A Statement about Froyo

We recognize that many of you are anxiously awaiting Android 2.2, or Froyo, for your enTourage eDGe. It is advertised by Google to provide some features including better performance, support for Flash on certified processors, and a few other goodies. We are working hard on that implementation and have been doing so for months. We are starting to see what Google meant when they went public to proclaim that Froyo is not meant for tablets. While we have it running on enTourage eDGe’s in our lab, it has proven challenging to make it provide the benefits that make you crave it. Performance has been a good bit worse on our products with Froyo than with Android 1.6.

It may be disappointing to hear, but we have learned to be sure that software is worthy of release before releasing it, regardless of the date. You have to understand that we have a good bit of custom software we have developed to make an eDGe an eDGe and not just an e-Reader or Tablet. We do believe that we will have Froyo on the Pocket eDGe before the eDGe because the smaller screens help with the performance. There will be a delay for an Android Froyo release for the large eDGe. We cannot claim a date at this time.

We do appreciate your business and continue to work hard to earn it.

Tom Conklin
Director of Product Management

Interesting that it's the large screen performance that's the problem when Google said that, rather than the UI design itself (I had assumed the latter).

Your post is much appreciated as it explains a lot and gives me an idea what's going on in those mysterious enTourage labs

Thank you for the statement. At least now we now something. Good luck with the work.

If that is the case, then why not Gingerbread? This release is said to do well on tablets and Acer announced 5, 7, and 10 inch tablets to go on sale in November with Gingerbread. http://www.twentyfourtimes.com/acer-...eased-on-23rd/

Originally Posted by dontpanic

We recognize that many of you are anxiously awaiting Android 2.2, or Froyo, for your enTourage eDGe. We are working hard on that implementation and have been doing so for months. We cannot claim a date at this time. We do appreciate your business and continue to work hard to earn it.

Tom Conklin
Director of Product Management

It seems to work hard to earn 'our' continued business this admission would have come well before the release of a new product! I have been giving you a reasonable doubt, but now I, and likely others, will see this as anything but earning our business, let alone our, at least my continued business.

Considering that Gingerbread hasn't actually been released yet (although it's imminent, with the Gingerbread icon newly installed on Google's front lawn), it would be interesting to know how Acer can manufacturer, package and prepare to release their tablets with only a few weeks been the Gingerbread SDK release and their Nov 23 tablet ship date...

Originally Posted by Gunnerp245

It seems to work hard to earn 'our' continued business this admission would have come well before the release of a new product! I have been giving you a reasonable doubt, but now I, and likely others, will see this as anything but earning our business, let alone our, at least my continued business.

I totally agree. I cannot say that I am surprised at all....just. bitterly disapointed. What this announcement really means is that those of us who forked out our money for the current model of the eDGe are basically stuck with a device that won't be capable of future upgrades. Don't hold your breath waiting for the company to 'make it right' either.
At least now that I know this, it is easy to make my decision regarding my edge.....

Originally Posted by borisb

Considering that Gingerbread hasn't actually been released yet (although it's imminent, with the Gingerbread icon newly installed on Google's front lawn), it would be interesting to know how Acer can manufacturer, package and prepare to release their tablets with only a few weeks been the Gingerbread SDK release and their Nov 23 tablet ship date...

Acer is a member of the Open Handset Alliance (listed under Handset Manufacturers) which, among other things, gives them early access to the SDK.

Ah! Lucky them

So much for a "fall release". It is at least decent of enTourage to tell us what is going on, and they should do that more often. One of the greatest causes of human misery in the world is "unmet expectations". Since their last statement, many of us (I think) have expected a fall release, and are disappointed to read the above posting. Now, we know it's probably not going to happen. Having the information, through a good communication channel, helps greatly to dissipate that disappointment. I hope enTourage does a better job of keeping us informed.

Can someone please tell Chubulor? I bet he is blowing a gasket after reading this statement!!!

I must say I am disappointed. However, I would rather run a stable fast 1.6 than an unstable 2.2
Also, there is a LOT of room for improvement in 1.6

Although I do feel a little betrayed reading about 'Pocket Edge' getting 2.2. That to me does not sound very fair. May be Entourage decided to focus on the pocket edge and went easy on 2.2 development for the full-sized edge?

I'm over the Edge and the company.

Whoa, whole lot of anger here. They did not say no update, just that it would not be on time. I agree that I would rather have a stable operating system than a buggy update, and with the Gingerbread release imminent who knows what might happen. Entourage has made things right for many of us, and quickly, I'm sure they are working towards meeting our expectations as quickly as possible.

I agree. Lots of anger. Due to unmet expectations. This could all be avoided with information provided at reasonable intervals. I also agree that a stable Dingo 1.6 is better than an unstable Froyo. In my opinion, enTourage could do a better job at managing expectations. The last thing we heard about Froyo was a "fall release" and that was over the summer.