It's one thing to see the
Entourage Edge in a controlled demonstration by a company representative, something else entirely in the capable hands on
CNET's Ina Fried. Ina got down with a prototype of the
Marvell-powered, dual-display, 9.7-inch E Ink and 10-inch LCD hybrid with built-in WiFi. The video walkthrough after the break shows that Android-powered resistive touchscreen browsing the web and launching other apps from the familiar Android desktop. The E Ink display lets you read EPUB and PDF files, as you'd expect, in addition to taking notes and manipulating text with the help of an included stylus. You can also move content between the displays and record audio via a pair of mics (one to record the lecture, one to cancel the noise). Unfortunately, Fried says that the device is still buggy and "definitely has the look and feel of a first-generation product." Sounds like the company has its work cut out in order to launch as planned in February as a textbook / notebook replacement for "typical highschool students" with $490 to burn. Let's hope they have more luck with that than Amazon did in its early
Princeton pilot. Right.
[Thanks, Henry]
posted December 16th 2009 3:17AM
I will wait for the Microsoft Courier thank you.
P.S.
Is that a guy or a girl? I an thinking girl.
@TheCow5
Gotta be a guy, but its so hard to tell, Man hands.
@TheCow5 Wow at $490 its a tough one, if it was cheaper I'd get it but I'll have to wait and see the Courier myself. About the guy/girl thing...your guess is as good as mine.. You never know these days..
@TheCow5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ina_Fried
Prior to June 2003, Fried transitioned from male to female and changed her associated byline from "Ian Fried" to "Ina Fried.
@TheCow5 I had to do a double-take on your username. Moo to you my bovine brother.
@TheCow5 A handsome woman for sure.
@TheCow5
Even though the Courier is a cool concept I think it might be 2-3 times more expensive than this device, making it impractical for college students on a budget.
@TheCow5 Ian Fried to Ina Fried according to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ina_Fried
Students are already heftily burned :) They ain't gonna burn anything.
How well/fast does it handle PDF? I find that to be the only thing I care about when it comes to any reader.
its a guyrl
It's Pat! lol, I had a true WTFIT moment.
Too expencive. E-readers have got to be an impulse buy. I was tempted the other day when reading a ton of journal articles but the price is prohibitively expencive.
@grindboy that's why I bought a PRS-300!
@grindboy
It s not a e reader, there is also a tablet function and this is unique at the moment :o
But I am waiting for Microsoft Courier, too!
Hoping it will be released anytime :o
I'm leaning towards guy, that voice just can't be a womans?!
@cycro99
Here's all the info people (apparently) need
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ina_Fried
It looks a bit heavy
transgender: http://www.nlgja.org/publications/articles/fried_transition.htm
Can I get a little more bezel with my screens?
/sarcasm
Oh, it comes with BOTH screens, phew. I thought I was going to have to pay extra for the second screen.
I think I want it. I've got desktops for the heavy processing, this would be for reading journals and quick web browsing. If I was able to watch films on the LCD part it'd be perfect for travelling.
If only some device with a Pixel Qi screen would be announced. Then I could make a better decision
At first I thought I really liked this idea, but the more I think about it, I don't so much. Also, the fact that the screens aren't the same size and shape bothers me from an aesthetic standpoint.
Personally, it's too big for me. I do like the dual screen setup, but it needs to be smaller overall.
@groberts1980 +1
They need to make it the size of a paperback (get rid of the huge bezel).
Yes, I know, the original is aimed at students and textbooks. Great. Now make a smaller model for the rest of us who don't need textbook sized page everyday.
@tmarks11 definitely. There must be a big reason for the bezel, so we can assume that it was a trade off. Apple just went with a big bezel too, most likely to keep your hands from touching the screen while you hold it as a book. I like the idea of it being almost normal sized though, because i can read a larger book, but smalling down the internet is a hassle and as long as you are going to be able to fold it over like a tablet, I'm fine with a larger footprint.
Too expensive. Too big to take it with you on the train...-) You can as well take a netbook with you then.
In fact, the e-readers on pda's, smartphones and ipod/iphones are unbeatable for convenience and price. Still.
@JohnT NO way, man. Reading ebooks on smartphones or ipod-sized PMPs is a terrible strain on the eyes. Considering the cost of the Kindle DX, this will be a bargain if they can stay at that pricepoint.
I'm confused as to how's it's "too big to take on a train"...that statement makes no sense to me, as it's not that much larger than the average 10"-screen netbook - or a good hardcover novel.
@Davin Black
Depends probably on the size of the train...;-)
pretty cool concept. maybe we'll see it at a carrier subsidized?
ok, i cant tell if that is a guy or a girl. This definatly is an interested product, but i don't know where we can get our books from on the go. I think that if you are in the marked for a ereader in this pricerange, you might as wel get a kindle dx, and spend the extra 200 bucks right!
Right said Fre(i)d.
Every time I see another e-reader I think, it would be nice if it could connect to the wireless service of my choice. Then I think, oh then it would be a netbook.
Then I think, why does it need 2 screens? Why can't it just do everything on one? Sees like it would not help battery life any, among other issues.
@MilesBFree Oh, and Thomas, station :-)
One word: "Entourage" ick.
Book on one side, and with ACV and some CBR's, comics on the right.
*Nerdgasm*
Hurry up colour e-ink, and rid us of this crap. One kindle/nook size colour e-ink device, that's what we're all waiting for, surely - at a decent price or available on a plan. Sold.
@AstroSeven the Pixel Qi (chee) is what you mean and it's still not like e-ink because it has a refresh rate. The glory of e-ink is that it is really there, not being "refreshed" 60-240 times per second. color e-ink won't help with refresh rates because in order for it to really be e-ink it needs to hold an image without power to the screen and the image needs to be ambient light illuminated. I think that till we get real tech (beyond PixelQi) this will be the best of both, just that it only is useful for students and people who read books or online newspapers.