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Old 05-12-2011, 02:30 AM   #1
schahudi
Edge User
 
Entourage discontinuing the Pocket Edge e-reader

via goodereader.com

Entourage Canada has let us know today that they will be discontinuing manufacturing and distribution worldwide of the Entourage Pocket Edge e-reader.
The Entourage Pocket Edge was the smaller brother to the original Entourage Edge e-reader. It is a small dual book device with one screen featuring a 5 inch touch screen e-ink and a 6 inch full color resistive touch screen Android device. It bridged the gap between an e-reader and an Android Tablet and was able to load quite a number of apps.
Some of the drawbacks for the Pocket Edge included lackluster application and development support, with very few applications available in the custom Android Marketplace Entourage setup. The huge drawback is despite promises it still runs a heavily outdated version of Google Android 1.6. This antiquated OS does not allow Flash or any other modern features people would expect in an expensive device.
Lately the Edge has been selling for as little as $150.00 recently on Woot.com and the company themselves are heavily discounting the price. Its a shame that they never supported the device more or gave more firmware updates to bring the device up to modern day specs that resinate with the customer base.
We do know they are working on another device and rumor has it that it is a Slate PC. Normally when devices are billed as “Slate it means it will be running a Windows based operating system. Entourage never confirmed the new device they are working on but did say a new device is in the works and it is a “Slate.
So there you have it folks, the Entourage Pocket Edge is soon to be discontinued and they have a new device in the works.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 04:34 AM   #2
sarah11918
Edge User
 
Entourage Canada?
 
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Old 05-12-2011, 07:47 AM   #3
alex_edge
Edge User
 
Really, a slate? How freaking lame.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 07:59 AM   #4
sarah11918
Edge User
 
Unless it's a non-tablet PC slate like the Asus Eee Note or something, I'm not sure what they can bring to the table with a slate. Maybe they have something revolutionary up their sleeve, but it would kind of have to be given that tablet PCs are a niche, possibly oversaturated, market and don't sell in high volumes anyway.

Hubby and I were talking about alternate form factors that might be interesting, and he asked what I thought about a double-sided slate. (So imagine the EE or PE in permanent folded back mode). Conceivably, if you back to back the screens you can make the whole thing thinner by having more permanent space in which to house components. The only real advantage, though, is to only need 1 device instead of two. You can't look at both screens at the same time (he wondered how many people did use the two simultaneously) and I know I would often use the eink side as a notepad while browsing.

So if they're doing something funky like that with a slate, I'd be interested to see what they come up with. But I'm not sure I could see them creating something I'd pay more for than I did for the pre-ordered EE, and now that there are two tablet PC slates due out both under $999 (Fujitsu Q550 is priced at $729-ish, the Motion has super specs and shouldn't be more than a couple of hundred more at most), I don't know that they'll have room to compete in the $500 - $1000 tablet PC slate category unless they have something we've never seen before, like screen changing from LCD to e-ink at the press of a button or something.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 08:36 AM   #5
paula-t
Edge User
 
I was writing a post yesterday about a suspicion I had, and I decided finally against it, because many new members were coming to the Forum and I didn't want to throw a suspicion on their enthusiastic
faces, but now, with this news today...

In the last week, I had the feeling that Entourage was getting rid of all their PEs because they would discontinue it, and that this implied throwing at the market even old models and remaining lots.

I felt this because one fellow member commented that he/she had received a PE without the Entourage logo embossed on the lid, which sounded very strange to me, and another
said he had received what seemed to me to be one of the first released or prototypes Edge, as it had no Journal app and Badger 0.sth.

So I got the feeling that they were getting rid OF IT ALL, I mean, whatever they had in stock no matter how old or how outdated, even the samples!

Perhaps I am wrong, but when I read those bits of information along the week, and I saw the price was plummetting down and the PE was offered in Woot, which has a history of bargain hunting by acquiring big lots of remaining discontinued stocks, I thought to myself, "The PE is done and over for good".

