Is the wacom e-ink side special?

[emusan]

Originally Posted by krewskater

It sounds like you didn't read up on the device enough before purchasing it. When you consider the fact that it uses a Wacom digitizer under the e-ink screen you can't really call the stylus "non-standard" unless the standard you are comparing it to is regular touchscreen devices (in which case the comparison makes no sense). USB charging would not have been too hard to integrate, I'm not sure why they didn't do this and I'm not fully up to spec with the eDge's hardware but the DC charger runs 12V/1A and USB outputs 5 V, again they could've made it work and I don't know why they didn't. As for marketplace, I may be wrong because I'm new to the Android scene but when this was originally released Marketplace didn't support tablets (again I could be wrong) and there were some issues between enTourage/Google as far as licensing and fees go, with the influx of new owners from the Woot specials it seems like the dev community is picking up and a custom ROM with market (that doesn't require another account/using an emulator workaround/other droid device) shouldn't be too far off.

Doing charging over USB would have been very hard, not only is it only 5V(which wont power the LCD on its own and would need to be stepped up a lot), when plugged into a computer its only 500mA, meaning that you would at best get a trickle charge if your device was hibernating, not what users expect, and they would end up getting quite a few angry people wondering why their device isn't charging when its plugged into a computer.

[ivanjt]

Don't forget http://www.freewarelovers.com/android for free apps plus they have several of the older versions of the apps available as well.

Re the Watcom pen, it is what is known as an active device and if you had a Watcom tablet the little cover in the side would act as a button the same as a mouse, also on their larger tablets the tip also acts as a button.

[arcticmaniac]

Originally Posted by emusan

Doing charging over USB would have been very hard, not only is it only 5V(which wont power the LCD on its own and would need to be stepped up a lot), when plugged into a computer its only 500mA, meaning that you would at best get a trickle charge if your device was hibernating, not what users expect, and they would end up getting quite a few angry people wondering why their device isn't charging when its plugged into a computer.

I probably would have settled for usb trickle charging at least. i could use it all day, then plug it in at overnight and it would be ready, the same way that we all probably do everynight with our smartphones, iphones, android, symbian

by the way emusan, what do you use to make programs for android?

[emusan]

Originally Posted by arcticmaniac

I probably would have settled for usb trickle charging at least. i could use it all day, then plug it in at overnight and it would be ready, the same way that we all probably do everynight with our smartphones, iphones, android, symbian

by the way emusan, what do you use to make programs for android?

The kind of trickle you would get might not even charge it fully overnight(we're talking at most ~50mA, the batteries consist of two 2000mA IIRC).

For development I use eclipse with the android plugin, like 99% of other developers. I must admit its very well done, even though I hate using IDE's(there are ways to not use it but they don't make it nearly as easy).

[ken_jennings]

Originally Posted by arcticmaniac

Does anyone know why the e-ink side can only use a wacom stylus?
What is so special about it?

I have tons of loose stylus from nintendo ds to palm, etc but none of them work on the e-ink side. i really do not want to pay $20 just for a stylus given that its 1/6 the price of the PE (woot special).

The E-Ink display includes Penabled input. The screen emits an RF field that powers the pen. The pen can provide position, pressure, and several buttons for input. Consequently, the pen is not just a plastic stick -- there are a lot of little electrical parts in the pen.

The Wacom Penabled display is not non-standard. I have other book-reader type hardware that uses the Wacom Penabled screen. It is also fairly common on real tablet PCs, and some laptops. It is popular, because the input method is more precise and superior than most other writing inputs. The screen will also not read your palm which makes writing more natural.

If it says "Penabled" it should work with the edge. There are a couple other threads around here about where to get other Penabled pens.

The Penabled pen works fine on the LCD side, too (of course ) ;-)

If I asked a question it would be why it costs so much ($5 or $10) to buy a stylus for many other touch devices when they're really just inert sticks.

[Gunnerp245]

Originally Posted by arcticmaniac

Does anyone know why the e-ink side can only use a wacom stylus? What is so special about it? .

Wiki

"Wacom tablets use a patented electromagnetic resonance technology.[13] Since the tablet provides power to the pen through resonant coupling, no battery or cord is required for the pointing device. As a result, there are no batteries inside the pen (or the accompanying puck), which makes them slimmer.

Under the tablet's surface (or LCD in the case of the Cintiq) is a printed circuit board with a grid of multiple send/receive coils and a magnetic reflector attached behind the grid array. In send mode, the tablet generates a close-coupled electromagnetic field (also known as a B-field) at a frequency of 531khz.

This close-coupled field stimulates oscillation in the pen's coil/capacitor (LC) circuit when brought into range of the B-field. Any excess resonant electromagnetic energy is reflected back to the tablet. In receive mode, the energy of the resonant circuit’s oscillations in the pen is detected by the tablet's grid.

This information is analyzed by the computer to determine the pen's position, by interpolation and Fourier analysis of the signal intensity. In addition, the pen communicates other vital information, such as pen tip pressure, side-switch status, tip vs. eraser orientation, and the ID number of the tool (to differentiate between different pens. mice, etc.)."

Innards of a Wacom Pen from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4878553.pdf

[Sheesh]

I actually have a Wacom tablet and unfortunately, its pen doesn't work on the PE. I kind of hoped it would as it is very comfortable. Still works on the LCD side of course, and I can use it with programs like SketchBook Mobile and Maple Paint. Just wish using those wasn't so laggy.

[jmgazer]

Saw one on EBay for $12+1, yesterday after I got an Amazon one with a side button for $15+5; It works very well, what is the button for?

Jim

Penabled

[exscentric]

Button on a tablet you plug into a pc is used as a mouse click.

[geneven1]

It does seem that the pens are kind of a ripoff. I bought one from Amazon and it seemed very cheaply made. It would be nice to be able to do it yourself, as in make one.

[emusan]

Originally Posted by geneven1

It does seem that the pens are kind of a ripoff. I bought one from Amazon and it seemed very cheaply made. It would be nice to be able to do it yourself, as in make one.

that wouldn't be particularly easy, its a lot of components in a small space, and they all need to be relatively accurate.

[ken_jennings]

The various graphics tablets (Intuos, Graphire, Bambo, etc.) are not Penabled. It seems Wacom does something slightly different for their graphics tablets than for the computer pen/screens (Penabled). If the pens/displays/tablets are not described as Penabled, then they probably are not compatible with the edge's pen.