A long overdue update

A forum member recently posted info he received from an enTourage admin that they've had a significant setback with regards to a third party software partner after bmoc's original post.

I think we should prepare for an April release, maybe later.

As for if both devices will get it, the original "A statement about Froyo" post by dontpanic indicated they were finding it easier to update the PE than the EE, and therefore the PE would get it first. I would continue to assume this, although if we're lucky enTourage may get the update ready on both devices at the same time.

Originally Posted by borisb

I think we should prepare for an April release, maybe later.

Okay This is it for me.
Adios my friends. I am no longer going to track EE-related developments. I have almost no hope of getting anything more out of Entourage. This is the last time I invested my money in a company like this.

Signing off.

Originally Posted by pat.indie

Okay This is it for me. Adios my friends. I am no longer going to track EE-related developments. I have almost no hope of getting anything more out of Entourage. This is the last time I invested my money in a company like this. Signing off.

This is a sad commentary indeed. The major thing lacking is information from Entourage on the status of things that matter to current owners. It is getting worse. The front page of the forums still has nothing regarding Dingo 1.13 that came out as a "stealth" upgrade weeks ago.

Originally Posted by pat.indie

Okay This is it for me.
Adios my friends. I am no longer going to track EE-related developments. I have almost no hope of getting anything more out of Entourage. This is the last time I invested my money in a company like this.

Signing off.

Good thing you didn't invest in the Aptera electric car which had an original release date of 2008 if I remember correctly. There's still some diehards hanging in there and waiting for it, but I think by now any advantage they had by potentially being first to market has long vaporized since now the Tesla, the Leaf and the Volt are coming main stage.

In any event, seems to me that enTourage should still receive the benefit of the doubt since they HAVE brought their product to market and ARE doing due diligence to make sure whatever updates they bring forth is ready for prime time so as not to screw up the good will earned with their new customers.

Just sayin' ...

If enTourage continues to give good customer support to the people who ask them for it directly, and continue to bring out software updates (e.g. Dingo 1.13), I think I can live with a lack of PR and website updates, at least for now.

Seems to me they could use a new staff member or two to pick up their customer relations from where it left off in January -- the previously mentioned Front Page full of old news and the apparently discontinued webinars. Another (slight) failure in the PR department is the lack of contact from enTourage (not even an autoresponse) when I made an account, signed up for the Forum, and requested the newsletter. How long has it been since a newsletter appeared, anyway?

I would be very interested to hear how the company is doing. Too much business? Too little? Working on big plans for the future, or barely keeping their heads above water? Inquiring minds want to know!

Originally Posted by PugLady

Good thing you didn't invest in the Aptera electric car which had an original release date of 2008 if I remember correctly. There's still some diehards hanging in there and waiting for it

Ok, that made me laugh. I still get email updates from Aptera.

Originally Posted by PugLady

In any event, seems to me that enTourage should still receive the benefit of the doubt since they HAVE brought their product to market and ARE doing due diligence to make sure whatever updates they bring forth is ready for prime time so as not to screw up the good will earned with their new customers.

I agree. I honestly can't wrap my head around the some of the frustrations here. We all have working products. If our products don't work, the company takes care of us with near lightening speed and efficiency. Really, I believe they've more than lived up to their contractual obligation. I can understand people being disappointed over the difficulty with which new apps can be created because the SDK hasn't been released, or the couple of features that it sounded like we were going to have a pre-order time that we don't have. But, I just don't get all this major negative energy around the device not being updated, or about a company not disclosing private company business. If they choose to update, you get a better product than you bought. That's cool. If they choose to share what they're working on, then you have more insight into where the company is going. You didn't pay for either of those (even if you think you did) when you bought your edge. You paid for a machine that did x, y and z. If you weren't happy with those functions, Entourage gladly refunded your purchase. If it didn't do x, y, and z because your machine had an issue, they fixed it. If you really wanted a machine that did q, r and s, then maybe you have to take some responsibility for your gamble on the edge.

I can understand disappointment, but some of the huffiness around here is just way past my ability to comprehend and empathize with.

For whatever it's worth, my eDgE, which I got just a few weeks ago, has version 1.11 and it claims that that's the most recent version when I check for updates. I picture 1.13 like a (dingo) dog who peed on the rug and is trying to pretend that he doesn't know anything about it, hoping desperately that no one will notice.

Originally Posted by sarah11918

I honestly can't wrap my head around the some of the frustrations here. We all have working products. ... But, I just don't get all this major negative energy around the device not being updated, or about a company not disclosing private company business.

