Entourage Edge - would you buy it again ?

[feelfine]

Hi,
I am just considering different e-book readers and wanted to ask people that already have got edge if it is the right choice. I read a lot on my e-book - and I have at the moment Irex Iliad which make me almost happy. I love reading fiction on it, but I have got a lot of pdf's with technical books which doesn't look that good on my iliad. I was considering buying Irex bigger e-book reader but as there are more options available at the moment I was just wondering about Edge.
The pdf's that I read are mostly technical books - I work as a computer programmer (or used to work as I am at the moment at my maternal leave). I would like to program/write on my notebook and read a book on my e-book reader at the same time. Eventually re-read some of the chapters as I am on the go. I would have to buy my Edge in Europe so the price isnt't that competitive with other e-book readers out there.
Here are some questions about Edge :
1. How would you describe your pdf reading experience with Edge (super/with some problems/really uncomfortable) ?
2. How does annoting work ? Can you just go back to the annoted pages or have to go through each page separately to go back to ones that you have annoted ?
3. How long does it last on one battery charge ?
4. How do you read pdf's if at all ? Do you need to convert it and if so how do you convert your books ?
5. How do you use both screens ? I mean what do you use LCD for and what e-ink site for ?
And I suppose most important one :
6. Would you buy your Edge again even if you had to pay european price for it ?

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions

[pricecw]

Hi,

I use my eDGe for most of what you are describing, so hopefully this will help. Number one, I don't use my eDGe for most fiction. I have read recreational books on it, but it was too big for my exercise bike book/magazine holder, and I picked up a Sony PRS-300 for that. As a paperback replacement, I love the Sony, could stand the eDGe but not ideal for that.

There are a couple of things I would change on the eDGe if I had design influence (for example, I find the camera to be worthless as implemented). However, saying that, I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Now, let's see if I can answer your questions.

1. The reading experience is great. I have a number of technical and programming pdfs. I was reading through a book on microcontroller programming at a meeting yesterday, and one of my coworkers was commenting on how good it looked on the e-ink screen. This is what I bought the device for, and I have not been disappointed in it. I have datasheets, processor docs (ARM TRM, arch docs, etc), programming books, and even tech magazines on it. They all work really well on this device. My biggest problem with PDFs so far, and one I hope enTourage will fix, is I have a couple docs from the UEFI group that has a edit password, but not a read password, and they will not open because of it. This is my biggest gripe with pdfs so far.

2. annotating works wonderfully. There are multiple ways to annotate a page, you can fold the corner, highlight, write, sticky note, attach. In the table of contents, these show up, so if you are looking at your table of contents, and made a highlight, you will see that under the section you highlighted in the table of contents. Then with the table of contents, you can filter on any of these types of entries. So if you want to see everywhere you made a highlight, you can turn off the standard table of contents on the pdf, and all the other things (notes, stickies, etc) and you will see a list of highlights. This is very powerful and nice. Click on your text, highlight, etc, and you will be taken to it. When using the table of contents, they are shown on the lcd while the book is on the e-ink.

3. I use mine at work, generally goes most of the day. I did get a second power supply, so I could have it at my desk, but I sometimes work more than an 8hr day.

4. Like I said, have only had problems with one type of pdf, all others I have just dropped on a thumbdrive and added to my library.

5. The LCD, I use mostly for things like the table of contents, using the picture function (this is awesome). This allows me to take a snapshot from a page of a table, a snippet of code, etc and display it on the LCD while continuing to read and turn pages on the e-ink. This allows me to reference the table/diagram/picture while continuing to read the text about it. When trying to read about a code example, this is a very powerful tool.

6. I would buy this again. It isn't perfect, but it is an excellent device for technical docs and reading/reference material. Like I said, the camera could have been designed a lot better, but that wasn't something I was buying this for, so not really a big issue. I don't know the european price difference, but one thing I try and think of, just one of the programming books in this thing is bigger than the device itself. I have a bookshelf of reference material, including processor manuals over 1200 pages, I can't carry this kind of documentation in physical form, so this makes it easier for me to reference and use these docs.

Hope this helps,
--Carl

[feelfine]

Thanks a lot. That helps me a lot. In Europe the basic version should cost 599 Euro so much more than in USA.
I have got a lot of o'reilly safari books. Have you tried one of those ? Can I ask you for a favour ? If it were not too much trouble could you possibly make a photo of one of programming books. I just want to get some feeling how does it look like on edge. I would be really really grateful for that.
Anyway thanks for all your help
P.S. I programmed a little for my phone android, but I suppose Edge has it own version of android and one cannot really do anything with it. Is it right ?

