Got the pocket edge from HSN today

If Entourage didn't want to deal with high-maintenance or non-tech-savvy customers, they shouldn't have launched the PE on HSN. They probably chose to do this in order to reach a segment of the market their competitors haven't tapped, which is good business sense in general, but now they have to deal with the consequences that their competitors were seeking to avoid. If they get a ton of returns and/or bad word of mouth about the product because the customers they targeted didn't know what they were buying, that could actually cause the HSN gambit to backfire. We shall see.

Note to forum masters: while this comment is similar to others I have posted in other threads, it is in response to comments that are similar to those I was responding to in those other threads, and thus not spamming. If 20 posters espouse one POV, each in a different thread, it's not fair to accuse the one poster responding with a different POV in each of those 20 threads of spamming.

That's not high maintenance or non-tech savvy, that's just stupid. If you've already ordered it, at least wait until you received it and check it out to decide to return something. I don't care what it is. LOL

Sometimes I think this comes from the feeling of guilt about having rushed to spend a lot of money on something when you know you really shouldn't of (gee, I've been there!). A complaint about the item can be merely an excuse to back out of something you know you shouldn't have bought in the first place.

In any case, it's important to treat HSN buyers with respect and patience and to remember that many HSN buyers are and have been visiting these forums. The forums are here to help all buyers, be they technical gurus or someone that needs a lot of hand holding in getting their Pocket eDGe going. We should be wary of treating any visitor as some how second class

Originally Posted by jsfiller

That's not high maintenance or non-tech savvy, that's just stupid. If you've already ordered it, at least wait until you received it and check it out to decide to return something. I don't care what it is. LOL

It's much easier to return something you haven't unpacked.

Also, if implying that HSN shoppers are disproportionately high-maintenance and non-tech-savvy is a sin, then you'd better go scold dontpanic for using that excuse to explain the customer service call center being inaccessible. I'm sure there are plenty of HSN shoppers who don't fall into that category (in fact, the ones who come to these fora are probably just as savvy as those who were here previously), but reality is it's a different clientele from the one that found out about EE via Engadget or Crunchgear.

The honeymoon is over, off to work with my Pocket Edge

ok, if you have read any of my previous posts, they were all pretty much preliminary as I had very little time with the unit. Now however that has been remedied and I have spent hours in all known situations that I will usually use it in. Obviously things will pop up that I am unawares of beforehand, this is a part of life. On to the final thoughts on the unit.

Everything I have said before stands, I will not reprint it here, suffice to say that to buy this unit with a specific use in mind, do your research, and then to get the unit, should usually result in outstanding performance for your specific needs. To this end I say this up front: I cannot speak to this unit replacing a laptop, as I did not buy it for such and have no desire to use it as such. So for my review if you are looking for this comparison, know now that I am not using these terms for my “benchmark.

Since last update I have successfully utilized the pocket Edge to prepare for a meeting over a working script. Hold the meeting, record the meeting, pull up a PDF of the work as no other laptops were present, and annotate good notes on the direction the narrative needed to take. This is the meat of why I wanted the EE, and the PE worked wonderfully for this, not just at the point of “attack but on the back end. I surmise this is where the PE and EE will shine, and it appears at least for now that I am correct.

Battery life has been very good for me on the PE, it goes more than a Day with normal use, which for me consists mainly of some e-reader note reading, but on occasion I will utilize a pdf on the LCD while taking notes on the eink side while listening to audio via BT stereo headphones. Its all things I could do before the PE, just not in one place. Battery life for me is still more than a day with this fairly heavy use. Noted that on the go I have NO wi-fi on nor need for it, and also usually when I get it home the notes are transferred and then its done for the day. I use my desktop at home for all the heavy lifting.

