Kinda disappointed...

My husband says I'm trying to make the machine do things it isn't intended to do, but the reason I bought the device in the first place was because I was given to understand that I would be able to make it do these things:
1. Read ebooks that I already have (as opposed to buying them from a DRM store)
-The pdfs I have show up so small on the reader side I can barely see them. Magnification does little to help this.
-The books I have converted from .rtf to epub take 25 minutes to load, 5 minutes to magnify/demagnify, and I've been trying to skip to a page in the middle for the last hour now and I think the thing is frozen.

2. Download apps from the Android Market on the tablet.
-I spent all evening on Wednesday and all evening tonight making the emulator work only to find that the apps I wanted to download aren't available in the emulator version of the app market.
-I have tried to find a crosswords app and an .rtf reader that translate well to the tablet, but everything I've tried either doesn't work (crashes or won't install) or isn't optimized to the screen.

3. The Amazon product page stated that the thing had 8gb of storage. Upon receipt, I found it had 3. I emailed the distributor and (after having to send them a screenshot) was told that was a typo on Amazon's part. They offered me a return shipping label. I asked for an 8 GB micro sd card. (Might as well try, huh?) They offered me a return shipping label again.

I really hate to sound like a complainer. I spent a week reading through and lurking in this forum before deciding to take the plunge. I was SO EXCITED to get this thing I was bouncing off the walls the week between buying it and receiving it. I refreshed the UPS tracking page like every 5 seconds. In better news the decal I ordered arrived today and looks awesome. Unfortunately, if I end up returning the thing, I'll have to peel that thing off it...

It's too bad you seem to have been misled by advertising, but both the edge and PE are great devices. The PE won't read PDF well, unless you can reflow the text, the screen is too small. You can't get all the apps for 2.2, but most apps for 1.6 and a lot of them for 2.2 work well. The intense CPU games are out, and anything that uses an accelerometer, but this was never meant to be a killer tablet. Which apps do you need, perhaps we can help.

Hang in there, Emscape! Your husband is partially correct, and it's a shame about Amazon's "typo", but I'll bet with a few explanations and a slight shift of perspective you will be loving your device.

I'll be back later, or perhaps someone else will fill you in. Don't give up (yet!).

Thanks you two, I appreciate the encouragement. I wanted Cool Reader (so I could read all the .rtf files I already have ... which is like 8,000) Or, if anyone knows of a good .rtf to epub batch converter? Also, there is a Crosswords app made by Standalone that I really like on my iPhone. However, if someone knows of a different crosswords app that works well on the PE, that would be great.

Okay, never mind, filark found me one, and I found the other Cool Reader: http://www.4shared.com/file/3_5uo1Il/Cool_Reader.html and Crosswords: http://www.duckload.com/download/CAQW2 ... I suppose I should add them to the .apk thread, too?

Hi again!

I responded to your "Emulator" thread post with a link for Cool Reader. I didn't look, but does the Amazon Appstore have it? The easiest thing to do for apps is to Google the name with "apk" and usually you will find a way to download. Also, somewhere in this forum (probably in the "Android Apps" department) is a list of websites people use for getting apps without going through Google Market. If you know the website for the publisher of the app you want, I would start there. The Amazon Appstore has not been around long, but it is a great resource. Also, the enTourage store ("Store" app on your PE) has a lot of good free apps that will work on your eDGe. They do have a Crossword app, but I haven't tried it.

Your rtf to epub books are taking WAY too long to load. Not sure why. Have you tried Calibre for converting? If it will do what you want you can easily transfer files from your Calibre library on your PC to your storage and/or Library on your PE. That's what I do. I'm sure there are other solutions out there if you don't like Calibre.

Too bad Amazon didn't give you a micro SD card! Good try! If you think you'll need extra storage you have options: microSD card, USB stick, cloud storage, LAN storage -- that's all I can think of at the moment.

When I first got my PE I had a list of things I wanted to try, and hopefully do, with it. I am still discovering new things and have not checked off every item on my list. Some things surprise me that I didn't think it would/could do, and some surprise me that it can't.

