Thanks for the replies;

So would you guys say it is likely that the full-sized edge would not be replaced in quite some time. I just don't want to make a purchase and then find out soon after that I would be missing out on some significant feature/performance/weight-reduction of the reader.

After doing some research, I found that the eDGe definitely has its areas of strengths, all of which I very much appreciate. Although there are also three areas of key weaknesses:

1. A meagre (comparatively with amazon and BN) selection on e-books from on-line store
2. Lack of direct access to android market place
3. Weight and size (in relation to the screen dimensions)

For (1), most of what I read are technical literature not found in any book store, and I'm not a huge recreational reader; so it's a not a big issue. For (2), I can easily install most of the android apps myself, at the cost a slight bit convenience; so that's not a deal breaker either.

But I really wish that Entourage can cut this device to under 2lb if possible. The current weight is a little too much to be carrying the device everywhere without noticing the extra heft; this model is firmly in 10-11" netbooks' weight range. Also the dimension is slightly larger than the 9.7 inch screen would suggest, if it can loose some of the borders and slim down a little in terms of thickness, it would feel much better to carry around in one hand.

If there is a HW update that can really address the weight and size issue, that would make this device, without question, the choice for a e-reader. Right now it seems that a device like the nook color would provide a good fraction of the functionality, plus the much easier load. So I am still vascillating among these several choices.