Astak EB-05EZWHT EZ E-Book Reader Pocket Pro with 5" E-Ink Screen, White

Pros: - excellent quality of the image, readable, contrast and clear
- supports *many* formats
- simple and easy UI
- very ergonomic, you can scroll pages from left, bottom or right sides easily
- comes with excellent case, 2GB SD card with 300 books, cables, strap, even headphones
- I have compared it with a friend's Kindle - Astak is much better - more ergonomic, simpler, smaller, more efficient. Well, it doesn't have a 3G service or a browser (and no keyboard either), so you cannot directly purchase books anywhere or text-browse the Net, but if you have your own ebooks which you want to read, Astak delivers it in an excellent way. It is simply for a different ebook reading audience.

Cons: - something which is common for *ALL* readers (I've checked SONY personally, too): pretty clumsy PDF renderer. If you have a PDF book with diagrams and graphics, the default size of the screen (5") makes it almost impossible to read. On a 6" reader it's a little better, but still difficult and unpleasant. If you use the zoom feature ... the pictures, tables, etc. get lost or mangled. That's life. HOWEVER - this device offers to *rotate* the document and read it on the landscape side, which makes it readable indeed! Sony's 6" Touch which I've tried at Best Buy (worst service ever - the sales rep couldn't plug the device to the power for a while, after I've got rid of him I've figured the power plug is partially broken and would charge only if you press it forward) had similar rendering issues. It can zoom gradually, but...only the current page - next page is not zoomed. In addition, the "Touch" is 2x heavier than this device and way more expensive.And why would you need a touch-screen?!

Other Thoughts: Do not expect all of your books to be displayed the same as they are printed. Normal fiction is perfectly fine - I've selected higher size in low light (airplane) and was able to read no problems with my eyes not tired at all! However, textbooks, computer books, anything that has diagrams, sections, frames, pictures - don't expect it to be the same as printed. I've tried converting PDF to ePUB - no luck, same uglyness when you zoom. However, the landscape mode is good and sufficient.
The device does not come with an e-book service. You must have .txt, .pdf, .chm, etc. of your own.

You can buy this device with confidence, it's good.

Pros: Great little reader. Has been able to read anything I've thrown at it. Multiple font zoom levels make reading it easy on the eyes. I've had it a month, charged it when I got it and haven't had to plug it in since. The SD card slot means I can load tons of music and still have room for over 50 ebooks. I tried out a comparable Sony reader; this one beat it hands down. For the price, you can't get anything better.

Cons: Some pdf files have a bit of trouble. One graphics heavy book could not be zoomed on. Since it wasn't exactly a legitimate copy anyway, I'm not gonna complain.

Other Thoughts: If you're on the fence about ebook readers, hop off and get one of these. Well worth it.

Pros: Reads ALL the formats, including the compressed ones (zip/rar)
Latest firmware has fixed the power leak; now I can use the Reader for month(s?) or so without recharging! SDHC!

Cons: Not so good for PDFs. Very slow for grafic rich files. I tried to read the Lonely Planet guides, and besides all the maps being scrambled, going through the content was real pain. Zooming the fonts in PDF can be unpredictable as well.
Same goes to PowerPoint and to some extent MSWord files.
Hence 4 stars

Other Thoughts: Overall I am really happy with this gizmo; it surves its purpose really well, and regular firmware updates give some hope that eventually they wil fix the zooming issues as well.
As for the graphics part, I think it's hopeless - the processor is just not powerfull enough to handle the rendering.

Pros: - Easy to read screen
- SD Card Expansion
- No DRM (not locked to a certain vendor)
- Reads all sorts of formats
- Battery Life is excellent
- Can load and play music while reading
- Great Color Choices!

Cons: - Battery drains quickly if you leave it in standby mode for too long without activity. For long breaks make sure to turn it off completely.
- Slow to respond sometimes
- Minimal musical controls
- Has trouble with some formats (my experience epub and lit)

Other Thoughts: Purchased this so I would have something to read while flying and it fits that bill perfectly. Only annoying thing is that, unlike a paper book, you are asked to turn it off during takeoff and landing.

Pros: -plays EVERYTHING
-awesome customer support
-good build quality

Cons: -none so far

Other Thoughts: I really enjoy my Ez Reader. I bought it on a whim as sort of a way to "test" the market to see if I would like it or not. I have been more pleased with it and find myself reading more on the device than I expected. I have used it to checkout books from my library as well. The only downside, and it is not Astak's fault, is that the two big bookstores, A*azon and B**nes and N*ble, have their own devices and that limits your ability to buy ebooks to some degree. If one of those two were to open up their books to all readers, I would be buying books very often for my EZ Reader.

Pros: Love it!
-Good pricing!
-Supports multiple format.
-Automatically index chapters for easy browsing (for most ebooks).
-Support bookmark and open the last page read.
-MP3 quality is outstanding and can read book while reading.
-Can read ebook in audio (English language) if you just want to listen instead of reading.
-very long battery life.

Cons: -Open a page takes in between 1-2 seconds.
-open/exit a ebook title takes between 3-6 seconds. Sometimes it is longer especially when it is trying to read the page you bookmarked (large ebook with hundred of pages).
-Sometime boot up is kinda slow. Most of the time, it's fast.

Other Thoughts: For potential buyer or user, transfer your files to SD card using SD card reader instead of using direct USB transfer from the ebook reader.

I am hoping they are using fastest processor in the future and I'm planning to buy another one as a gift. Everybody should own this ebook reader especially for those who works demand you to travel around. In my case, I have all my TM/FM and educational reading materials fit in my pocket everywhere I go. Good job Astak.

Pros: - Great color selection, Comes with a case and does a great job at protecting my investment. Easy to use with a large variety of file types that can be used. I like the fact it's plug-in play and you can create folders and transfer file without a hassle. Price is just what I was looking for. The battery on this device has been amazing.

Cons: None so far, everything I could want in a device.

Other Thoughts: I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a quality product that does about anything you could ask for from a E-reader device.