ivanivanovich wrote:Agreed. People, go check out the Entourage forum on MobileRead!

-- Ed

Good tip. Looks like even though much of the access to the enTourage site is gone, some of the content is still up. Found the link to the update page on the MR site.

https://www.entourageedge.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=265

Thanks!

MichaelSF wrote:I've got some stuff to do and will post later here, since I am the self-annointed tablet guy.

/cough/ Your knowledge base might benefit from talking with people who own the Pocket Edge and have experience with upgrading it, downgrading it, rooting it, modifying system files, pulling apart the rom, transferring over Google apps (including Market), and so on.

I just can't seem to recommend the forum at Mobile Read enough!

-- Ed

smittypap wrote:OK. Who bought one of these last time 'round? Report please!

I went for it last time and I have enjoyed it so far. As long as you're not expecting it to be an iPad, you shouldn't be too unhappy. I did the upgrade to 2.2, which made it faster and easier to use, and I got hooked up with the Amazon Android Market, which is cool. I don't run much in the way of apps, since I wanted a reader and email checker more than anything. A few free game apps I tried didn't want to work with it, but I had no qualms deleting them, since they were, you know, free. Basically, it works fine as a basic e-ink reader and reasonably well as a basic Android wi-fi device. For the money, what more do you want? Some of the comments make me think too many people out there want to drive a Corvette on a Geo Metro budget.

SlideMe is good for getting apps, many are free.

kam17 wrote:since weight is an issue for me: in the CNet video, the guy said they weighed 5 pounds. In the specs on Woot, it says 1.35. Perhaps this is an updated model?

The five pounds refers to the full-size version, I'm sure. 1.35 is right for this model. In some reading situations (in bed), it can be a bit heavy, though no heavier than some books.

Yes-I would like to know the reason for the price drop. You must have had alot of unsold units to make it your product of the day and also drop the price. I assume those of us are out of luck who paid the higher price?

lets say i have a friend that downloads ebook off torrents illegally. can i put those onto this tablet and read them???

smittypap wrote:OK. Who bought one of these last time 'round? Report please!

I bought one the last time around...just purchased a second one

Felton10 wrote:Yes-I would like to know the reason for the price drop. You must have had alot of unsold units to make it your product of the day and also drop the price. I assume those of us are out of luck who paid the higher price?

I assume the price has dropped because manufacture has stopped, the Entourage store has closed and the device's future is limited. Those of us who bought it before probably got the huge drop from the list price because these things were about to happen. We -- at least I -- didn't know they were about to happen but could have guessed it. I don't know if Woot knew, but that's sometimes why deals are availabe, and it's part of the Woot game. If I had paid the price Entourage had asked, I would be truly dismayed.

leadguitar06 wrote:I bought one of these the last time Woot had them and I absolutely love mine. It has nearly replaced my laptop. Granted, I'm just a stay at home mom so I don't need a laptop for school or work, but it's great and there's a website where you can get free children's books (and adult classics, as well).

Please post the URL for free books.

Felton10 wrote:I assume those of us are out of luck who paid the higher price?

Not at all! Your luck was excellent - you got it sooner than these folks will!

-- Ed

agingdragqueen wrote:Just an FYI- we confirmed that enTourage is still supporting our customers and can be reached at 1-866-639-0080.

Anyone know where to find the GPL code downloads corresponding to the binary Ermine upgrade? Thanks.

ivanivanovich wrote:Get "root-level" access to the software, which is sorta like having administrator privileges on a Windows computer. You can change basic functioning of the device if you so desire. But also just tweak little things that you otherwise couldn't.

-- Ed

Ed, I very much appreciate your providing such good information. TU.

If one roots the device (Ermine installed) will I loose the ereader functions?

Also, could you elaborate on "change basic functioning of the device" and "tweak little things that you otherwise couldn't" mean.

Denimbear wrote:Im left handed here. I see that it is set up For right handed people. Does this thing "Flip" around for Us Lefties ??

Yes it flips the way you are asking. Im a lefty but left mine as is, so that the e-ink side, which supports annotation, stays on the left. But you can flip it to the right.

