Quote:
Originally Posted by jsfiller
I was afraid that the desire to appeal to a greater audience than academics would affect the development of the product, and that seems to be what is happening. I can certainly understand the need/desire to sell to a broader market, but it seems to me Entourage started off in one direction and is now shifting gears in another direction. This is understandable, but sad for me.
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I get what you're saying, but I'm not (yet) convinced it's as dire as all that. I think ensuring the tablet side doesn't lag waaaay far behind (which 1.6 will soon enough; I disagree it's so way far behind right now, but within the year for sure) is important to the overal functioning of the device. It is supposed to be a multitasking device, more than just what the e-ink side can provide. In order for it to keep its "edge" as something that can do basic web stuff and add features through apps in addition to being an academic device (so that it is all you need to carry around for a day) I think Android 2.x in 2011 is important. But, I think the academic audience will tend to be much more forgiving about the version of Android if they roll out more/steady improvements to the e-ink side. In just the year we've had the device, we've already seen progress on that front.
The issue i can see them facing right now is that fewer and fewer people are going to be willing to plunk down $500 for an Android 1.6 device as time goes on. Given that a lot of phones are still on 1.x, at least that doesn't put the edge too far behind in terms of apps still being supported. But in order to get new revenue, to get the device used by high school/college students, getting up to at least 2.x and offering a more future-proofed device makes sense. I think a 2.x device has a couple more years of shelf life than a 1.x device, and that the little extras that Android apps provide to the academic experience (calendar, email, browsing) are a key part of the machine as a whole.