Got the pocket edge from HSN today

Originally Posted by DanJG

After that I had Dingo 1.7 on the new shiny Pocket eDGe.

Dingo 1.7?!? Did I miss something?

No - it's a Pocket eDGe-specific release for the fresh-from-the-factory units from what I understand. I'll suggest to enTourage to post some release notes

Ah, thanks Boris! I confuse very easily as it is, so things like this can throw me

I purposefully gave the unit a complete charge before turning it on first time.
Wanted to check the battery life span.
I can now confidently say, it is as advertised, approximately 6 hours with majority of the use going to the Android screen.

it's a Pocket eDGe-specific release for the fresh-from-the-factory units

I'm glad you knew that, Boris. I would have been obsessing over having possibly made a mistake and how could I double check my info.

I am getting mine on Tuesday. Right now it is just 7 miles down the road at the UPS center in Mesquite, Tx. I called UPS, but cannot pick it up. It is still on the truck and not scheduled to be off loaded (with 1,000's of other packages) until later today...oh well.

Originally Posted by StephenC

I am getting mine on Tuesday. Right now it is just 7 miles down the road at the UPS center in Mesquite, Tx. I called UPS, but cannot pick it up. It is still on the truck and not scheduled to be off loaded (with 1,000's of other packages) until later today...oh well.

You're not far from me. I teach at Eastfield CC.

OK more notes on sound and now a few days “out in the field, as it were:


Sound -
Bluetooth was a snap to sync and sounds really good, my current stereo head phones sound as good as anything I have paired them too, I use Motorola MH800’s for my music listening. Really clear, good Bass and nice rich mids, I also note that it has a very good BT range. Happily the “pop I heard when listening to system speakers, or earphones (see below) is NOT present over blue tooth, so that is a major plus.

My wired Earphones all had good, if not great results. Volume is good, not earth shattering, which is a must for in ear buds for me. And again the audio is what I have come to expect from my various units. I have to admit to being a bit disappointed with the electronic “pop being audible in the earphones as well, all three variants I tried. So I think this officially warrants a call to service to see about this, I should not be hearing this pop constantly when something on board is being used to monitor audio. Two pairs of Sony ear buds were used: PSP ones (the official in ear model) and a pair of lowish end MDR-EX55’s. Sound was as good with them as anywhere I have used them, on this front I am pleased. The others are a pair of Samsung pack ins I got with my Instinct, so pack in quality is not the best, but they are non bud in ear phones with decent sound for needing to keep one ear on the world, sound here was better than on my phone (of course) so again, they will stay in the active duty bag and out live their reason for being a pack in appliance.

Function -
I did not get to play on any open wireless networks yet alas, so I am unable to comment there, I will as soon as possible however.

The e-ink screen is just fine in outdoor light and taking notes has not been an issue for me. Getting used to the lag while writing is not as big of a deal either. But I think much faster than I can write or type so I am actually used to my hands being behind my mind to some extent. It may sound crazy, but that little delay, while very noticeable, does not bother me in the least. The menus for navigating the features for the journal notes do seem to move rather slowly however, but they all do what they say so again, hopefully these are tweaks that can be made to the soft side of things to improve.

My Pocket Edge made its first (of many) appearances at Church on this past Sunday, and despite my not actually downloading a full Bible beforehand (My fault) performed as expected. writing notes and scripture references was as easy as the space provided on the printed program, only this goes with me back to the pc and is all electronic, that is fantastic! it is one of the main reasons I got the Entourage. The note writing function, I surmise is a reason a good many owners will pick this tablet up. It works for me, it has been solid and I look forward to keeping notes and work on it when I am on the go, or simply want to work away from my pc for a while.

battery life was no issue for me, but to be fair, I do carry my adapter if I have no way to recharge a device via USB, as I have a DC/AC converter in my car that can power several household electric gadgets if needed. Primarily used to charge them of course, but in a pinch can and has been used to run a piece of hardware from time to time. The Entourage’s power plug is a bit unwieldy, but with three spots o choose from and the near flush nature of the design on the plug end, I was able to get it hooked up with minimal fuss, and the charging was clean and uneventful.

All in all I am very pleased so far and only have a little apprehension about the popping I hear when manipulating a hardware switch with audio playing. I will get to contacting the company and inquiring about this issue very soon. In the meantime, I am sure that if you already own an Entourage you pretty much know what to expect from this unit, its the same, only more portable. My honest opinion of it after these first few days is that the unit is, to me at least, all substance and very little flash, and in my book that is a very good thing!

Thanks for continuing to post these initial impressions

For note taking, some users have commented in the past that picking a blank background (rather than the default lined one) gets rid of the minor lag (and for some, frees them to write notes smaller). One nice thing about the book form factor of both eDGe models is that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb like a laptop would in situations where you don't want to attract attention to it (or distract others from more important matters ).

As for the audio pop, definitely mention this to Tech Support. Perhaps a software update can remove it.

BTW, if you search for "Bible" in the forums, you'll find a number of posts about apps, etc.