Different question but just fyi -the android screen will flip (in place) 90 degrees in consecutive directions.

I bought this when I came out before. I admit, I love mine. That being said, since last time, the Entourage Edge store has closed as the product has been discontinued. That's not a big deal as far as I'm concerned, but I don't know if they still offer the Android update in Beta now. Without that, there are a lot of apps you won't be able to use. As there is no gyroscope or GPS, you can't use apps that require them, but otherwise, I'm happy with mine.
I think Entourage did a poor job of marketing this gadget. Everyone seems fascinated with it and excited about it when they see it. I think they never found a market--it's too complicated for a Luddite but not high tech enough for a geek.

deb0031 wrote:I bought one last time...at a higher price. It's been two months and I can't seem to make mine work. It is not quite the "ready out of the box" product as it seems. I have not had much luck downloading applications or updates. Now, I do not have a high level of tech savvyness so that may account for my challenges.

I had some issues too, but I found their tech support incredibly helpful. If you call, they'll talk you through every step and follow up. And little to no waiting time on the phone.

I bought one last time they were on here and really like it. No, it isn't as nice as many of the faster, larger, capacitance touchscreen models, but I knew that when I bought it and didn't expect it to be. I had been looking at both e-Ink based readers and an Android tablet (separately), but this cost me barely more than the former and adds much of the functionality I'd get from the latter. I may still get a 10-inch Android tablet later, but this is working well for me at the moment.

Regarding MichaelSF's comment that upgrading to Android 2.2 would likely slow it down: You'd think it would (it seems only logical), but it doesn't seem to be the case here. I'm not sure how they pulled it off, but the 2.2 build they released actually seems peppier than the original 1.6 build.

rihoward1@gmail.com wrote:I bought one the last time around...just purchased a second one

Yep - love mine. Needed an ereader and I don't have a phone with a data plan already. So my decision point was, am I willing to sacrifice battery life on my ereader to have a free android toy built in. And yes I am. I charge it each night and get two toys for the price of one.

There are better dedicated ereaders and there are better dedicated tablets. But for an all in one device at this price point, you cant beat it.

chuckz1487 wrote:lets say i have a friend that downloads ebook off torrents illegally. can i put those onto this tablet and read them???

I'm converting everything to epub (via calibre) and it works great. So I can vouch for epub (and calibre turns anything into epub).

pilgrimfl wrote:Please post the URL for free books.

There are lots of places. Google 'Free Epub'. One such place is http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

[quote postid="4534288" user="calbaer"]I got mine the last time around, and, just after typing "woot.com" today, I tried again to find out how to put it in a power-saving sleep mode. From what I can tell, the only "sleep mode" you get drains the batteries in a few hours; hardly what you want from any computing device, let alone a reader. This makes it nearly useless unless you plan on using (and charging) it all the time, since start-up takes far too long.

When I close mine it goes into sleep mode and the battery lasts for days.....

How will you get the batteries replaced after they have worn out???

mokel22 wrote:This runs Android 2.2 after an update, just an FYI.

Here is a link for the 2.2 update

by glow_edge - 6/5/11
https://www.entourageedge.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=265

If folk know of newer, do tell!

turtlegir1 wrote:I kinda want one - am I crazy? This seems like a really cool idea, if not a perfect execution of said idea....

By the way, does anyone know if it plays mp3s, i.e., could I put audiobooks on it, too?

Yes to mp3 and avi's. You can also load Overdrive app and then check out audio & epub books from your library.

Peepers0216 wrote:Whats the reason for this being bad on your eyes. Ex: small font or contrast. Are you unable to adjust font size on the e-reader like you can on a Kindle.

Can't change the font but you can certainly go through several zoom levels. I love reading ebooks on mine. His comment may deal with books that have embedded pictures.

janoc7 wrote:I feel dumb asking this question but...how does the red one look (in-person of course)? Does it look girly?

This is the only video I could find with the red one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1q4GGnFGLw

The best look at it is at 33:15.

