09-11-2009, 05:31 PM | #1 |
Zealot
Posts: 112
Karma: 2781
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: VA, USA
Device: nook, Ipod touch
|
Impressions of the EZReader Pro from a new member
Hello all! Long time lurker - first (well, second) time poster.
I wanted to upgrade my old eBook reader, a Cybook Gen3 (affectionately referred to as Mr. Fugly) for something faster, and after doing some research here at mobileread, I pre-ordered an EZReader Pro. I’ve had it about a week now and I’m really happy with it. I thought I’d go ahead and finally create an account and share my impressions of the device. First of all, the EZReader Pro is a nice looking device. Mine is white and it looks much better in person than I though it would. Definitely won’t be calling this one Mr. Fugly, Jr. As others have mentioned, the device has a rubbery coating (the buttons too) that feels really good in the hand. It gives the device a nice soft feeling and does not show fingerprints. The included case has a real leather exterior and the interior is a cream colored textured pleather (I think it is anyway). However, the clips that hold the unit in the case are plastic (clear acrylic). The unit is snapped into the case when you get it and is very firmly held. I took it out of the case to peek at the battery, and it was a little hard to get the EZRP out. I can see problems with breakage of the clips in the future if you take the unit out of the case often. Also included in the box is a USB cable, a wall adapter, a wrist strap that can be tied onto the bottom of the unit, a screwdriver and two extra screws for the battery compartment, and a set of headphones. There was also a 1 gig SD card with 300 books in text and pdb (TEXtREAd) format. These are a variety of public domain books from Project Gutenberg. I think Robertb said that this was a gift from Astak for those who pre-ordered, so the card may not be included in the future. The text on the screen is very sharp and images look much better with 8 gray levels instead of 4. Compared to my Gen3's 4 gray level screen, the background on the EZRP seems to be a tad bit darker. I don't know if that is due to the white unit or not. One of the main reasons I purchased the EZReader Pro was because I could read my existing mobi files on it without having to format shift them. It will open many other types of files; I opened up the following types to test: 1. Mobi
2. Epub
I am keeping my fingers crossed for DRM Ereader support. I have several books I purchased when I used to use a Palm to read on and I would love to read them on my EZReader Pro! Ereader also has dictionary support, so it would be nice to have that feature included if Astak can work out the legalities with B&N. The TTS feature wasn’t one of the reasons I purchased the EZRP, but I tried it out. Overall, it’s not bad. It adds pauses at commas and periods and the sentences flow fairly well. There were a couple of things that it didn’t read correctly. The word café was pronounced caf and the name Jan that appeared at the end of the sentence got pronounced January. Contractions are pronounced as two separate words – don’t is pronounced as don tee. There are some things I would like to see improved, but overall this is a great device! It is well worth the money if you are looking for a compact device for pleasure reading. Wow, this was a long post - hope it wasn't too redundant. Last edited by tamzilla; 09-13-2009 at 12:25 PM. Reason: Correction on Mobi format |
09-11-2009, 07:43 PM | #2 | |
Astak Director, Bus. Devl
Posts: 2,560
Karma: 2500000
Join Date: Apr 2008
Device: Astak Pocket PRO
|
First Impressions and Review
Quote:
Thank you for a good and thorough review. More changes to improve are being done and a new firmware upgrade has been promised for Monday if I remember correctly. I am very happy that you like the Pocket PRO and we will try to make you even happier! |
|
Advert | |
|
09-11-2009, 08:11 PM | #3 |
Bombers win four straight
Posts: 7,619
Karma: 31487351
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite
|
Thanks for that excellent review, tamzilla!
