MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Pocket eDGe and Full-size eDGe: Head to Head Comparison

borisb · 11-28-2010, 05:55 PM

I finally got my very own PE on Thursday this past week

I’ve been playing with it the last few days and am ready to give my own EE-to-PE comparison.

Overall, I think the PE is simply fantastic – I just love it. I love the size and its portability. While it might not be as fast as dedicated 7 tablets, or as light as a 6 kindle, the PE gives me a multifunction device that can do so very many things (music, radio, podcasts, photos, ebooks, Kindle, Kobo, B&N, Borders, Google Maps, notes/grocery lists, email, news reader, web browsing, YouTube, IM, calendar, games, clock, weather, alarm, etc.) in one convenient package.

Here are the specifics, as I jotted them down:
- very nice packaging (all recycleable)
- exactly the size, etc., as I had originally imagined a mini-eDGe in a forum discussion back in July
- very solidly built, very “cute
- better “Getting Started sheet provided
- power/buttons/USB now on bottom/top rather than left/right edges
- I noticed that the PE doesn’t charge if the AC adapter is plugged into the mic/headphone plug…
- interior edges now rounded
- stylus is very easy to remove now, but won’t fall out by itself
- new setup wizard is really nice
- registration was a bit of an issue as enTourage has changed the password requirements since I first registered at the start of the year. I had to change my enTourage password via the website first before I could continue registration.
- onscreen keyboard is smallish compared to the EE, but responds well. My accuracy was pretty much 100%
- optical trackpad easier to use than the jumpy and overly sensitive trackball on the EE
- no wifi/bluetooth hardware switch (pressing and hold the Rotate button and pick “Airplane Mode instead.
- the Gelaskin I bought applied with no problems. Hard to tell it’s an electronic gadget - looks more like a journal/diary, or paperback with a jacket
- eink side seems higher contrast and very crisp, and the 16 shades of gray vs the 8 on the EE is noticeable in image quality. Ink lag time is about the same or slightly longer – noticeable even on blank background. This is a different eInk screen so I imagine enTourage needs to optimize the code as they did in the past for issues on the EE.
- Reader size slightly smaller than paperback novel for amount of text displayed. Very pleasant for reading.
- PDFs need to reflow in order to be readable on the Reader. Technical articles (multi-column, tables & figures) are far too tiny to read, and panning too awkward when zoomed. Landscape would not help too much as landscape width on the PE is equal to the portrait width on the EE. EE remains king for professional and academic use.
- while the 6 Journal is cramped compared to the 9.7 screen on the EE, writing short notes works just fine. Very similar in size and use as those little flip notepads you see TV detectives using.
- LCD side is bright and crisp. The screen has a rougher texture than the EE (the EE seems like glass by comparison)
- LCD screen real estate seems about 75% that of the EE (in terms of being able to put widgets on the home screen)
- overall the PE is responsive, about the same as the EE
- speaker quality is amazing! Richer and much more bass than the larger EE. Makes an excellent music/radio player, especially in upside-down V configuration (i.e., speakers pointing up).
- camera quality is decent, although video seems to pixelate a lot
- I like to have the PE in “upside down V configuration on my desk/coffee table/nightstand (speakers up, LCD forward and rotated landscape, eReader screen at the back). This makes it easy to have it plugged into AC, and have a USB memory stick inserted.
- to me, it seems like a perfect holiday stocking-stuffer!
- the PE power light blinks every three seconds when in “sleep. If it’s not blinking, it means an app is preventing it from “sleep mode (usually an app that offers notifications or background syncing that disregards the “request to sleep from the OS) and only the LCD has been turned off. Great way to verify the device is actually in power saving mode.
- battery life seems to be shorter than my EE, although I haven't been able to quantify it because my use so far has varied wildly from extremely heavy to extremely light. 8 hours seems to be a reasonable figure, which goes up if you put it to sleep when possible and even longer if you can turn off wifi when it's really not needed.

I definitely feel the PE is an excellent device to have around, even if you already have the larger eDGe. Likewise, if you’re a student or professional, I really think the larger eInk screen is a must for note taking and dealing with technical PDFs.

