Entourage eDGe First Impressions

[zetareticuli]

Went home and got the eDGe. It was delivered by FedEx at 10:15 AM ET. I took it out of the box, played with it for literally 5 minutes, then plugged it to charge for 8 hours (as indicated in the quick instructions that come in the box). I had to come back to work for a meeting. Here is a very quick first impressions.

1. Excellent quality, solid, for the overall unit
2. Fingerprint magnet (mine is the default blue one)
3. Stylus could have been of better quality
4. Booted up in 15 seconds
5. Good response time and fast menu navigation (faster than I expected)
6. Fast eInk (faster than Kindle DX, faster than Astak, faster than Nook, fastest I have seen so far).
7. Heavier than I expected

I plan a full review in the next few days.

[mgm1979]

this mirrors my fiance's impressions, to a "T" - I'll add comments after I get my hands on mine in a couple hours.

[zetareticuli]

Yes, these things become evident within the first 2 minutes of using the eDGe. I will also be posting a full review during the weekend.

[mgm1979]

wow - just wow...I've gotten my hands on it, finally, and Z's got it down...I'm not as familiar with the Android OS so I've fumbled around with that some, but other than that, I love this thing!

[SCION]

More, More, More!!!

[devseev]

I was supposed to receive mine today as well, but got an apology email saying that due to unexpected shortages I would now have to wait until March 8 for my unit. Not sure how many are in the same boat as myself, but it's good to see that some people are getting theirs on time.

Like others, I am anxious for more details. Particularly curious how well this will work with Microsoft Exchange/Outlook email - opening PDF attachments, annotating them and emailing the annotated PDF.

[zetareticuli]

I will get to a better review this weekend. I will try to do a two part review. Let me play with it for a little longer before I write the review. So far, I really, really like the eDGe.

[Spiritwnd]

I think I will just go order the thing!!!!

[paulckennedy]

I can say that it is heavier than I expected. The eink is definitely faster than all of my versions of the Kindle ( I have owned all three )

The lcd is highly addictive. That being the case, I have played some with the eink but not enough to give my review yet.

Overall, I am highly impressed by everything about the eDGe except for its weight. The glossy blue case is definitely a finger print magnet. As soon as a Skinit is available, I will be buying a set to both protect my investment but also to hide the prints.

The stylus is really a simple plastic device. It's main advantage is how TIGHT it fits in the slot. You won't lose it by it falling out. That is for DAMN sure.

The hinge is very tight. The whole device feels like a professional tool. It has a lot of plastic but it definately doesn't feel cheap.

I have opened several pdfs and epubs on the eink side. Zoom and annotation works as advertised. Again it has very fast page turns. PDF reflow works. It resets the zoom level when you use it. Don't really know if it is a feature I will need but it definitely works great.

The picture tool works with even annotations which is cool. I haven't figured out how to save off the pictures that I take ( that will be cool if it is possible ) Work on the eInk side does not interfere with actions on the LCD side. It is truely a multitasking environment.

The Journal tool works exactly as demonstrated in the video. There is about a 3 second wait after pressing the Journal button for it to come up. It is the same amount of time to go back to the book mode.

I downloaded Sudoku Challenge from AndAppStore. Starting the app is slow but once up it works great!. The app comes up full screen except for the eDGe menu at the bottom of the Lcd screen. I would really like to know how to hide it except when on the Home Screen.

You can switch to the mail app without losing your place in the web app. Again it is definitely multitasking. I switched to using a usb keyboard a few minutes ago and it just works.

The money on the first releases wasn't placed in any fancy packaging. It had 3 layers of bubble wrap around it inside the FedEx package which showed just how nicely they cared for it.

I am just tickled pink.

[edercito]

Thank you for taking the time to post your impressions. This is the first time since the Kindle 1 that an ebook reader caught my interest (well, this is more like a tablet). It looks particularly suited to finally be able to read scientific papers comfortably.

I do wonder if the battery life will be close to what they advertise.

Eder

[karavisa]

Look like I will order one. I wonder if we can take a photo or video and save it to pdf

[dls81]

Did you see the goober on ebay who has 4 of them and is trying to sell them for $1000 each?

Also, check out the numerous tutorial videos entourage has added to their youtube account.

[repods]

Originally Posted by paulckennedy

I can say that it is heavier than I expected. The eink is definitely faster than all of my versions of the Kindle ( I have owned all three )

The lcd is highly addictive. That being the case, I have played some with the eink but not enough to give my review yet.

Overall, I am highly impressed by everything about the eDGe except for its weight. The glossy blue case is definitely a finger print magnet. As soon as a Skinit is available, I will be buying a set to both protect my investment but also to hide the prints.

The stylus is really a simple plastic device. It's main advantage is how TIGHT it fits in the slot. You won't lose it by it falling out. That is for DAMN sure.

The hinge is very tight. The whole device feels like a professional tool. It has a lot of plastic but it definately doesn't feel cheap.

I have opened several pdfs and epubs on the eink side. Zoom and annotation works as advertised. Again it has very fast page turns. PDF reflow works. It resets the zoom level when you use it. Don't really know if it is a feature I will need but it definitely works great.

The picture tool works with even annotations which is cool. I haven't figured out how to save off the pictures that I take ( that will be cool if it is possible ) Work on the eInk side does not interfere with actions on the LCD side. It is truely a multitasking environment.

The Journal tool works exactly as demonstrated in the video. There is about a 3 second wait after pressing the Journal button for it to come up. It is the same amount of time to go back to the book mode.

I downloaded Sudoku Challenge from AndAppStore. Starting the app is slow but once up it works great!. The app comes up full screen except for the eDGe menu at the bottom of the Lcd screen. I would really like to know how to hide it except when on the Home Screen.

You can switch to the mail app without losing your place in the web app. Again it is definitely multitasking. I switched to using a usb keyboard a few minutes ago and it just works.

The money on the first releases wasn't placed in any fancy packaging. It had 3 layers of bubble wrap around it inside the FedEx package which showed just how nicely they cared for it.

I am just tickled pink.

with the e-ink side you can only read documents or you can do other things ?
if the answer is the first.. it's not much different from having an e-ink device plus a netbook.. you simply are avoiding to use a cable, and you are gaining instead a lot of unnecessary weight when you read stuff..

think about it..

[Spiritwnd]

Mine is now on order.

For all of you Early Adopters out there, I salute you!
I was worried about it a little. Especially the case design.

-Spirit

[paulckennedy]

Originally Posted by repods

with the e-ink side you can only read documents or you can do other things ?
if the answer is the first.. it's not much different from having an e-ink device plus a netbook.. you simply are avoiding to use a cable, and you are gaining instead a lot of unnecessary weight when you read stuff..

think about it..

Right now you are correct but I say wait for the sdk to hit. I see lots of possibilities with this 2 screen format. The ability to have 2 documents open from the same library At The Same time presents a world of possibilities. Books, magazines, and Newspapers can highly expand with the interactive capabilities.

Right now, it appears to be a very capable and fast eink device.