The Astak family of eReaders had high hopes to become a viable alternative to the Kindle and Sony ebook readers, but we've been disappointed by the features, despite a relatively cheap price. The EZ Reader Pocket Pro is one of three eReaders unveiled by Astak in October 2009--the 5-inch EZ Reader Pocket Pro, 6-inch EZ Reader Pocket Pro (or EZ Reader Pocket Pro Lite), and the 6-inch EZ-Reader; a whopping 9.7-inch EZ Reader Pocket Pro version is reportedly still in the works. Astak gained great publicity when it announced these products were on the way chock full of features and cheap, but the actual retail versions have less features, so beware the many "reviews" littering the web which hype the Astak readers' planned, but not delivered, capabilities.
The Astak EZ Pocket Pro is actually an American variant of the Chinese Jinke V5, just as the BeBook Mini is the V5 variant for the European market (but with superior firmare and file support.)
The Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro weighs in at a light 6 ounces. The e-ink display is rather standard, with only 8 greyscales displayable, as opposed to the 16 in the leading eReaders. There is no feedback when you press the buttons, a minor annoyance as we prefer a satisfying click typical of most eReaders.
The battery is good for about 8,000 page flips on one charge, good by current standards. Charging the EZ Reader Pocket Pro takes 4 hours via AC outlet or 6 hours via USB cord. The battery is replaceable by the user, part of a welcome trend with newer eReaders. However, at 512MB of memory, it is on the sparse side, but you can add up to a 16GB memory card.
The EZ Reader Pocket Pro supports 17 file types--most of the ebook types, mp3 audio, and a good smattering of graphics formats. It does well with PDFs, allowing reflow of the documents. However, when reading ePub format books, the default is a light grey font and you can't change it, which does get hard on the eyes. One thing we are impressed with is a text-to-speech function, for certain types of English and Chinese files, though not for PDF and EPUB files. Oddly, only the 5-inch EZ Reader Pocket Pro has this function, the 6-inch model does not. You can also play mp3 music files in the background, though there are no speakers, only a 3.5mm headphone jack, with ear buds included.
Menu language is available in English, Spanish, German, French, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian.
Connecting: The Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro has no connectivity other than a USB 2.0 cable, a serious drawback when you consider leading eReaders like the Kindle 2 and Nook have cellular internet access for only a bit more money. The mini USB port itself is recessed, and you may have trouble using cables other than the one provided.
We're rather disappointed as early press releases said the Astak readers would have optional Bluetooth or WiFi support (and we still see a plethora of reviews and blogs out there which report this is as fact), but we'd guess these features were dropped to keep the price down.
Accessories: The EZ Reader Pocket Pro comes with a simple carrying case, USB cable, AC power adapter ( a rarity in a time when most eReaders ship only with USB connection for powering), ear buds, and a wrist strap. The faux leather case looks good, but can be a bit fiddly to close, requiring you to align the magnets just right.
That said, Astak themselves have no other eReader accessories on sale on their website, and third party developer products are sparse.
Price: The Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro retails for a relatively cheap $229. However, if you're looking for a cheap, pure-function eReader, then we'd go for something like the Sony PRS 300 (a third generation eReader) at $200 over this first generation EZ Reader Pocket Pro.
eBook Reader Basics