Request Updates on eInk software progress???!

I believe the last unofficial update we had regarding the software on the eInk side was in October. At that time, I was told by tech support that annotation and zoom were in the works, and they expected to have that functionality deployed within 3-4 months. I know they have been busy, but this is really a feature that is critical to the success and utility of the device. (In fact, I would argue that it is MUCH more important than Froyo. The android portion of the EE works well, is very usable, and may not get much increased functionality with an update. In contrast, the eInk side is very difficult to use effectively by the academics for which it was designed. Just my two cents... not trying to pick a fight at all.)

I was just curious if anyone had heard any official or unofficial announcements to give us an idea of the status of this important feature. If not, maybe I'll try to email or call some administrators or tech people to see if we can get a status update.

Last week, I was told that the entire enTourage staff was working on Froyo rather than anything for the eInk side. Apparently, almost every communication they receive is in regards to the version of Android they are running. I think that is sad since upgrading might not bring much new functionality, but that's just my bias.

The lab team is still working on landscape, annotations + zoom, etc., but it won't likely be rolling out anytime soon. (There were other setbacks involved, also, such as a third party company backing out of a deal with enTourage at the last second, leaving them scrambling a bit.)

Hope something changes soon, though... I think the eInk side has a lot of potential, none of which is being explored due to the "need" for 2.2.

I agree with you that working on the e-ink side is much more important than an android update. The only thing I'd really like to see improved on the tablet side is the addition of marketplace, but that's another issue entirely. I use the e-ink side 95% of the time and a few improvements there would go a long way! Does anyone know if they've added eraser compatibility with wacom penabled eraser pens yet? I ordered one before seeing on here that the eraser function hasn't been added yet. The posts were pretty old, but it doesn't look like anything has been updated on that end...

I agree that the eInk side updates (esp landscape mode) are most important as well. But, I imagine that Entourage is thinking about what will draw the most new customers. I have no business sense at all, but to my way of thinking, Froyo will do more to attract new customers than eInk upgrades. I imagine, that despite the concept that Froyo will really not add much new functionality (which I certainly agree with), there may be a fair number of potential customers who dont want the eDGe just because it still runs Android 1.6. So, Froyo will bring in new people. Once they get the eDGe, keeping them happy will involve eInk upgrades. The priority is obvious. The recent failure of Entourage to keep the information flowing on this forum is further evidence of the lower priority accorded to existing customers. But like I said, I have no business sense.

Looks like there are (a little schematically spoken) two kinds of (potential) customers of this 'dual book': (1) primarily interesested in the tablet side and having the eInk as a nice extra and (2) primarily interested in the eInk part, with the tablet as a nice extra. I belong two the second kind and also agree that optimizing the eInk part is way more important.

I'm in the eink group as well. If I would be asked to choose only one development, eink it will be.

Originally Posted by Dr. T

Last week, I was told that the entire enTourage staff was working on Froyo rather than anything for the eInk side. Apparently, almost every communication they receive is in regards to the version of Android they are running. I think that is sad since upgrading might not bring much new functionality, but that's just my bias. The lab team is still working on landscape, annotations + zoom, etc., but it won't likely be rolling out anytime soon. (There were other setbacks involved, also, such as a third party company backing out of a deal with enTourage at the last second, leaving them scrambling a bit.) Hope something changes soon, though... I think the eInk side has a lot of potential, none of which is being explored due to the "need" for 2.2.

Source of this information?

It seems to me that customers who are primarily interested in the tablet side might be more inclined to go for another device anyway. With so many hot new Android tablets, and particularly the Adam available for less money with more features and on its way to Honeycomb, the customer that is mostly focused on tablet features is going to be hard to catch with the Edge. People who work with piles of documents, however, are out there just waiting to be convinced. After just a couple weeks with mine at the university, I'm pretty sure there will be a few more orders coming in before long. In my humble opinion, the tablet in this case adds amazing features to the reader. The tablet-focused seem less likely to be the most fertile ground for new converts. I'd like to hear some more tablet-focused Edge owners' opinions. Maybe I'm missing something.

I think you are right on target. The problem as I see it, is that unless people can see/touch an eDGe, they may not see the potential of the eInk side and remain focused on the tablet. Since they are not available in stores everywhere to touch/feel, the question is what else will attract or repel customers. To those that dont own an eDGe, people will look at the eDGe, see Android 1.6, be enticed by all the tablets you mention, and think that without Android 3.0 they are missing out. It's hard to convince them without using it, that the eInk side is so very cool and useful. Once you own the eDGe, you realize (at least I think) that the tablet is great, but the version of Android isn't where it's at..... we need eInk improvements such as landscape mode, eraser on the pen, and others. For me, the tablet side is fine, but I live on the eInk side with pdf's that I am reading.

I am just happy they are still actively working on updates.

Should this give us some hope for overall advancement?
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...b-ported-nexus

I agree with you... I am happy as well that they are actively working on updates. But for me, as an existing customer, I wish we were given more information about what to expect in the updates other than being told that Froyo is "weeks not months away" sometime in early January (I believe).

Originally Posted by ivan

Should this give us some hope for overall advancement?
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...b-ported-nexus

In my opinion, this gives us no hope at all. The only thing we can do is wait for Entourage to move ahead, and for now, just wait for Android 2.2. What happens in the rest of the Android world really doesnt seem to affect the eDGe community at all. Furthermore, the ability to run Honeycomb (what part of the article you refer to is about) on existing eDGe hardware is totally unknown. The hardware requirements for Honeycomb, according to what I have read, have not been totally spelled out, and I believe it is possible that Honeycomb will not run on existing eDGe hardware (or of it does, it will run so poorly as to be annoying), so we will also be waiting for some kind of hardware upgrade to even use Honeycomb on a dualbook. This is all speculation, and the facts are not out yet.

Originally Posted by Gunnerp245

Source of this information?

An enTourage administrator

I do want an upgrade to the Android version, even though I am most interested in the eInk side. Docs to Go does not work for most of my pdfs (Google Books), so I am wanting a good pdf viewer that I can have up for color images while I read on the eInk side. I would also like the ability to have two different pages up at the same time, one on each screen.

If Docs to Go did work, I wouldn't be that interested in an Android upgrade.