So this information is consistent with the behaviour they have been showing in the last months, the secretive, silent, non responsive presence/abscense of Administrators here in the forum,
the lack of product information in their website, and obviously the decision of first getting as much profit as possible for the remaining PE stock, and only then start releasing information about their new projects.

One thinks if they also plan to discontinue the EE as well, and if they do, I bet they will also display the same behaviour in this case, so we will know it by reading posts elsewhere.

A pity.
 
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Old 05-12-2011, 09:31 AM   #6
NiaTrue
Edge User
 
Wait. EnTourage Canada? Really?
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:03 AM   #7
sarah11918
Edge User
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NiaTrue View Post
Wait. EnTourage Canada? Really?
You want to take an article seriously, but when you see one glaring factual error, it does make you wonder about the rest of it.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:04 AM   #8
sarah11918
Edge User
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by paula-t View Post
One thinks if they also plan to discontinue the EE as well...
Oh, I assumed this was a done deal since when you go to the "devices" tab on the Entourage website, it gives you retailers where you can buy a POCKET edge. I figured that they decided the EE was too expensive/bulky or what have you to get very far and were focusing on the pocketable version.

I'm guessing there simply aren't the same numbers of EEs floating around as PEs, probably from smaller initial production runs. Since PE ended up on HSN, and not EE (why couldn't you advertise both at the same time, just different sizes?), one could assume they made a whack more of those.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:09 AM   #9
alefor
Edge User
 
While I think the "outcome die" is already cast, I tried to find that article on goodreader.com and found nothing. Maybe I didnt look hard enough.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:20 AM   #10
NiaTrue
Edge User
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarah11918 View Post
You want to take an article seriously, but when you see one glaring factual error, it does make you wonder about the rest of it.
Yeah, I'm having trouble getting past those first two words in the body text. And since alefor can't find the article, I'm assuming someone's just having a bit of fun, though I, too, think the "outcome dye" has been cast.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:24 AM   #11
schahudi
Edge User
 
http://goodereader.com/blog/tablet-s...edge-e-reader/
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:25 AM   #12
5thWiggle
Edge User
 
Goodereader blog entry

I have no real opinion. I was sure Entourage was going under when I bought my PE. I'm just glad they released the Ermine beta.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:30 AM   #13
NiaTrue
Edge User
 
But, um, it's a blog entry. It's not a reported story. And no one has yet answered the question, What is enTourage Canada? Mind you, I started hoarding accessories a while ago working on the assumption that the EE End Times were surely not far away, but this is a lame story. Why discontinue only the PE? Didn't that one sell much better than the EE? And in this day and age, who switches from Android to Windows?
 
Old 05-12-2011, 10:46 AM   #14
alefor
Edge User
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NiaTrue View Post
......And in this day and age, who switches from Android to Windows?
I realize that I am a dinosaur in many ways.... but I recently went back to Windows, and am extremely satisfied with Win7. Its a great OS (boot time is 20sec, very stable, and when driven with a pen its great on a tablet). And best of all, the main reason I use Windows, is that I can run OneNote 2010, which is a simply fantastic piece of software for taking notes (full color, cut and paste from anything, automatically syncs to the cloud, and much more). Its a real killer app running on a pen-based tablet. And, only runs on Windows. So, that answers your question anyway.... switching to Windows does happen.
 
Old 05-12-2011, 11:35 AM   #15
cheyennedonna
Edge User
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarah11918 View Post



I'd pay more for than I did for the pre-ordered EE, and now that there are two tablet PC slates due out both under $999 (Fujitsu Q550 is priced at $729-ish, the Motion has super specs and shouldn't be more than a couple of hundred more at most), I don't know that they'll have room to compete in the $500 - $1000 tablet PC slate category unless they have something we've never seen before, like screen changing from LCD to e-ink at the press of a button or something.
I got an email the other day saying the Motion CL900 slate is available starting at $899. http://www.motioncomputing.com/buy/buy_CL900.asp
 
 


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