11-28-2010, 05:55 PM	#27
borisb Edge User	I finally got my very own PE on Thursday this past week I’ve been playing with it the last few days and am ready to give my own EE-to-PE comparison. Overall, I think the PE is simply fantastic – I just love it. I love the size and its portability. While it might not be as fast as dedicated 7 tablets, or as light as a 6 kindle, the PE gives me a multifunction device that can do so very many things (music, radio, podcasts, photos, ebooks, Kindle, Kobo, B&N, Borders, Google Maps, notes/grocery lists, email, news reader, web browsing, YouTube, IM, calendar, games, clock, weather, alarm, etc.) in one convenient package. Here are the specifics, as I jotted them down: - very nice packaging (all recycleable) - exactly the size, etc., as I had originally imagined a mini-eDGe in a forum discussion back in July - very solidly built, very “cute - better “Getting Started sheet provided - power/buttons/USB now on bottom/top rather than left/right edges - I noticed that the PE doesn’t charge if the AC adapter is plugged into the mic/headphone plug… - interior edges now rounded - stylus is very easy to remove now, but won’t fall out by itself - new setup wizard is really nice - registration was a bit of an issue as enTourage has changed the password requirements since I first registered at the start of the year. I had to change my enTourage password via the website first before I could continue registration. - onscreen keyboard is smallish compared to the EE, but responds well. My accuracy was pretty much 100% - optical trackpad easier to use than the jumpy and overly sensitive trackball on the EE - no wifi/bluetooth hardware switch (pressing and hold the Rotate button and pick “Airplane Mode instead. - the Gelaskin I bought applied with no problems. Hard to tell it’s an electronic gadget - looks more like a journal/diary, or paperback with a jacket - eink side seems higher contrast and very crisp, and the 16 shades of gray vs the 8 on the EE is noticeable in image quality. Ink lag time is about the same or slightly longer – noticeable even on blank background. This is a different eInk screen so I imagine enTourage needs to optimize the code as they did in the past for issues on the EE. - Reader size slightly smaller than paperback novel for amount of text displayed. Very pleasant for reading. - PDFs need to reflow in order to be readable on the Reader. Technical articles (multi-column, tables & figures) are far too tiny to read, and panning too awkward when zoomed. Landscape would not help too much as landscape width on the PE is equal to the portrait width on the EE. EE remains king for professional and academic use. - while the 6 Journal is cramped compared to the 9.7 screen on the EE, writing short notes works just fine. Very similar in size and use as those little flip notepads you see TV detectives using. - LCD side is bright and crisp. The screen has a rougher texture than the EE (the EE seems like glass by comparison) - LCD screen real estate seems about 75% that of the EE (in terms of being able to put widgets on the home screen) - overall the PE is responsive, about the same as the EE - speaker quality is amazing! Richer and much more bass than the larger EE. Makes an excellent music/radio player, especially in upside-down V configuration (i.e., speakers pointing up). - camera quality is decent, although video seems to pixelate a lot - I like to have the PE in “upside down V configuration on my desk/coffee table/nightstand (speakers up, LCD forward and rotated landscape, eReader screen at the back). This makes it easy to have it plugged into AC, and have a USB memory stick inserted. - to me, it seems like a perfect holiday stocking-stuffer! - the PE power light blinks every three seconds when in “sleep. If it’s not blinking, it means an app is preventing it from “sleep mode (usually an app that offers notifications or background syncing that disregards the “request to sleep from the OS) and only the LCD has been turned off. Great way to verify the device is actually in power saving mode. - battery life seems to be shorter than my EE, although I haven't been able to quantify it because my use so far has varied wildly from extremely heavy to extremely light. 8 hours seems to be a reasonable figure, which goes up if you put it to sleep when possible and even longer if you can turn off wifi when it's really not needed. I definitely feel the PE is an excellent device to have around, even if you already have the larger eDGe. Likewise, if you’re a student or professional, I really think the larger eInk screen is a must for note taking and dealing with technical PDFs.