Any news on Androis 2.X?

I wondering if there is any news on the upgrade to Android 2.X. I have read in previous posts that it is going to be sometime later this year. I was wondering if there are any updates regarding the time of release.
I am guessing that Boris might know?

It would be nice if the Entourage team gave us some idea about where we are headed with Android upgrades and some kind of guide about Badger/Coyote upgrades. What does it mean? Where are we headed? Maybe they are taking cues from Apple and being tight-lipped. Will we be going to 2.2 next?

Originally Posted by alefor

It would be nice if the Entourage team gave us some idea about where we are headed with Android upgrades and some kind of guide about Badger/Coyote upgrades. What does it mean? Where are we headed? Maybe they are taking cues from Apple and being tight-lipped. Will we be going to 2.2 next?

enTourage usually gives a heads up about a week or so before the update comes out, but rarely before then. We can speculate, but I wouldn't expect much in the way of a definitive outline of what future updates might be coming.

My guess is that they're putting most of their attention on getting stuff like full Blackboard compatibility out before the school year, so there might be another minor update or two before they come out with an upgrade to Android 2.x (note: they haven't specified whether it will be to 2.1 or 2.2). I would think that they would want to get full Flash support as soon as possible, but it's possible that there are a few items that receive higher priority.

Originally Posted by walt526

enTourage usually gives a heads up about a week or so before the update comes out, but rarely before then. We can speculate, but I wouldn't expect much in the way of a definitive outline of what future updates might be coming.

My guess is that they're putting most of their attention on getting stuff like full Blackboard compatibility out before the school year, so there might be another minor update or two before they come out with an upgrade to Android 2.x (note: they haven't specified whether it will be to 2.1 or 2.2). I would think that they would want to get full Flash support as soon as possible, but it's possible that there are a few items that receive higher priority.

Walt526,
Your right speculating is of less use, that's why it would be nice if someone of enTourage could give some info on android 2.1 or 2.2

EE has friendly support, but no time to chat on forum. So you can write to them via ticket system and ask about it. For sure thay will replay in 48hours, and you can post the answer here

Originally Posted by Snepscheut

Walt526,
Your right speculating is of less use, that's why it would be nice if someone of enTourage could give some info on android 2.1 or 2.2

And as I said before, they usually give a heads up a week or so before the update is ready to go (i.e., when it's in final testing). But they don't make any definitive promises on very much until they're sure that they can deliver. Whining about it is going to accomplish even less than speculating about it.

The official line is that an upgrade to "Android 2.x" is coming "later this summer." Until it's almost ready to be released, I wouldn't expect to hear anything more specific.

Originally Posted by borisb

If it's true that full Flash support is only possible in Android 2.2, then we can combine this with the fact that enTourage has always promised full Flash support this summer to conclude that we'll be getting Android 2.2 this summer (i.e., within the next 4-8 weeks).

I think that is a logical extrapolation. But in terms of the official word, they've only said 2.x sometime in the summer--which implies that there's a chance that it would be a progression of updates (although at this point, that would seem to be rather pointless since Flash is by far the most important feature for most users). Also, are you sure that they have definitively promised Flash by summer's end (I know that they have promised full Flash eventually, but I am unaware that they had specified by the end of the summer)?

Thank you all. If indeed they will have "full Flash support", that requires Android 2.2 to the best of my knowledge. That would be a huge boost for the eDGe.

Originally Posted by alefor

Thank you all. If indeed they will have "full Flash support", that requires Android 2.2 to the best of my knowledge. That would be a huge boost for the eDGe.

That was my thoughts, as well. I think Adobe originally planned on having full Flash support for 2.1 but it got moved to 2.2. I would rather be forced to wait an extra 2 more weeks to move straight to 2.2 than get 2.1 first and wait a couple months more for 2.2.

I wish Entourage just made an official annoucement and ended the speculation...It's enough to drive away existing and prospective users.

Originally Posted by pat.indie

I wish Entourage just made an official annoucement and ended the speculation...It's enough to drive away existing and prospective users.

On the one hand, I agree as I won't be completely satisfied with the eDGe until it has Flash. On the other, I can understand that they don't want to create expectations that they might not be able to meet.

A lot of startups (and even quite a few established firms) make some bold promises and then fail to deliver and/or some sort of issue beyond their control delays things. But the damage to its reputation for failing to deliver is irreversible for a company whose reputation is not yet firmly established. Customer service (actually, all relationships in general) is all about successfully managing expectations. I think that enTourage understands that and consequently is very conservative with its official announcements, never specifying a release date until the update is essentially done.

Obviously customers want the full Flash support that Android 2.2 will deliver as soon as possible (as well as the other enhancements, although Flash is probably the most important). I am sure that enTourage wants to get that update circulating before the "back to school" shopping season begins in the US (i.e., mid-August). I would imagine that's their internal target date and they have some idea of what the costs in terms of potential sales will be if they don't have it out. But publicly announcing the target dates won't increase sales much (consumer electronics don't sell in the summer) nor will it increase the likelihood of their product development team meeting the deadline. On the other hand, if they announce "August 15th" or whatever but then something unforeseeable delays release until mid-October, then they damage the reputation of the brand (as well as losing out on the opportunities of the back-to-school sales). In other words, the potential risks far outweigh the potential rewards...

Originally Posted by borisb

....If Android 2.x is so critical, there are all kinds of other eReaders/tablets out there running Android 2.x and Flash 10.

I am not sure I understand this..I thought we are talking about eDGe here.

I do not think it is an all-or-none issue. I am not saying that eDGe is unusable. However, there are a number of bugs and limitations which will hopefully be solved by Android 2.X and flash. I don't think there is anything wrong in expecting an up-to-date version of the OS running the eDGe.

Agreed there are other products that run Android 2.2 and flash, but that is besides the point. If I had such a tablet there is no way for me to (easily) install an e-ink display on it. However it should be relatively easier to install Android 2.2 on eDGe

I think all of us understand that eDGe is a work in progress. We knew this when we bought the device. We all also understand that Entourage is a start-up and lauched eDGe no more than 3 months ago. However, the fact remains that we are not beta testers but paying customers.

I am sure it will be sooner than later

Pat, I think that you missed Boris' point in #17:

"For example, the iPad, the Kindle DX, the Nook, the Kobo/Borders reader, the Que Logic device, the new dual screen Toshiba device, etc."

- the iPad will never support Flash
- the Kindle DX doesn't support Flash (given that it's just an eInk screen)
- the Kobo doesn't support Flash (given that it's just an eInk screen)
- the Que Logic still hasn't shipped (and is also just an eInk screen)
- the Toshiba Libretto isn't scheduled to ship until August

The ASUS eeePads or whatever haven't shipped yet (and early previews were pretty lackluster), nor has Samsung's tablet. Right now, there aren't very many devices currently running Android 2.2 period and, to the best of my knowledge, no tablets yet.


Finally, if it were so simply to ship a device with Android 2.2, then why is Motorola shipping the Droid X (the new flagship product of one of the largest mobile companies in the world) in mid-July with Android 2.1 with a promise of an upgrade to 2.2 sometime in late August? Maybe it's not as simple to upgrade as you think...