Why, just out of curiosity, do you need an "emulator"? What does it do? (I thought it was obvious from the name -- it emulates something -- but now I'm actually curious.)

Glad you found those, EmScape!

I just checked and the Amazon Appstore does not have Cool Reader. Please do post the links in the App section, especially if your Crossword app is a good one. You are not the only one who likes puzzle-type games. (You might try them first to make sure they work as you want them to on the PE.)

While I was checking the Amazon store I "bought" the free app of the day, in this case a Sudoku app. I have one already, but maybe this one is better! hehe Never hurts to try, eh??

Originally Posted by Filark

Hi again!

Your rtf to epub books are taking WAY too long to load.

No doubt it's a bad converting job. epub is html, and usually html created from word documents are not clean.
I dont know PE but the full size eDGe is the most responsive ebook reader out there, but EmScape, problem is: do you really know what the today ebook readers are about?

I dont think you should waste your time trying to read on the tablet side, as it's intended to handle other kind of tasks.

Some details about CoolReader.

The project detail page is http://sourceforge.net/projects/crengine/

The latest version is available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cren...r3/cr3-3.0.45/ about 2 days old.

I don't use an app for crosswords (or sudoku), but instead download puzzle pdfs that I can write on for the ink side. I much prefer them! There's a whole thread about theme here.

Calbre does batch converting, although I don't know if it handles RTF.

Open Office does a nice job converting .rtf files to epub. The add-in program that does this can be located on the Mobleread with this link: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=230

Open Office is an open source replacement for MS Office.

Originally Posted by Filark

Have you tried Calibre for converting?

I hadn't, I was using AVS converter. I'm just testing Calibre now and it seems much more full-faceted. Yay! Thanks.

Originally Posted by Filark

Why, just out of curiosity, do you need an "emulator"? What does it do? (I thought it was obvious from the name -- it emulates something -- but now I'm actually curious.)

I was reading on the forums that some people used an emulator to download from the Android market. Basically what it does is trick your computer into thinking it's an Android phone, and then tricks the Android Market into recognizing your "new" phone. Unfortunately, the selection is rather limited. Neither of the apps I was looking for were there. Apparently, the emulator is a tool for developers, but some use it to download apks without having a phone. It was a giant waste of time, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by EmScape

My husband says I'm trying to make the machine do things it isn't intended to do ...

Before you throw in the towel try a few things. First, try Calibre for converting files into ePubs.

Next, get a copy of ezPDF reader for the tablet side and the Pico Language Installer Pack. You will find that ezPDF is an excellent PDF program with many of the capabilities you may be looking for. Here's how to get it:

ezPDF Reader http://www.forum-bec.com/f244/ezpdf-...android-37856/ Choose FileSonic and then select Slow Download.


Android PICO Installer Language Pack (Not an App. Works with other Apps like ezPDF reader).

*** Download using your device ***
http://areacellphone.com/2010/01/dow...age-installer/


It is unfortunate that the Pocket Edge does not have the Android Market but it does have access to the Amazon App Store (if you have upgraded it to Ermine) which has plenty of Apps.

Check out the Welcome Basket which talks about many good Apps for the Edge.

http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/...-Basket-Part-1
http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/...-Basket-Part-2
http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/...-Basket-Part-3



Also, if you have Ermine installed some Apps are hit and miss since it is a beta. That's why I try to get free Apps to test before buying if possible. I put together a thread of some of the best information I found from this forum and I detail several excellent Apps (almost all of them free) that will work with the PE and where to go to get them:

http://www.entourageedge.com/forums/...et-Edge-Owners



Once you play around with it a little you might find that you aren't as disappointed.

Originally Posted by EmScape

Apparently, the emulator is a tool for developers, but some use it to download apks without having a phone. It was a giant waste of time, in my opinion.

I think this had worked, to some degree of success, for some. But, there are apparently lots of apps that are phone-specific, so they can either only be used by phones and/or only by the exact phone that downloaded the .apk file. So in that case, having the emulator wouldn't help you.

I've found simply googling the app I want + .apk has led to some good results.

Now then, are you still disappointed?