Originally Posted by borisb

Thanks for continuing to post these initial impressions

For note taking, some users have commented in the past that picking a blank background (rather than the default lined one) gets rid of the minor lag (and for some, frees them to write notes smaller). One nice thing about the book form factor of both eDGe models is that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb like a laptop would in situations where you don't want to attract attention to it (or distract others from more important matters ).

As for the audio pop, definitely mention this to Tech Support. Perhaps a software update can remove it.

BTW, if you search for "Bible" in the forums, you'll find a number of posts about apps, etc.

I totally agree and it was inconspicuous enough that I felt comfortable working on it there, thanks for the notes on the programs.

It has arrived! Charging it now. Will have pic's, and first impressions later today. jsfiller, you were just a stone throw from my device yesterday....

Woohoo!

Originally Posted by StephenC

It has arrived! Charging it now. Will have pic's, and first impressions later today. jsfiller, you were just a stone throw from my device yesterday....

Yeah, I teach from 7 to 10 pm. on Mondays and Wednesdays...for the next 3.5 weeks anyway. Then Christmas break. W00T!

I just wanted to congratulate Entourage on the release of the
Pocket Edge. I was fortunate enough to get on of these on HSN.
It was delivered to me on November 3rd, and I have to say, it
is a wonderfully powerful tool.
To be able to read, sign and carry documents...to the ability to
have a calendar function, the ability to search the web, and
to read my favorite book or magazine during my lunch time is
with parallel.
I upgraded from a book reader that I loved , but it never had
toe flexibility of the Edge.
I cannot recommended this device highly enough. I was put off
by some of the pre-release reviews( for the larger Edge)...but
! Also, the email tech support has been great...quick
and concise answers to any question I had. Great job
Entourage! The Pocket Edge is an amazing little companion for
everything you need to do!

Welcome to the forums, kingjf Sounds like enTourage hit the sweet spot with their Pocket eDGe.

I'm a super newbie to these forums, too! I hope to find it a welcoming site that doesn't look down it's nose at non-tech members. I'm not saying that it is, at all, I'm just crossing my fingers that "ordinary folks" can learn from this forum and not be cut down.

Okay, here's my detailed thoughts on the pocket Edge. Please indulge me as I provide a bit of background as to WHY I bought the pocket Edge and how I plan to utilize it.

1) I'm a landscape architect and have been lugging my 17" SONY Vaio around with me for each appointment and showing. Ugh! Great presentation but what a &$#% to worry about! I'm always terrified of car break-ins when I must carry it around and the thought of actually bringing the computer bag to an active job site, to make sure that it was "safe", also terrified me. We deal in dirt, dust, and water on an hourly basis; plus, if I spaced on remembering to bring the computer bag back into the pick-up at the end of the day, I created my own worst nightmare of losing it.

When the iPad launched, I coveted it! However, I did not want an Apple product because none of my other tech tools are Apple. I have an original November 2007 launch Zune which is performing flawlessly and the Zune Pass keeps my monthly budget to $15.00, total. All three of my laptops are SONY as is my digital camera. I am a Microsoft girl and I didn't want to relearn for Apple. I am NOT anti-Apple!!!! I just want to stay with what I know!

2) I subscribe to both cnet.com and tablet.com, to keep current on the latest tablet technology. Some how, the edge product line escaped me.

I'm a hard-core HSN shopper; have been for over 10 years. Their "No Questions Asked" return policy is phenominal and has been put to the test, many times! Plus, with Interest Free Flex Pay, it's a No Brainer to buy things. Regarding buying electronic devices from HSN, I've gotten three laptops, all my digital cameras, flat screen tv and printer/scanner through HSN. I always get the extended warranty for every product.

Because I subscribe to so many HSN alerts, I was aware (at launch time) of this never-before-heard-of-product, "The Edge" coming up for a special introductory price of $399.00 plus Flex Pay. There wasn't even any video on it, yet! I spent the next 4 hours, online, doing research from youtube, cnet, tablet.com and the actual Entourage website, educating myself to the product. I finally hit "Add to Bag" at 1:04 am, confident that for how I wanted to use this in my job, it was the PERFECT solution!

3) HSN's tentative delivery time was November 12th, today, but I actually received mine on the 5th of November. Opening the box, I was initially pretty disappointed! WHY?????? Because...HSN's tag line for this product did NOT advertize this as the pocket Edge, but just "enTourage Edge". Buried waaaaaay below, was the term "pocket". So, I had done research and was expecting the larger product. I actually had to go back to Entourage's website to see if there even was anything called "the pocket Edge" and sure enough, there was.

Okay. I got what I paid for. I put on my Big Girl Pants and forged ahead, following the simple card instructions to "Charge Unit First."

4) NO REVIEWS of the pocket Edge had been posted, yet, at HSN so that had me a bit worried. I had a very, very hectic Monday through Wednesday at the job sites, so the pocket Edge was just sitting on the counter, plump and ready for me to try it when I had time.

