Almost off-topic: looking for device with some eDGe-y features

My eight year old son has fallen for the PE too. What he is excited about is writing by hand onto the computer, and drawing. He is in a big creative phase, and I am unwilling to share the PE with him all the time, esp as they're discontinued and will continue to get harder to find. Plus the e-ink screen he's writing on is a bit small for him to accomplish much; in 40 minutes yesterday, he wrote a 16-page pdf story (with illustrations) that ends "to be continued."

He'd been using notebooks, but often got frustrated; he says he much prefers the eDGe.

Any ideas for a not-at-all-expensive touchscreen device (stylus enabled) that's fairly sturdy that he could use for writing and drawing? It would be good if it had at least two to four hours battery life, so he can take it in the car. Wifi is fine (don't need or want 3G).

I don't have one, so I would't know, but wouldn't an Entourage eDGe (full size) from eBay fit the bill? You will be hard pressed to find any stylus-enabled tablets, since almost everyone has jumped on the capacitive touchscreen bandwagon. The full size EE should give him plenty of space.

Like I said, I don't have one, but maybe one of the EE owners can say if it'd be a good idea.

North19, I can tell you about my experience with my 9 year old daughter.
This youngest little girl is a PC expert user, she writes long tales in chapters using Word and draws, plays games, and she has recently started her own Wordpress Blog which she admins herself.

Now when I bought the Edge, it was very hard for me to get used to Android, because I found myself frequently at a loss. Not with the stylus, but without the mouse I mean.
I have been using the Edge for three months and I still experience a slight degree of discomfort as my hands and mind automatically go for the mouse-keyboard frame.

But my little daughter... when she took the Edge in her hands, it was so easy and normal for her to find her way into the device.
She soon understood the Android logic, the finger scrolling, the "backwards closing" applications, how to use the stylus with precission, open and save journal pages, and the like
She uses the Edge to draw, write, navigate...

So considering that Android seems to be "the" OS for children and young people, and they seem to use it so naturally (so more than ourselves), I would say that getting a second-hand EE at ebay could be a great option.

The Edge has an immense advantage over other tablets as well: its solid, sturdy design, which makes it better for careless, sometimes clumsy children.

Tablets are very frail and I would not recommend them for small children who might easily spill liquids over them or damage the screen.
But the Edge with its clam-like design is more protected and it also has a book format, which is also natural and easy to handle for children, who use books quite often.
So the concept is positive because it reenforces the feeling of having a book in their hands.

The 10.2" is not very big for a 9 year old kid, good for their hands and arm length as well.

He may use it for emailing, learn internet browsing, watching movies and doing puzzles and word games such as WordWrench, for instance.
So I would recommend the EE based on my own kid's experience and on the very good reception the device had on her.

Of couse, you won't spend 500 dollars in an experimental, learning device, but if you get it used for half the price, then it could be a fine choice.
A kid may do lots of positive, useful, creative things with an Edge and even use it for academic purposes as well.

This is what I can say as a mother of an "Edged" kid.

It sounds like your son is the perfect candidate for an Asus eee Note when they're finally released: http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...800-tablet-pc/

I'd love to get a secondhand EE; I need one for my work. It's just a bit out of our price range to get me one and him one, given that most seem to be going for $300 - 400. I was hoping for something under $200, closer to the price for a woot PE, for him.

I hadn't realized that there were so few resistive screens out there.

There are some EEs for sale on ebay for under $200:

http://cgi.ebay.com/enTourage-Pocket...item35b2352e3a
http://cgi.ebay.com/enTourage-eDGe-d...item2563e5dbc0
http://cgi.ebay.com/Entourage-Edge-d...item2a10ad1471

Alex--if those two that are EEs stay low, I'll definitely bid; the auctions I've seen in the past two weeks seem to all end up at more than $250.

If it will ever reach the market, the lo-fi Noteslate is the answer. I think a boy can find frustrating the screen of the Asus eee Note

darn, those are very interesting prices. I should find me a pal in the US or Canada who can help me get one more. an extra eDGe is always very welcome.

I checked ebay before coming to the forum this morning, and found 5 EEs for sale, ranging from $118 with 2 bids to $400 with no bids. There's one for $149 (starting bid) that includes an extra battery and has no bids so far! I don't know whether this link will work, but here's the search I use: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=ent...:MEFSRCHX:SRCH.

Yesterday there was a new EE with a Buy Now price of $279. It sold.

I'm still looking for my own EE (after getting a refund from ebay for one I "bought" that never shipped), but also waiting to see if, just by chance, there might be something new but similar coming from enTourage (or anybody else) some day. Has to have e-ink, and I really like the dualbook format.

I would want one if I were a kid! (At heart I still am! )

Originally Posted by Franky

darn, those are very interesting prices. I should find me a pal in the US or Canada who can help me get one more. an extra eDGe is always very welcome.

Can you ask a seller to send to Switzerland?? I don't know if ebay has a policy about changing where you'll ship to, but I would imagine you could get a seller to agree to ship to you. Then you would have to win the bidding, of course! Worth a try??

How about a graphic tablet? I realise this isnt exactly what you are looking for, but it might be an option to consider especially w.r.t budget & portability.
The only 'con' would be that he wouldn't be writing directly on the screen, & it takes a little bit of getting used to, but like paula-t mentioned kids seems to grasp 'natural' things much more quickly than we do...(maybe its the fact that they dont have the years of conditioning to one method that we do )...so other than that, it seems like it would be perfect for what you are looking for...
I got a Hanvon graphic tablet a couple of years back, that I use on & off for my work & when my 10 yr old cousin used it, she loved it...within a span of 15-20 minutes she was more used to it than I had in a day! LOL!

& then there is also the advantage of being able to use it with any system...i.e if you have more than one desktop/laptop, he can always switch to whichever one is available to use...

Originally Posted by North19

he wrote a 16-page pdf story (with illustrations) that ends "to be continued."

That is so cute! Do you mind telling us which software he used for this?

For creative kids(& adults) I would highly recommend a software called Artrage...there is a free "demo" version, but even the full version is just $25 or so...& combined with a stylus enabled input device, it is just awesome!

He just used the journal program on the e-ink side of the PE.

I'll look into Artrage.

Besides the mythical NoteSlate and the Eee Note, you might consider searching ebay for a used tablet PC. A couple of years ago, we scored a Motion Computing M1300 (1200? 1400?) for about $250. It's kind of slow, but Motions especially are well made, and would be rugged enough for a kid.

As I wrote in another thread, you'd probably want to get one that requires a penabled stylus, not just a plastic one, so that palm rejection, things dropping on the screen etc. aren't an issue.

And while it's too small, the Nokia N810 would have also been something to consider as they're quite cheap now and you can get xournal for it.