Greetings,

Feelfine

[pricecw]

I don't use Safari, but I do have some O'Reilly books. They do great on the edge. I will try and get a pic.

From my understanding, you can do anything you can with the phone (minus the phone functions) on the LCD side now. enTourage is supposed to release an SDK later for their device so you can get to the e-ink side.

--Carl

[pricecw]

OK, here are a few images. Did these a minute ago, so lighting isn't great, but should give you an idea. This is an O'Reilly book, so should be close to what you are thinking.

Table of Contents:
[Image size violates guidelines - MODERATOR]

Page: (you can see, without flash I have a little camera shake)
[Image size violates guidelines - MODERATOR]
Here is a close up:
[Image size violates guidelines - MODERATOR]

It looks better in person, but I had a hard time getting a good pic, at least it gives you an idea of how pdfs display!

--Carl

[Dellaster]

Yes, I'd buy it again. You might try viewing the videos at enTourage's YouTube Channel for a broad idea of what's possible on the eDGe.

I took a really bad photo in lamplight to show the PDF snapshot function:

A screenshot of a screenshot within a PDF. E-ink is great to read on but it's also nice to be able to take a selection snapshot of something that's better viewed in color.

[feelfine]

Thanks a lot for your answers I think I would buy it but will wait till it really sells in Europe instead of preordering it. Another positive thing about Edge is that my daughter would probably love it (she is 4 month now). She loves all screens but my ereader is a little boring for her. We will see what she thinks about the double one with lcd

[CheyenneDonna]

Originally Posted by pricecw

I don't use Safari, but I do have some O'Reilly books. They do great on the edge. I will try and get a pic.

From my understanding, you can do anything you can with the phone (minus the phone functions) on the LCD side now. enTourage is supposed to release an SDK later for their device so you can get to the e-ink side.

--Carl

I was browsing to see whats new and read this post. I have been able to make a phone call on my edge, using Sipdroid. Best to use headphones, but the call quality is good to excellent and free if you are lucky enough to have both a Google Voice and Gizmo 5 number.

[harryE123]

How you guys ca hold a 3 lb device to read it is beyond me.

I have an iPad and I find it heavy.

Anyone's performed
A comparison of the eink screen with irex or kindle dx graphite?

[CheyenneDonna]

I'm a student, and most of my textbooks outweigh the edge. I can fold the edge around like a tablet, increase the font and set it on my lap or a table; and still read sitting upright. I also own a nook for recreational purposes; but the PDF support and annotation features of the edge are hard to beat.

[pricecw]

I am an engineer, and I can't imagine calling this thing heavy. The PERL book the screen shots are from is probably 3 times as thick, and just as heavy. I am packing around hundreds of pounds of reference material that I use at one time (used to have a lot of the material as either books or printed on my desk at work). If I could get this device with a bigger screen I would, it would make schematic reading and marking up easier.

Now for light reading, novels, etc, I find the iPad to big and bulky (yes I have held and used one, but don't own one). I really like the form factor of the PRS-300 I picked up for that. It fits the exercise bike book holder (paper didn't, edge doesn't, iPad doesn't), it is cheap, and it does book reading very well. Feels better reading it than a paperback.

I guess it's all about what you are doing with the device, the edge is the best thing I have found for what I do with it. I love having both screens, and really want the newer displays that are starting to hit. For light reading, the prs-300 takes the prize. Different uses, different devices.

--Carl

[jee]

It seems heavy when you first lift it, but during the reading you'll it's not uncomfortable to hold at all.

[borisb]

The eDGe's folding screen design allows you to hold it like a large book, which somehow is more comfortable. You also tend to have the eDGe resting on something - your lap, a table edge, etc. When reading in bed, I usually fold the LCD screen back to work as a kickstand to hold the eDGe upright without requiring my arm/hand to do so.

As for comparisons of the eInk, early posts by eDGe owners said it definitely beat them for clarity and readability, including even the Kindle. However, I haven't seen anyone comment on how it compares to the new graphite Kindle DX's new screen.

i definitely would buy it again. for me the eDGe is more to work with then only read with it. it's the combo what is fantastic. compare it with my IREX DR800SG is only for a small part of my eDGe. they both read good, but the eDGe is so much more then a reader..