In the meantime, between Monday the 8th and Wednesday the 10th, SEVEN PAGES OF REVIEWS appeared on HSN and they sucked!!! Almost every single reviewer gave it ONE star and were promptly returning it, with only three reviewers giving it five stars and keeping it. Laugh at me all that you want to, but after reading them all, I just burst into tears! Here I was, not even having started up the darn thing and 100's of HSN viewers were telling each other to "return this!" I literally didn't know what to do: do I return it, never having even turned it on or do I suck it up, turn it on and see if I had the same problems that all the other member's had with the pocket Edge? Well, I sucked it up, based solely on HSN's return policy and the fact that I have until January 31, 2011 to return it.

5) I'm going to now list what people hated about the pocket Edge and my revised thinking about their complaints. After I got over the initial shock of reading so much negativity, I was able to take a step back and process everything.

a) A vast amount of people thought that the e-reader should be "back lit". I've owned a SONY Reader since it was introduced in 2007 and very, very few e-readers have any internal lighting. That's the whole point of e-ink: soft on the eyes; increased battery use because of the low power draw; it's just LIKE A BOOK and no book has an internal light!!!! Of the few models of e-books that have internal lighting, the battery life plummets and many people find it irritating.

So, I'm chalking this complaint up to ignorance on the consumer's part of just what a normal e-book is like. Score one "plus sign" for the Edge.

b) Another host of complainers sent their pocket Edge back because "it requires Wi-Fi". Well, D'ah!!! How in the heck do they think that a portable device works????? 500 miles of internet cable is supposed to come with a wireless anything???

Again, I chalked up these complaints to people SO new to technology that they were clueless about Wi-Fi. Score two points for the pocket Edge!

c) The real deal-breaker, however, is when the 3rd reviewer mentioned that "the pocket Edge does NOT have a replaceable battery!" That created a mass panic on the HSN review site, with people whole-handedly returning their device because of that fact!!! Review after review mentioned how "I tried calling the number for Tech Support, just got voice mail, left a message and after three days, never received an answer. Back it goes! I don't need to spend $400.00 for a "toy" that can't get a new battery!"

I must admit, this was almost a deal breaker for me, too, until I did some online research with my other e-devices and found out that half of them also didn't allow for a new battery, except by a service tech. Now, the way that the reviewers were posting at HSN, it came across that THERE WAS NO WAY THAT A NEW BATTERY COULD BE INSTALLED IN THE POCKET EDGE...not by a lay person or by the offical website. THAT scared a lot of people away from the pocket Edge! I gave myself until this weekend, to decide if the "non-replaceable" battery was a deal breaker...until I found this forum and found out that it, indeed, can be replaced, by sending it into the company.

d) A vast amount of members had EXTREME difficulty setting up the Edge, with it taking hours and never being fully set up. Once I had commited to being my "own person" and taking a chance to see if the pocket Edge worked for me, I turned it on, and set the entire thing up in 12 minutes, flat! I have NO IDEA if the new downloads went through or not; I really wasn't paying that much attention.

e) Many of the complaints were multi-layered, meaning that if they complained about the Wi-Fi or e-ink, they also brought up other issues. Another very common complaint was the utter lack of a manual!!!!! That was a HUGE complaint among people: they did NOT want to have to go online to learn about this device but wanted a manual that they could read to learn about all the different features. Honestly, I think companies are selling their consumer's short by not including manuals any longer. I just bought a Kodak digital camera for a friend and it was the same thing: absolutely NO manual....everything was online to learn about the camera. My friend had me send it back, simply because of that fact. As he explained, after you learn the very basic parts of the camera's operation, he wanted to take the time to learn about the advanced features, at his leisure. That meant, reading a paper manual at night, in bed, or on vacation, when you want to shoot various new treatments. He felt "forced" to be wed to a computer, to learn about the various features.

6) Today, I went to HSN to read more reviews, hoping that they had turned around and there isn't even a link to the pocket Edge, any longer. It's just GONE! But, with seven pages of mostly negative reviews that gave 1 stars, the average rating for this device was 2.3 stars, not good at all. But, if you've read everything that I mentioned, so far, you'll note that a very high percentage of the dissatisfaction with the Edge had NOTHING to do with it: it was member's who didn't understand e-ink or Wi-Fi technology!

So, how did I find this forum and why am I not sending my pocket Edge back? Because, some extremely helpful soul left a review for the pocket Edge in the review column of the little protective case that HSN is selling; bless their soul for posting what they did! They loved their pocket Edge and mentioned not only this forum but also a pdf file that you could download, 85 pages of information on how to use this device!!! Coming HERE< and finding the pdf file and this forum has made a HUGE change in attitude towards the pocket Edge and Entourage as a company. At least, I feel that spending the next three days reading the e-manual and visiting this forum will help me decide if I keep it or not.

Phew! I apologize to all the member's that I bored to death! But, you wanted an honest post about both HSN and the new pocket Edge and so here it is, warts and all! And I'm sorry about any and all spelling mistakes; I'm too pooped writing this review to go back and fix any of them!

Oh, and by the way, I ordered the gorgeous Race Car RED, which is siimply stunning!!!