Android Taking the Plunge

I'm still thinking about buying the Entourage Edge. I really like everything I see (checking it out at the Illinois Computing Educators conference) -- except these things based on reviews at Amazon and NewEgg -- and I'd like to hear from dedicated/experience Entourage Edge users whether I should go ahead and buy one now . . . or wait.

(1) Android 2.2 - If I buy a current Edge, will I be able to upgrade from 1.6 to 2.2?
(2) Google Android Marketplace -- Will I be able to get apps from Google Marketplace and will they work well (and what is this "Emulator" I've heard about)?
(3) I've heard that there is some lag time in writing . . . or something to that effect. Any truth?
(4) Does Adobe FLASH work with the Edge (perhaps that relates to item #1)?
(5) Some complain about the quality of the camera.
(6) The orientation of the screen is determined by button, not gravity.

1) There is supposed to be an announcement about this in the next couple of weeks. The general consensus, though, is "yes".
2) We don't know yet. (Someone else will have to comment on the emulator)
3) There is a little, but nothing too noticeable. Much, much less than one second of lag.
4) Not yet.
5) The camera is not terribly usable. It is, honestly, pretty darn poor.
6) Correct.

Hello, I've had my edge since March of last year, and really enjoy it for school.
1. When Entourage updates to whichever version of 2 they intend to use we will get that update on the current 1.6 system.
2. If you have an Android phone or use the Android Emulator on a PC you will have the ability to download, backup and send apps to your edge, this applies only to non copy protected apps.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/21862...roid-emulator/
3. There can be a slight lag as the ink refreshes, but barely noticeable most times.
4. Flash does not work on 1.6, we have Flash light and a YouTube app.
5. The camera is about useless right now, but why would you carry a large book to take pictures with anyway, my phone does that and I have a camera. Right now there are few Android video chat services that work with 1.6 anyway. I hope they can make the camera play nice with 2.2
6. There is no accelerometer, so yes, you switch from landscape to portrait with a button.
The edge is not perfect, but , it has proven to be very useful for me. I have all my textbooks and school notes on it. I rarely need anything else in class. No paper, no pencils, no heavy books. I can search info while reading a text and attach web pages to the book for future reference, I can convert my notes/homework/assignments to a PDF image and mail them to my teachers.
There are a few things I wish it had and hope for a 2nd generation model that addresses these. But I would not give it up for anything.

OK Dr. T - you beat me this time. But only because I wrote a lot and looked for a link to add.

I teach economics at a college and love my EE. I really don't know how I lived without it. To address your questions:
1) Android 2.2 will be an update at some point in the future.
2) There is no direct access to the Android Marketplace but there are lots of ways to get around that problem.
3) There is a slight lag in writing but if you write instinctively (without really looking at what you're writing) you won't notice it at all. If you tend to look at each pen stroke, you'll notice the lag but it's not significant.
4) No flash until the 2.x Android update
5) The camera is similar to the built-in camera on most laptops. It takes decent pictures up close. It can be a little pixelated and is bad in poor light. It works perfectly fine for Skype, quick pictures, and simple videos like student presentations.
6) The screen orientation is determined by a button, not gravity. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I also have an iPad and it often changes orientation on me when I don't want it to change.

How do you do Skype video? The only Skype video for Mobile OS is for iPhone right now.

Originally Posted by cheyennedonna

OK Dr. T - you beat me this time.

A first (and likely last) time for everything

2. People have alluded to workarounds. But I'll add a comment:

I've added apps by (a) using a few other Android marketplaces (just not THE Google Android market place) that you can access from the edge. There are lots and lots of apps available on SlideMe and AppsLib and other places; and (b) finding the individual .apk file for the app I want either through a Google search or from someone who has an Android phone (and therefore access to the market) who would upload/email the file. Except for one particular app that I was very intent on getting (and before I knew someone with an Android phone to send me the file), I haven't noticed lack of access to the market to be a huge barrier.

I don't run an emulator (ie a program on your computer that simulates an Android phone so that the marketplace thinks you're accessing it from an Android phone), nor do I have an Android phone, and I have lots of apps. Access to the marketplace would be a lot more convenient, but it hasn't proven to be a deal breaker for me.

(4) Does Adobe FLASH work with the Edge (perhaps that relates to item #1)?

Flash 10 will NOT work even if the eDGe is upgraded to Android 2.2 The CPU is ARMv5 and Flash 10 requires ARMv7

I wished Dontpanic or any other of the EE staff would comment on this. I have also read in other forums about the incompatibility between flash 10 and armv5. I would like to know if they found away around this problem or if we should just accept the fact that we are not getting flash 10 support at all.

Now, of course, even without flash I do want to see Froyo on the edge. But it would avoid a lot of disappointment if we knew in advance what to expect.

Originally Posted by Chas

Flash 10 will NOT work even if the eDGe is upgraded to Android 2.2 The CPU is ARMv5 and Flash 10 requires ARMv7

Originally Posted by cheyennedonna

How do you do Skype video? The only Skype video for Mobile OS is for iPhone right now.

Sorry, it wasn't Skype it was a video chat using Fring.