Entourage Edge hands on - Page 5

pilotbob · 01-18-2010, 02:04 PM

ON the text issue.... I am pretty sure and epub/pdf reader will also work with txt. After all, ePub is nothing more than txt with added formatting. So, you will just have an unformated document.

Also, I would expect you could use Sigil or something to create epub doesn't from your txt files fairly easily.

Although, as someone said pretty much everything you can get from PG you can get from other places in epub... google's PD books are all in ePub.

Of course, you should look in the MobileRead library first... you usually find the best formatting of ebooks right here.

BOb

gastan · 02-12-2010, 07:09 PM

re-posted to a different board.

gastan · 02-14-2010, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JanieGirl

THe nook, the kindle etc all have great online stores you can access through the device. You are telling me to buy elsewhere off of the edge device and put it on the edge? Who wants that? Yeah anyone could do that but I want an ebook reader where I can wirelessly download not jump through hoops.

It's also very expensive, too much for me

Why would you need to buy "...off of the edge device..." and then "...put it on the edge..."?

The eDGe will download any file type from the internet. I don't see why you couldn't use the web browser part to navigate to your favorite e-store, purchase whatever you want, download it to your eDGe, and then open it like any other e-book. In practical terms, that would be no different than importing a book from your desktop PC via usb or from a usb flash drive.

wallcraft · 02-14-2010, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gastan

The eDGe will download any file type from the internet. I don't see why you couldn't use the web browser part to navigate to your favorite e-store, purchase whatever you want, download it to your eDGe, and then open it like any other e-book. In practical terms, that would be no different than importing a book from your desktop PC via usb or from a usb flash drive.

What you get when you "download" an Adobe ePub or PDF from an ebook store is an .acsm file (or similar), which is just a permission slip to allow Desktop Adobe Digital Editions to download the actual encrypted ePub or PDF. With the latest Adobe Reader® Mobile 9.1 SDK, OTA (over the air) downloads of Adobe ePub and PDF are possible. So far the only ebook reader that can use ADE's OTA capability without being tied to one store is the Oynx Boox 60 (and the similar BeBook Neo). I'm not sure how general the capability in the Boox/Neo is though.

gastan · 02-14-2010, 11:52 AM

Since eDGe supports ADE and Adobe ePub and Adobe PDF it should be able to handle the .acsm file, shouldn't it?

Also, from their website:
What DRM formats does the enTourage eDGe support?
The enTourage eDGe and the enTourage eDGe bookstore are based on the
Adobe Mobile Reader Technology and the Adobe Content Server platform
respectively. These platforms work together to supply Adobe DRM
content. However, we can also read EPUB and PDF files that are not
controlled with DRM. Therefore you can download PDFs from a website or
your computer and view them on the reader.

You should be able to open any non-DRM ePub or PDF downloaded from the web, right, in addition to the Adobe ones?

And they say:
Can I buy books from other stores or download from my library?
If the stores are based on the Adobe Content Server platform, then you should be able to. We want to support this, but have not tested it at this time.

Doesn't this mean that any store using the Adobe model should be supported by the eDGe?

Can't wait for the first hands on reports to start so we can learn what this thing really can do. I'm so close to ordering one.

wallcraft · 02-14-2010, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gastan

You should be able to open any non-DRM ePub or PDF downloaded from the web, right, in addition to the Adobe ones?

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gastan

And they say:
Can I buy books from other stores or download from my library?
If the stores are based on the Adobe Content Server platform, then you should be able to. We want to support this, but have not tested it at this time.

Doesn't this mean that any store using the Adobe model should be supported by the eDGe?

This means that they have implemented Adobe's OTA capability, which is good. However, as a general rule, when a sales pitch says "should be able to" and "have not tested it" they mean "have tested it and it does not work". They still have time to fix this before release though.

I don't see this as a major reason not to buy an eDGe. In the worst case, you will have to use Desktop ADE to download Adobe ebooks from lending libraries and some ebook sites - but the resulting DRMed ePubs and PDFs will then be readable on the device. This is exactly the same approach used by almost all existing EInk ebook readers.

paulckennedy · 02-14-2010, 02:08 PM

From everything that has been advertised so far about the Edge, I am convinced that it is one of the most Open eBook readers available at the moment.

