Android 3.0 in Mid-October... Could the eDGe Ever Run It?

what EDGE do not understand is how dynamic is this market. By the last quarter of the year there will be more tablets out, Pixel Qi start shipping already as DIY screens. Notion Ink Adam will be out, a window 7 Pixel Qi tablet, Innoversal's Pixel Qi-based announced at only USD 530 with more capabilities than Edge, also nicer design. So if they do not get the act together, get a quick Froyo update, release the sdk, improve screen integration, they will loose the market share, decrease the sales and may not even be here in September. This is an advise I give them, please exceed your customer expectation and you will get more customers.

Originally Posted by vicinc

what EDGE do not understand is how dynamic is this market. By the last quarter of the year there will be more tablets out, Pixel Qi start shipping already as DIY screens. Notion Ink Adam will be out, a window 7 Pixel Qi tablet, Innoversal's Pixel Qi-based announced at only USD 530 with more capabilities than Edge, also nicer design. So if they do not get the act together, get a quick Froyo update, release the sdk, improve screen integration, they will loose the market share, decrease the sales and may not even be here in September. This is an advise I give them, please exceed your customer expectation and you will get more customers.

Hardly an earth shattering argument there, vicinc. "There are devices that will be released later in the year with technology and operating systems that weren't available when the eDGe was released and will likely be better". No sh*t, Sherlock The fact is that, of the many devices that were shown at CES in January, only the eDGe was available to order. All of the rest have either been canned or we're still waiting. The eDGe isn't pandering to the 'cool' market. It's aimed squarely at the education market. The venture capitalists are calling the shots with the Adam over release etc. I've no doubt Pixel Qi will change the face of tablet computing this year. Who knows, maybe when ES release the next hardware revision of the eDGe, it will contain a Pixel Qi screen on the LCD side. But if ES had hung on till such technology was available on a production level, the eDGe would still be in the vaporware category. The Innoversal tablet is just an Adam clone. I'm impressed with ES for actually having a device ready to ship before it showed it off at a trade fair. Sure it has its wrinkles, but these will be ironed out over time.

Adam were not able to start sales 'cos there were no hardware available. Now, when pixel-qi seems able to manufactory the needed amount of displays, and when nvidia new chipset ready for mass market, I think it will take no more than 6 month before products like this will be awailable in stocks (the only points, probably it will be a different name and different price).

Originally Posted by drsteve

I'm impressed with ES for actually having a device ready to ship

I couldn't agree with you more, drsteve.

Originally Posted by borisb

I couldn't agree with you more, drsteve.

And so do I. They already delivered a device better than I expected and it is getting even better I am sure!

Originally Posted by drsteve

I'm impressed with ES for actually having a device ready to ship before it showed it off at a trade fair. Sure it has its wrinkles, but these will be ironed out over time.

This is why I pre-ordered the eDGe even when I was on the fence about waiting for the Courier. (This was, of course, before it was officially scrapped altogether.) Having a product you could actually buy convinced me to take the plunge. I was prepared for the early-adopter, first-generation woes, and I'm pretty tolerant of less-than-sleek hardware/software if it actually does what I need it to do. This device fit the bill on paper and it was real, so I went for it. Turns out, it was the right decision.

There is always something better around the corner. That's the nature of this business. What's important is that you get what you need and can use and the Edge advertised those features for me. I think once we get some of the future software updates most of my complaints will be addressed and I'll be perfectly satisfied.

That being said, modding the system sounds interesting, like updating the LCD portion to the Pixel Qi screen some day (if it would be possible.) But that would be down the road.

I only wish you had the alex reader to compare screen integration. you would have changed your mind

Alex eReader : Winner Best of CES 2010 eReader category - LAPTOP Magazine

When the engineering and other 'students' go out into the real world - then the eDGe's form factor will show its real value.
The eDGe convinced me to "switch" to an Android 2.1 phone. When, (not 'if') enTourage upgrades and the 'Market' is open to all, things will happen fast.

"Sarah11918 comments inserted here."

Originally Posted by vicinc

Alex eReader : Winner Best of CES 2010 eReader category - LAPTOP Magazine

For it's target market I have no doubt the Alex excels. Maybe the eDGe can learn a thing or two from a screen integration point of view. But you can't surely be comparing the eDGe with this Nookalike? The eDGe can be updated to do everything the Alex can (bar multitouch as the Alex LCD is capacitive). I don't think the reverse can be said. Try Reading a PDF Or a textbook on that 6" screen or the LCD. Can you take handwritten notes on the Alex? I'm afraid the eDGe is so much more than an ereader. Apples and Oranges, my friend. I'm sure many students will be carrying their eDGes round long after the Alex has been consigned to history amongst a sea of clones.

as I said I am an early adopter of tech. I do owe 1 alex reader, 1 rooted Nook, 1 ipad and of course an edge. There are things I like on each of them. I want to use the Edge for more than a reader, which both Nook and Alex are fantastic with a perfect screen and easy to hold on one hand. however edge fail me due to poor eink/lcd integration, lack of content etc. I am sorry but Alex is not a clone, Nook is a clone of Alex, as they introduced first the dual e-ink / lcd concept to Barnes and Nobles which have been stealing the concept and format from them. Also Alex prototype been around long before edge started exploring the concept. Edge was coming from a Chinese start up and the got the EE setup in USA for marketing purposes. Sorry to say, but design of EE is still a Mickey Mouse/ Fisher Price cheap look, you should see my red Edge! I am not moaning but I am trying to point out some issues here. Edge should at least excel by software and riding the android wave. But probably you are still in denial and do not realize this is a 3 person operation, that software development is sub-contracted out a very bad paid contractor probably in India. If they do not get their act together the whole concept will be gone by spring 2011, and our only hope of future development and upgrade support is to get the SDK out and get a community like xdadev build around supporting and improving old phones around this device. I hope I made myself clear, I DO NOT want Edge to fail, but failure to work with the community when you use an open source platform is a major pitfall. Also they should employ more software developers to improve the software integration of this unit. Otherwise the only destination of this device will be my loft museum of obsolete devices.

Originally Posted by vicinc

...that software development is sub-contracted out a very bad paid contractor probably in India.

Why bash India my friend?

I do not bash India. I am against badly paid contractors. Also I am against companies that mis-represent themselves claiming they have an internal development teams when in fact they have contractors only abroad. I did a lot of work in my life working after those outsourced companies in doing damage control. So it is experience talking here.

Originally Posted by vicinc

I do not bash India. I am against badly paid contractors. Also I am against companies that mis-represent themselves claiming they have an internal development teams when in fact they have contractors only abroad. I did a lot of work in my life working after those outsourced companies in doing damage control. So it is experience talking here.

I respect your experience. However, it does seem to be in bad taste, if you do not have concrete information.