EnTourage eDGe
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| Usability | |
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Yes, that is really how they want you to write it: The enTourage eDGe™ (hm…) is the world’s first dualbook, combining the functions of an e-reader, netbook, notepad, and audio/video recorder and player in one. It’s a comprehensive device that lets you read e-books, surf the Internet, take digital notes, send emails and instant messages, watch movies and listen to music anywhere, at any time. This is nothing you’ve ever seen before! However, we have to say the usability does not really come close to the Kindle.
At first sight the eDGe looks good: Get books wirelessly, move files onto your enTourage eDGe™ using an SD card or a USB flash drive. Use the mini-USB port to move files back and forth from a Windows, Mac, or Linux-based PC. And with a netbook built in, you can forget the limitations of other e-readers, the enTourage eDGe™ does it all!
The enTourage eDGe™ e-reader screen is a spacious 1200 x 825 pixels, or 9.7 inches measured diagonally. This big screen makes reading e-books much easier than on smaller screens, reducing the number of page turns. It includes the advantages of other e-readers, with zooming capability, a glare-free screen, and the ability to read in sunlight. The enTourage eDGe™ e-reader uses e-Ink® technology, which lets you take notes right on the book you’re reading. You can open a journal page, enter drawings with the stylus or text — either by hand or using the virtual keyboard. Then it lets you save your notes and journals to the enTourage eDGe™, to a server, or email them to your friends or classmates. The enTourage eDGe™ can read both ePub files and PDFs.
Netbook Functionality
The enTourage eDGe™ color touchscreen is a whole netbook, ready to play movies or MP3s, organize your books, notes, and pictures, or let you instant message your friends. No report yet on flash support, but we are guessing this should e included, which gives it a great advantage over the Apple Ipad, which doesn’t support flash. The screen is 1024 x 600 pixels, or 10.1 inches measured diagonally. You can view images from the e-book you’re reading on the color display. You can open a virtual keyboard and type instant messages or emails. The netbook includes an audio recorder to capture lectures for later playback or sharing. It also has a video camera to record still images or movies as MP4s or 3GP files. You can plug in headphones or a microphone or use the built in speaker and recorder.
The netbook functionality comes with web browsing using the built in WiFi®, audio/video record and playback, an email function and contacts list, a calculator, an alarm clock, and a library function to manage your books and files. The enTourage eDGe™ uses the Google® Android® operating system, so you can add other applications you need, which comes in handy as soon as you have an Android phone, as then you can easily synch apps between the devices.
Flexibility
The enTourage eDGe™ lets you work the way you want. You can use the netbook in portrait or landscape mode, but you can also flip everything around 180 degrees. When you do that, the e-reader, where you keep your journals or take notes on books, will be on the right side, and the netbook will be on the left.
Keep it All Together
The enTourage eDGe™ only weighs about three pounds (A bit more than the Kindle DX, less that the Kindle DX) but can hold thousands of e-books in its built-in 3GB of usable memory. You can use an SD card or a USB flash drive to add to the storage, or move files to and from your MP3 player, your phone, your PC, even your camera. It measures 8 ¼ by 10 ¾ by 1”, so it fits easily in your backpack, briefcase, or tote bag.
Go Study (or Play) All Day
The enTourage eDGe™ was designed to let you go all day without recharging the battery. The lithium ion battery can last up to 16 hours of reading without recharging (not as much as the Kindle or the Kindle DX though). One of the big advantages of the enTourage eDGe™ is that the battery can be replaced if it’s ever necessary (which it shouldn’t). And that lets you keep a spare on hand, if you want to have a backup for busy days.
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Reviews (4)
Quentin
March 9th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
I have to say I don’t really get the concept, and I’m having the same problem with the Ipad from Apple. If you want an Ereader, an Ereader which is supposed to be something you use instead of a book, you should buy a Kindle and not one of these Ereader slash tablet shlash netbooks. The Edge is way too heavy and big to be a really good substitute for a book, and it’s the same for the Ipad. I really don’t think this whole Tablet trend will be a success, at some point it is not possible to make compromises to combine more and more devices, poeple will not accept this.
So I would strongly recommend a Kindle or Kindle DX if you want to have a perfect Reader.
Pedro
March 9th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
I think it looks cool, but it a bit heavy for my tatse! Also I don’t believe in the combination of E-readers and PCs, a book should stay a book!
Rachel
March 10th, 2010 at 9:12 am
I see these things more as smaller computers and less as eReaders. I can read PDF’s on my laptop too. If I just wanted ot replace a book, I would go with a specialty eReader, like the Kindle. But if I wanted a computer that was lighter, then this sounds good. It is too heavy to replace a book, but it is lighter than the laptop I am currently using.
I guess it is all about perspective.
danno
July 5th, 2010 at 6:23 am
I don’t think the point of this is to simply replace a book. So, you buy an ebook reader to read your books AND you buy a netbook for apps OR you buy one device that does both.
I can absolutely get this device if the right content is out there. Ebooks with embeded content or flash that you can activate to display on the netbook screen when needed. Color photos or graphs that pop up on the netbook screen etc. Ever try to view an anatomy book photos on 8 levels of greyscale? Yuck. I’d rather carry one device that does 2 things than 2 devices. That said I’m not sure it beats either seperate device. Personally, I have both already it’s called a PDA. I might switch when eink is backlit or ipad like devices have 20+ hour battery life. I can read for 23+/- hours with my dell depending on backlight setting. I can read at night and well not so good in bright sunlight but I have apps and ebooks in something that fits in my pocket.
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