Compatibility:
Speaking to my Win7 64 desk top system at home has been a snap, and the PE has not protested once. I am used to win7 64 not protesting so the fact that they play together is a huge plus for me. I was able to plug in a third party 8GB jump drive and mount and pull files from it seamlessly on the PE as well, and this is of note as this particular drive win7 64 seems to have an issue with, constantly requesting to “repair it. The drive works without fault EVERYwhere else I use it, so that’s good to know that the PE can be an easygoing fellow.

Apps:
I do have an android phone and therefore access to the market, but to be honest, I mainly purchased the PE for what it can already do out of the box. I am not one to chase a ton of apps for this unit. The option of a few app stores is a plus, and I can admit to having added some useful value for myself through them, but to be honest I did not stray too far off the beaten path for them. Apps from the Entourage market and both Slide, as well as the AndAppsStore market *that will run on 1.6 have worked well for me. Notable APK’s include: Both the above mentioned markets, Opera (LOVE IT), Open Advanced Task Killer, and lookout mobile for security, also the you version bible which is great when you have WiFi. There were some 1.6 “certified apps that would not *install, but to be honest I was trying to install them for the sake of having more experience with the process itself, so I do not even remember the names of them at all. Installing was a snap, and should be imminently familiar to anyone with an Android device; Grab the apk from its url and Android tells you what it will need to access when installed, you tell it yes and let it rip, in a few moments it is there in your apps pane, ready to be added to a tab or launched. Easy as pie!

Performance:
Well this being my first Android Tablet, and MY first eReader it can be a little tough to have something to compare them too accurately. Having said that I have an Amazon Kindle in the house (2nd gen) and its reader is noticeably faster and sharper, but it should *be at roughly twice the resolution of the PE. The speed difference is so close as to be of little concern in page turns, but in one area it is: often when working in the PE on the eInk side and saving notes, without a screen refresh, there is artifiacting from the previous menu left on the screen. Otherwise the speed is totally acceptable if not good, as page turns are very brisk otherwise. Navigating the eInk side with the stylus is surprisingly quick and is very responsive, this is a nice plus. Writing has been covered by me before, however I will note that moving to the plain background paper, no lines or graphs, did make a difference in speed, it was not huge, but was noticeable. A bigger pen will be needed in order to clear up the handwriting part, as finding an acceptable position to write from when using both sides of the PE result in some erasures and cleaning up being needed. Fortunately this is not too hard to accomplish the Menu driven way it is now. If penabled erasing becomes a feature, then the unit will soar in ease of use in my world, as it stands now it is by no means cumbersome, however.

The LCD performance has been a mixed bag, and a little baffling: It seems to run apps just fine with fairly speedy browser duties and what not. The touch panel is a bit stiffer than my old Instinct, I pulled it out and charged it to be sure, of course it is only a 3.5 inch panel so it should be, but some of the difficulties navigating the screen without the stylus are not welcomed: accidental activations of the wrong program, and wonky screen magnification in the non stock browser, both Opera and Dolphin were tested, and there are times when the finger movements actually increased or decreased the screen instead of scrolling or continuing to scroll the page. I will look into this to make sure that I have no weird software settings, but have looked previously and found nothing, it is neither crucial or frequent enough to hamper my efforts, but it does pop up from time to time. When sliding between Android tabs, or pulling down the notification bar, the animation is stiff and blocky, it seems to stutter EVERY time in BOTH directions. Curious, considering that opening the programs tab does not exhibit the same behavior. Killing apps and freeing memory has had no affect at this point, and would get me more in a tizz if it was more widespread, as it is, with only that one menu having issues, I will note it, but also point out that it in no meaningful way detracts from the experience.

Camera:
The PE Camera is a lower resolution unit you will not want to have to rely on, but if you do it is serviceable, just note that it is lower resolution and remember to take off the little plastic lens cover it ships with! at least then your pics will be clear as they can be! My video sample was just fine as well, and again it should be noted that as for now, I have no real plans to use this feature, or rather need too, so it is a pleasant appreciated plus for this owner. The added benefit of the form factor allowing to have the camera facing away from the videographer is a nice little feature that can make for some very well centered impromptu clips, this could be useful for a ton of practical applications.

