I wouldn't expect much (if any) movement on the price. According to enTourage's website, they're "out of stock" on the Midnight Blue models, which suggests that they're meeting or possibly even exceeding their sales targets (or they miscalculated how many people would be willing to pay $40 for a different color--probably some combination thereof). My gut is that the $500 price point seems appropriate for the US market based on that's about what it costs for a high-end netbook; in addition, I doubt that they have very fat margins, so there's a limit to how much they can lower the price.
As I've explained in detail, the factors that make the eDGe more expensive overseas are largely beyond enTourage's control and no one is disputing that it's currently not a good value. I think Boris is right that they only sought European distribution after prospective customers requested it; at this point in time, establishing a presence in Europe (particularly Central and Eastern Europe, based on the schedule of conventions that they're displaying it) doesn't appear to be a priority. But comparing it to a netbook really isn't appropriate: the cost of the components that the eDGe has (particularly the touchscreen LCD and the eInk) are far greater than a non-touchscreen LCD and a physical keyboard (as well as the few other components that the netbook might also have that the eDGe doesn't, like a VGA or RJ-45 port).
As for eBook restrictions, that's a result of how the global publishing industry is organized and is completely outside the control of enTourage (or even a company as large as Amazon, for that matter). It's an artifact of what made sense for the publishing industry prior to the emergence of ebooks, but since most publishing is still controlled by a handful of major publishers with individual interests that are not necessarily aligned with consolidation, it's unlikely to change in the immediate future.
|