I'm very curious as to what the 300 free books include. |
09-11-2009, 08:11 PM | #4 |
Addict
Posts: 206
Karma: 7270
Join Date: Aug 2009
Device: K3 wifi
|
Thanks for a great review Tamzilla!
|
09-11-2009, 08:15 PM | #5 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 75,745
Karma: 134321338
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Is it true that ePub and PDF are the only two formats that support DRM and the rest have to be DRM free to work?
|
Advert | |
|
09-11-2009, 08:44 PM | #6 |
Geekette
Posts: 435
Karma: 3335
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: NSW, Australia
Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360
|
Yes, good question Jon. I'd like to know that too...
|
09-11-2009, 09:20 PM | #7 |
Astak Director, Bus. Devl
Posts: 2,560
Karma: 2500000
Join Date: Apr 2008
Device: Astak Pocket PRO
|
Only pdf and epub are DRM
Adobe Digital Editions sets up the format. Astak does not. Adobe gets DRM in pdf and epub. Astak gives you 14 and more non-DRM formats. Amazon has made Mobipocket impossible to get now for device manufacturers and it is EXCLUSIVE anyway (you cannot put Mobi and ADE on the same device).
Astak is trying to get Fictionwise eReader for DRM as well; but Barnes&Noble still must produce and OK a workable contract. I have heard of NO device that offers more than one DRM format. So, there is nothing deficient here. It is the norm to have one or two formats as the DRM. Last edited by Robertb; 09-11-2009 at 09:22 PM. |
09-11-2009, 09:27 PM | #8 |
Geekette
Posts: 435
Karma: 3335
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: NSW, Australia
Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360
|
I for me am not making a problem, not a dealbreaker for me. I was, however, curious.
|
09-12-2009, 01:16 AM | #9 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,470
Karma: 13095790
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Grass Valley, CA
Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7
|
|
09-12-2009, 08:15 AM | #10 | |
Zealot
Posts: 112
Karma: 2781
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: VA, USA
Device: nook, Ipod touch
|
Quote:
I, um, found ways to make my purchased DRM mobi books readable a while ago.. |
|
09-12-2009, 08:24 AM | #11 |
Zealot
Posts: 112
Karma: 2781
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: VA, USA
Device: nook, Ipod touch
|
I've attached a couple of files that list the txt and pdb files included on the SD Card. The few I opened were Project Gutenberg files.
|
09-12-2009, 08:34 AM | #12 |
Addict
Posts: 344
Karma: 1222222
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Florida
Device: Sony PRS-505
|
Tamzilla - Enjoyed your review very much. It was straight forward and didn't bash other readers. So, do you have any pics?
Robertb - will the SD card be included in future purchases? |
09-12-2009, 08:36 AM | #13 |
Zealot
Posts: 112
Karma: 2781
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: VA, USA
Device: nook, Ipod touch
|
Thanks everyone for your comments! I'll be happy to try and answer questions if any of you have some.
One additional comment on the case. The plastic clips I mentioned aren't flimsy, so I don't think you would need to worry about them breaking off with normal use. You do need to use some force to bend the clip back far enough to get the reader out, just be careful not to use too much force. |
09-12-2009, 06:34 PM | #14 | |
Zealot
Posts: 112
Karma: 2781
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: VA, USA
Device: nook, Ipod touch
|
Quote:
-- ok, so I need to read the FAQ again and figure out this photo thing. Here are links to the photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink Last edited by tamzilla; 09-12-2009 at 06:39 PM. Reason: pictures wouldn't attach |
|
09-12-2009, 07:53 PM | #15 |
Bombers win four straight
Posts: 7,619
Karma: 31487351
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
EZReader Pro and the hidden PID | nappyrabbit | Astak EZReader | 7 | 01-11-2010 10:03 AM |
New to EZReader Pocket Pro | stowerh | Introduce Yourself | 2 | 01-08-2010 07:44 PM |
how to upgrade ezreader pocket pro??? | asdx | Astak EZReader | 3 | 01-04-2010 10:42 AM |
Just ordered ezreader pro-affirm me! | tdel010 | Astak EZReader | 10 | 11-21-2009 11:53 PM |
EZReader Pro Bookmarks | tmgplc | Astak EZReader | 2 | 09-07-2009 12:24 PM |