Overall Impressions:
The Pocket Edge seems solidly built and save for one issue that is being looked at by Customer Care now, has been worry free. It exhibits a tank-like demeanor to me; that is it gives me the impression that it will chug along, and simply be there when I need it most, and that I have to admit is both reassuring and unproven over the long run. I am looking forward to finding out about this last conjecture however.

The unit has consistently impressed me with its function and always brings several questions whenever it is drawn out, even when I don’t really have time to get into what it is I’m working on, I just need to work! That means that it can turn heads on its own physical appearance and that is also a good thing. When asked what it does, it is easier to really cover the things that it doesn’t, and that is the way I handle that situation, it’s versatility is well chronicled in the person of the larger EE. The shortest and truest summation I can give on the Pocket Edge after getting out what all it can do for those very questioning on lookers, is this:

“The Pocket Edge is All Go, with very little show the little book simply works and well!

This seems to sum up my experience truthfully and completely so far, Despite the seemingly spartan presentation cues, the Pocket Edge more than makes up for that in spades with solid productivity and creative new ways to put together information that one is used to working with all the time.

There has been a ticket placed with Entourage Customer Care on the one issue with my unit, and as it is ongoing, I will not report one way or another here on it.

So to sum it all up: I shopped this unit in its larger incarnation specifically for my creative work and personal projects, it has not disappointed and I am truthfully looking forward to working on those things which benefit from its skill set. It is a smart, and I think smartly realized product, that fills a unique role in the lives of many tech heads, this one included!

Update: I'll try and get around to adding in pictures of the Pocket Entourage, some of it actually IN my pocket (remember I am 6’4...) and other various shots out in the wild!

Wow, thanks for the fantastic review!

Excellent review!

Have you tried recalibrating the LCD screen (Settings - Display)? It may help on some of the touch issues. As for the camera, there are settings in the app to pick low vs hi resolution. It's 2 MP camera, which isn't bad, although phones these day have 4-6 MP.

borisb, I'm now able to read books from CBD on the tablet. My son-in-law tried accessing it and thought to check if the Pop Up Blocker was checked in the PE. It was and he unchecked it. He was then able to get the sign in page for the CBD ereader and access the books from the PE. Thought I'd pass this along if it helps with someone else having similar issues.

Thanks for the tip!

Originally Posted by Dr. T

Wow, thanks for the fantastic review!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by borisb

Excellent review!

Have you tried recalibrating the LCD screen (Settings - Display)? It may help on some of the touch issues. As for the camera, there are settings in the app to pick low vs hi resolution. It's 2 MP camera, which isn't bad, although phones these day have 4-6 MP.

Thank you as well, and no I hadn't tried that as yet I will, thanks for the tip!

Originally Posted by sethsgran

borisb, I'm now able to read books from CBD on the tablet. My son-in-law tried accessing it and thought to check if the Pop Up Blocker was checked in the PE. It was and he unchecked it. He was then able to get the sign in page for the CBD ereader and access the books from the PE. Thought I'd pass this along if it helps with someone else having similar issues.

This is good news indeed, thank you for the tip!

I got my Pocket Edge from HSN the first week in November. The more I use this little jewel the better I like it! Only took about 4 or 5 minutes and I was up and running. Love the journaling and use it a lot at work. I downloaded the audible program and can listen to my audio books which is fantastic! My ebooks are easy to read on both sides since I also use Kindle. I keep learning more each day about my Pocket Edge and am looking forward to any firmware updates that will come along. I take my Pocket Edge with me everywhere and can't believe how much I use it.
Does anyone know where I can get a 32 gb sd card?

Amazon.com has 32GB cards at a decent price.

For anyone who might be interested, the EE is also available now at HSN and comes with some additional software.

Originally Posted by jsfiller

For anyone who might be interested, the EE is also available now at HSN and comes with some additional software.

My software from when I ordered PE sits in the box. I don't know what to do with it, really.