-book reader has similar button label navigation, which is rather confusing.
The problem is that Astak and the likes normally buy off-the-shelf designs of Chinese e-Book readers. The devices themselves will work quite well (for instance, the display has bright contrast and is very similar to Sony’s), but they still look a little generic and lacking in polish. The same problem was with early photo frames: the displaying of images was absolutely fine but the interface was rather clumsy.
If Astak’s price was $149 or less, it wouldn’t be a problem dealing with these shortcomings. But you can’t get it cheaper than $199 – and sometimes you have to pay even more than that – which makes the e-Reader far less compelling. Especially if you take into account Barnes & Noble or Amazon devices with more extensive packages, such as solid bookstore support and built-in Wi-Fi. And they sell at just $259.
To sum it up, the main advantages Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro are its compact size and extensive file format support. If this is what you need and you’re not looking for compatibility with Amazon or Barnes & Noble titles – then Astak is worth considering.
If you want something glossier, the Sony Pocket Reader will be a good option, even though it doesn’t have an SD-card expansion slot.
Home|Kindle Amazon,Sony,Aluratek
( device for read electronic book)
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