Well said. We bought a device from a private company; we didn't buy a majority stake in an IPO. Yes, I'm disappointed that we haven't already gotten froyo, but what important function will froyo give us that we don't already have? Seriously. Maybe I'm missing something. As others have said on another thread, I'd rather have an eink upgrade than froyo--which I think would bring major functional upgrades (more shades of gray and landscape viewing)--but that's just me.

Originally Posted by gecko

For whatever it's worth, my eDgE, which I got just a few weeks ago, has version 1.11 and it claims that that's the most recent version when I check for updates. I picture 1.13 like a (dingo) dog who peed on the rug and is trying to pretend that he doesn't know anything about it, hoping desperately that no one will notice.

Dingo 1.13 hasn't been released for the large enTourage eDGe (EE), just the PE. Not to worry though as 1.13 doesn't seem to add/fix much.

Originally Posted by NiaTrue

what important function will froyo give us that we don't already have?

This is basically true. However, more and more apps are being released now that require Android 2.x or higher. WinAmp, Angry Birds, and other popular apps. While new owners will probably be able to find old "1.5/1.6" versions of apps for a couple of years yet, as a group we'll be left behind by the next generation of apps. This will happen eventually anyway, but an update to Froyo 2.2 will probably buy us another 1-2 years of new and updated apps.

Originally Posted by borisb

While new owners will probably be able to find old "1.5/1.6" versions of apps for a couple of years yet, as a group we'll be left behind by the next generation of apps. This will happen eventually anyway, but an update to Froyo 2.2 will probably buy us another 1-2 years of new and updated apps.

OK, this is a good point. Admittedly, I no longer have a twitter app on my N810 because twitter changed their API after the device had basically been abandoned by Nokia (so a lot of developers weren't keeping up with their older apps at that point). Since twitter came out just as the N810 community was on a downturn, we really only had the one app and it no longer works. Nothing stops anyone from making new apps, as it's linux based, and in fact some still are, but some don't find it worth it for such a small, niche community.

But I tend to agree with boris' assessment that we should be able to count on another couple of years of functionality even if the device stays exactly as-is, which for me would be 3 years of ownership and completely reasonable for a first generation product. I would find it really hard to believe that in 2 years we won't either have Android 2.x running, or a new updated machine offered entirely.

Originally Posted by sarah11918

But I tend to agree with boris' assessment that we should be able to count on another couple of years of functionality even if the device stays exactly as-is, which for me would be 3 years of ownership and completely reasonable for a first generation product. I would find it really hard to believe that in 2 years we won't either have Android 2.x running, or a new updated machine offered entirely.

Very good point. The necessity of software updates for improved, more substantive apps--that I get; although, frankly, I didn't buy my eDGe for the apps. I bought it for reading and annotating ebooks (landscape, please), surfing the web, checking email and watching the occassional video. I may be an outlier user in this respect. Cool apps are a big plus, though, no doubt, and they often add considerable functionality.

And I agree we'll probably get another two years out of this iteration of the eDGe before it becomes obsolete (Didn't the iPod launch about two years after the iRiver?). But what basic functionality native to the eDGe's capacity will we get with froyo?

Originally Posted by NiaTrue

I didn't buy my eDGe for the apps. I bought it for reading and annotating ebooks (ladnscape, please), surfing the web, checking email and watching the occassional video. I may be an outlier user in this respect.

There seem to be a lot of outliers here; I'm one too (and I don't even watch videos; the only use I can think for them would be to play Japanese tentacle porn in order to get a seat on a crowded train; I currently eat pickled herring for that purpose). On the other hand, I have to admit that, as a recent buyer, the Android 1.6 version was very off-putting, but that was before I bought the thing, and was just looking at specs. At this point, I know how unimportant is it to me, but I can't really blame Entourage if they decide to put their resources into Froyo. On the other other hand, e-ink stuff (landscape, better annotations with zoom) is way, way, way, more important to me than Froyo. Way. A lot.

I think it's worth pointing out that apparently enTourage is going to great pains, quite literally, to provide the Froyo (2.2) update.

While presumably they have plans for next generation devices, undoubtedly running Honeycomb (3.0) and probably already in development, it's significant that they haven't simply given up on 2.2 for their "old" devices which would be so easy to do to focus on easier things, like the next hardware release (which cell phone companies tend to do with their phones, abandoning them of updates basically from the time they ship).

Originally Posted by borisb

I think it's worth pointing out that apparently enTourage is going to great pains, quite literally, to provide the Froyo (2.2) update.

And I'm grateful for this even though I'd rather they have invested at least some of their energy on the No. 1 feature request from current owners. As such, I'm in no big hurry for froyo and am very hapy with my ability to read The Black Swan and annotate it while the eDGe pumps my favorite tunes to my wireless headphones and I pop on and off twitter to check out my tweeps.