Looks quite nice IMO. I sprung for the black one last night already and I'm kinda wishing I'd chosen red over the boring black. Can't complain though, I didn't want to risk missing out because of a sellout (though that was pretty unlikely in hindsight, considering Woot sold something like 2400 the last time around and w/o selling out). And also this:

RageCage12 wrote:I hate to be pedantic, but the caption underneath the image on the main page is not entirely correct. For those of you thinking of purchasing the red version to do any kind of actual work on (i.e. anything requiring critical thinking or on which your performance will be measured), there is a growing body of research indicating that viewing the color red can decrease performance. For instance: http://www.psych.rochester.edu/faculty/elliot/documents/2007_ElliotMaierMollerFriedmanMeinhardt_Color.pdf

So, really, the red version does kinda have a secret meaning.

How well would this work as an overgrown PDA for maintaining a mobile contact list? Thoughts?

rbrill77 wrote:Can't change the font but you can certainly go through several zoom levels. I love reading ebooks on mine. His comment may deal with books that have embedded pictures.

When I wrote that I was referring to textbook PDFs, books can easily be read. I just need to hold the device 6 inches in front of my face to read textbooks on this. Reflow would work if it was just a regular ol' pdf, but the fact that it is a textbook makes it so you have to read it page by page. I guess I can elaborate on the reflow feature in case no one has yet. It is great for pdfs with minimal pictures and no columns, but pictures and diagrams throw off the text and I could never get columns to work well. It will convert a PDF into a larger fonted and easily read e-book-esk format.

How do I update (upgrade?) the version 1.** android to something more useful?

mwarrenus wrote:Anyone know where to find the GPL code downloads corresponding to the binary Ermine upgrade? Thanks.

Mmm ... they released a tiny few pieces ... at the moment I don't remember what it was for, and I don't have (on this computer) the note I made to myself as to where that page is. I don't even remember which release they were for. How's that for being unhelpful!

You'd get a much better answer than mine if you ask on the forum.

-- Ed

rnieves wrote:How will you get the batteries replaced after they have worn out???

Excellent question! The battery's not intended to be customer-accessible. I've seen it when I pried the case open, but I was looking at something else at the time and didn't look closely for connectors on the ribbon cable that seems to run from the battery into the deep, dark interior.

It might be best to set aside a few bucks every week to upgrade to something newer when the Pocket Edge croaks.

-- Ed

Does anyone know if I can install other language virtual keyboards on this?
I'd like to get it as a gift for someone who will use it in language other than English

Looks like they're out of red

meritas wrote:How do I update (upgrade?) the version 1.** android to something more useful?

You download a file, put it on a USB drive, and reboot the device with the USB drive inserted and while you hold a couple of buttons and click your heels together and say, "There's no place like home."

More details on this forum.

-- Ed

edited to fix forum link

deb0031 wrote: Now, I do not have a high level of tech savvyness so that may account for my challenges.

If you haven't already visit very helpful people!

Gunner...

starzhinskaya wrote:Does anyone know if I can install other language virtual keyboards on this?
I'd like to get it as a gift for someone who will use it in language other than English

Yes, there are a variety of third party Input Method Editors (IMEs) that will provide onscreen keyboards for other languages. In order to get the best selection of IMEs, it probably make sense to install the Android 2.2 update others have mentioned.

janoc7 wrote:I feel dumb asking this question but...how does the red one look (in-person of course)? Does it look girly?

No!

Does anyone know what the functionality of the eReader side is? Can you highlight text? If so, can you save highlighted text to a Word doc. I think I read somewhere that it will open Word docs? I guess you aren't able to install Kindle for Android on the eInk (eReader) side, but how go is the built-in eReader software? Does it allow you to change font size for example?

This is a good deal for an ebook plus tablet computer. It's probably not the top of the line ebook or tablet computer, but for the price, what do you expect. I bought it for personal productivity and will be using the calendar feature and will try to integrate that with google calendar which is what work uses.

Taking this on a vacation beats taking a full fledge notebook.

This duel-book sounds like what my teacher needs... here's my question: I see it has a camera and a microphone, so can it skype? Please hit me back quickly so I can order one for him. Thanks : )