I hope that the OTA has been made as part of their rollout. From what I understand, the main advantage I see from their store is the integration in the Library menu of the Edge. I believe that the outside store option will be available via OTA but it is not in their best interest to state that since they have a store.

The OTA capabilities will be one of the many things I will be testing when I receive it in 2 weeks. I am planning on putting together a Open Box review followed by a detailed one later.

What things should I be focusing on in my reviews? This will be my first so any suggestions would be great. I want my review to be useful and complete while still not being rambly.

wallcraft · 02-14-2010, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulckennedy

What things should I be focusing on in my reviews?

PDF capabilities are one area of significant interest. See Wiki: PDF for a list of possible capabilities. Some of the existing large screen devices have poor PDF support, for example the Kindle DX does not support the table of contents, does not have any zoom beyond autocropping margins, does not allow annotations, and does not implement the single page reflow that most other mobile ADE-based devices have. The DR800S has reflow, but no landscape mode and no zoom at all.

paulckennedy · 02-14-2010, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

PDF capabilities are one area of significant interest. See Wiki: PDF for a list of possible capabilities. Some of the existing large screen devices have poor PDF support, for example the Kindle DX does not support the table of contents, does not have any zoom beyond autocropping margins, does not allow annotations, and does not implement the single page reflow that most other mobile ADE-based devices have. The DR800S has reflow, but no landscape mode and no zoom at all.

I definitely will be extensively reviewing the PDF capabilities of the Edge. I will use the Wiki to ensure I hit the necessary points.

I am highly interested in the annotation capabilities of the Edge. Now that I have seen the features available with Google Wave, I am very curious about an Edge specific client designed using their open sources client libraries.

mgm1979 · 02-15-2010, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulckennedy

I am highly interested in the annotation capabilities of the Edge. Now that I have seen the features available with Google Wave, I am very curious about an Edge specific client designed using their open sources client libraries.

oh man, I didn't even think of that...Google Wave on the eDGe - that would be sick!

qno · 02-17-2010, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulckennedy

What things should I be focusing on in my reviews? This will be my first so any suggestions would be great. I want my review to be useful and complete while still not being rambly.

Hi.
I'd like to know how accurate writing/drawing is, whether one can do better than the fat scribbles seen on the demo and whether it has any potential as a sketchpad.
Another thing I'm interested in is the portability of opensource apps to android (R would be great), but this is probably not the place for this question.
Thanks!

BillC44 · 03-01-2010, 09:22 PM

As there are others promising in-depth reviews of the eDGe itself, I thought I would make my first post here (after lurking for two or three years!) and talk about my visit today to the company's head offices.

A quick background: My primary reason for wanting an e-reader is to be able to comfortably read PDFs of out of print books, both fiction and non-fiction. Towards that end, I have held out for a large screen device that can truly handle scanned PDFs. I've always thought, however, that there should be something more to the unit than just the e-reader. Enter the eDGe. From the things that have been said here and from the reviews I've read elsewhere, it seemed to be my dream machine. When I discovered that their corporate offices were 15 minutes away from my house, I emailed customer service (on Friday) and asked if I could drop in sometime for a demonstration. They said sure, come by Monday.

My contact was Terrence, a program marketing associate. He spent 40 minutes with me explaining the ins and outs of the eDGe, answering my questions, and allowing me to play -- make no mistake, it felt exactly like PLAY -- with his eDGe. In addition, I was able to test out some PDFs I had brought on a flash drive and they worked beautifully. One was a particularly bad scan job, with small print and a tan, weathered kind of background. The eDGe turned the background white and its zoom function made reading the small text easy. I have no complaints about any aspect of the reader’s ability to handle this kind of PDF. (And though this isn’t a review, I have to say, yes, compared to a dedicated e-reader the eDGe is big and heavy, but that doesn’t mean it’s cumbersome. Instead, it feels solid and secure and full of potential.)

The part of the enTourage offices that I saw were clean and organized. It was a very professional, but low-key environment. (That's how Terrence was, as well.) Everyone I interacted with (including customer service) was helpful, efficient, and friendly. I got the sense that these people know what they're doing and that they go about their jobs without the flash and pomp that other companies (I won't mention iNames) seem to think they need in order to sell their product. I think enTourage knows that this product, if given a chance, will sell itself. It certainly did so to me. I wasn't home 15 minutes before I placed an order.

Overall, I was very impressed with the eDGe and equally impressed with enTourage. I believe they have a strong grasp on what good customer service means, and that bodes well for post-purchase problems and for future development.

m-reader · 03-02-2010, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillC44

As there are others promising in-depth reviews of the eDGe itself, I thought I would make my first post here (after lurking for two or three years!) and talk about my visit today to the company's head offices.

Sheesh ... Talking about customer service! I am impressed (assuming this is not some sort of guerrilla marketing campaign

).

TallMomof2 · 03-02-2010, 10:23 AM

I'm really impressed with my eDGe, too. So far it's the best PDF reader I've used. It handles ePub better as well if not better than the JetBook. I've been able to download directly from Fictionwise (ePub or PDF only), the library (ePub) and Google Books (through the eDGe ebookstore) with no problems. If I didn't have such an old crappy router I would be able run the Calibre web server and be able to download ebooks directly from my main PC to the eDGe.

You can also load ebooks via a USB thumg drive or an SD card.

The eInk side has a built in touchscreen that doesn't detract from the readability of the screen. Plenty of annotation options are available. There is also a journal mode that looks like a lined piece of paper that you can write on with your stylus.

The LCD side features a snappy Android interface. I've only connected to the internet via wireless (you can also use an USB to ethernet adapter for a wired connection) and it is far faster than any of my Windows devices or Mac devices on a wireless connection. Yes, you usually are limited to the mobile version of a website but some websites allow you to toggle over to the desktop version.

The library functions are on the LCD side and allow you to tag your media so that you can easily find what you're looking for.

The unit folds back on itself so you can use just the LCD side or the eInk side. It's a little thick to hold while reading but I've adjusted. I've set the LCD screen to turn off after two minutes to conserve battery life while I'm just reading.

It's a neat device and would be very useful for college students or anyone who marks up documents.

paulckennedy · 03-02-2010, 10:32 AM

I have had problems getting my USB to Fast Ethernet adapter to work. Has anyone been able to get one to work? Mine is a cheap one I bought from Amazon and not the $30 one from Entourage.

02-12-2010, 07:09 PM	#62
gastan Addict Posts: 221 Karma: 801624 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: US Pacific Northwest Device: LePan II, Kobo Aura	re-posted to a different board. Last edited by gastan; 02-12-2010 at 11:29 PM. Reason: re-posted in different board.

02-14-2010, 11:52 AM	#65
gastan Addict Posts: 221 Karma: 801624 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: US Pacific Northwest Device: LePan II, Kobo Aura	Since eDGe supports ADE and Adobe ePub and Adobe PDF it should be able to handle the .acsm file, shouldn't it? Also, from their website: What DRM formats does the enTourage eDGe support? The enTourage eDGe and the enTourage eDGe bookstore are based on the Adobe Mobile Reader Technology and the Adobe Content Server platform respectively. These platforms work together to supply Adobe DRM content. However, we can also read EPUB and PDF files that are not controlled with DRM. Therefore you can download PDFs from a website or your computer and view them on the reader. You should be able to open any non-DRM ePub or PDF downloaded from the web, right, in addition to the Adobe ones? And they say: Can I buy books from other stores or download from my library? If the stores are based on the Adobe Content Server platform, then you should be able to. We want to support this, but have not tested it at this time. Doesn't this mean that any store using the Adobe model should be supported by the eDGe? Can't wait for the first hands on reports to start so we can learn what this thing really can do. I'm so close to ordering one. Last edited by gastan; 02-14-2010 at 11:55 AM.

03-01-2010, 09:22 PM	#72
BillC44 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: enTourage eDGe	A Visit to enTourage Systems, Inc. As there are others promising in-depth reviews of the eDGe itself, I thought I would make my first post here (after lurking for two or three years!) and talk about my visit today to the company's head offices. A quick background: My primary reason for wanting an e-reader is to be able to comfortably read PDFs of out of print books, both fiction and non-fiction. Towards that end, I have held out for a large screen device that can truly handle scanned PDFs. I've always thought, however, that there should be something more to the unit than just the e-reader. Enter the eDGe. From the things that have been said here and from the reviews I've read elsewhere, it seemed to be my dream machine. When I discovered that their corporate offices were 15 minutes away from my house, I emailed customer service (on Friday) and asked if I could drop in sometime for a demonstration. They said sure, come by Monday. My contact was Terrence, a program marketing associate. He spent 40 minutes with me explaining the ins and outs of the eDGe, answering my questions, and allowing me to play -- make no mistake, it felt exactly like PLAY -- with his eDGe. In addition, I was able to test out some PDFs I had brought on a flash drive and they worked beautifully. One was a particularly bad scan job, with small print and a tan, weathered kind of background. The eDGe turned the background white and its zoom function made reading the small text easy. I have no complaints about any aspect of the reader’s ability to handle this kind of PDF. (And though this isn’t a review, I have to say, yes, compared to a dedicated e-reader the eDGe is big and heavy, but that doesn’t mean it’s cumbersome. Instead, it feels solid and secure and full of potential.) The part of the enTourage offices that I saw were clean and organized. It was a very professional, but low-key environment. (That's how Terrence was, as well.) Everyone I interacted with (including customer service) was helpful, efficient, and friendly. I got the sense that these people know what they're doing and that they go about their jobs without the flash and pomp that other companies (I won't mention iNames) seem to think they need in order to sell their product. I think enTourage knows that this product, if given a chance, will sell itself. It certainly did so to me. I wasn't home 15 minutes before I placed an order. Overall, I was very impressed with the eDGe and equally impressed with enTourage. I believe they have a strong grasp on what good customer service means, and that bodes well for post-purchase problems and for future development. Last edited by BillC44; 03-01-2010 at 09:24 PM.

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01-18-2010, 02:04 PM	#61
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	ON the text issue.... I am pretty sure and epub/pdf reader will also work with txt. After all, ePub is nothing more than txt with added formatting. So, you will just have an unformated document. Also, I would expect you could use Sigil or something to create epub doesn't from your txt files fairly easily. Although, as someone said pretty much everything you can get from PG you can get from other places in epub... google's PD books are all in ePub. Of course, you should look in the MobileRead library first... you usually find the best formatting of ebooks right here. BOb

02-14-2010, 02:08 PM	#67
paulckennedy Addict Posts: 205 Karma: 824 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Carthage, Texas Device: Apple iPad	From everything that has been advertised so far about the Edge, I am convinced that it is one of the most Open eBook readers available at the moment. I hope that the OTA has been made as part of their rollout. From what I understand, the main advantage I see from their store is the integration in the Library menu of the Edge. I believe that the outside store option will be available via OTA but it is not in their best interest to state that since they have a store. The OTA capabilities will be one of the many things I will be testing when I receive it in 2 weeks. I am planning on putting together a Open Box review followed by a detailed one later. What things should I be focusing on in my reviews? This will be my first so any suggestions would be great. I want my review to be useful and complete while still not being rambly.

03-02-2010, 10:23 AM	#74
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I'm really impressed with my eDGe, too. So far it's the best PDF reader I've used. It handles ePub better as well if not better than the JetBook. I've been able to download directly from Fictionwise (ePub or PDF only), the library (ePub) and Google Books (through the eDGe ebookstore) with no problems. If I didn't have such an old crappy router I would be able run the Calibre web server and be able to download ebooks directly from my main PC to the eDGe. You can also load ebooks via a USB thumg drive or an SD card. The eInk side has a built in touchscreen that doesn't detract from the readability of the screen. Plenty of annotation options are available. There is also a journal mode that looks like a lined piece of paper that you can write on with your stylus. The LCD side features a snappy Android interface. I've only connected to the internet via wireless (you can also use an USB to ethernet adapter for a wired connection) and it is far faster than any of my Windows devices or Mac devices on a wireless connection. Yes, you usually are limited to the mobile version of a website but some websites allow you to toggle over to the desktop version. The library functions are on the LCD side and allow you to tag your media so that you can easily find what you're looking for. The unit folds back on itself so you can use just the LCD side or the eInk side. It's a little thick to hold while reading but I've adjusted. I've set the LCD screen to turn off after two minutes to conserve battery life while I'm just reading. It's a neat device and would be very useful for college students or anyone who marks up documents.

03-02-2010, 10:32 AM	#75
paulckennedy Addict Posts: 205 Karma: 824 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Carthage, Texas Device: Apple iPad	I have had problems getting my USB to Fast Ethernet adapter to work. Has anyone been able to get one to work? Mine is a cheap one I bought from Amazon and not the $30 one from Entourage.