Friday, February 5, 2010

OMG YOU GUYS. I found it. THE ONE.

Okay. OKAY. I KNOW that I went all nerd spaz over the iPad.

And I still think the iPad is pretty darn cool. I trust the Apple name, and I seriously considered buying one.


But then I saw this.

OMG YOU GUYS. OHMYGOSH.

enTourage eDGe.
(Why isn't there a chorus of angels signing every time someone says its name?)

I AM SO GOING TO BUY ONE OF THESE AS SOON AS MY TAX MONEY COMES BACK. (And PS: it's not that expensive. About $500. Really--for what it does, not bad AT ALL.)

It is everything I ever dreamed of.

It is--essentially--a Kindle and an iPad COMBINED.

If a netbook and an e-reader got drunk one night and had a love child, THIS IS IT.

Dude. DUDE. LOOKIT.

On the left side is the e-book--with the e-ink technology Kindle uses--AND AND AND it has the ability to scribble notes on WITH A STYLUS or a ON-BOARD KEYBOARD and it can highlight and basically fulfill your dreams. On the right-side is a netbook--although this is limited. You don't have the fancy apps that iPad has, and it's mostly internet-able (as opposed to work-ready. No word processor that I could see. Which--I admit--is the only thing I see as a detrimental factor. But it does have the ability to hook up to a USB keyboard, and access to Google, so I could always use Google Docs if I wanted to type.)

And it's pretty.


For reals.

This is what I want.

It's practically perfect.

I want an e-reader that can do the following:
  • Read books with low battery usage
    • If I just wanna read for fun, I want a simple e-reader (iPad fails at this)
  • HAVE THE ABILITY TO SCRIBBLE NOTES ON TEXT WITH A STYLUS 
    • This is because I plan on uploading my own work and using this to edit. Also: manuscript critique. OMG how much easier would crits be with this feature?! (Kindle fails at this. There's a note feature, but not a handwriting note feature.)
  • Have both e-ink and color
    • IPad and Kindle fail at this. It's one or the other with them.
  • Be able to check email, surf, and type longer documents than in-text notes
    • If I want to add a chapter to the manuscript I'm editing, I want to be able to type it on a decent keyboard. This device does this.
    • Kindle does not at all do this
    • iPad sort of does this--but not simultaneously, with the ability to see both the document and the type screen.
The enTourage eDGe does all this.

AND MORE.

Seriously guys. Go check out this link. DO IT. It's a demo of all the stuff enTourage eDGe can do.

cNet did a bit of a review here.

Edited to add:
A bit more research shows that this thing is EVEN MORE PERFECT for writers than I originally thought. It is going to be shipped with a program that enables MS Office document creation.
A few months ago when we first spoke with the folks behind the Entourage eDGe dual-screen eReader/netbook/tablet they told us they were working with Android app developers to create or modify apps that would work on the device’s larger screens. One such app they hoped to procure for the launch was Documents To Go by DataViz which would allow eDGe users to open, edit and create MS Office documents out of the box. Today the company officially announced that the software will be available on the dualbook and, even better news, users won’t have to pay extra. 

Guys. It reads. It writes. It plays music and video. It has a recorder and camera (conferencing ans Skype, anyone?). It even has the mighty intarwebs.

What more can we want?!

20 comments:

MeganRebekah said...

It's very pretty. If you get one let us know how you like it. I love my kindle (mostly because I can email myself my WIP) but am always on the lookout for my next gadget.

And as a sidenote, why is it that new technology has to have funky capitalization? I get annoyed trying to remember which letters are upper or lowercase. Maybe that's just me though.

Unknown said...

I am SO going to get this. I've already decided. Between posting this and coming to work, I made my mind up. I've been saying forever that I really want to have an ereader that I could take notes in. The Kindle looked good--but not good enough, yanno? I REALLY wanted the scribble feature.

So yeah. Going to get one. Probably in a month or two, after I get some extra cash.

Also: I am SO with you on the weird capitalization. That really bothered me. It seemed like a pretty stupid thing to have. Almost enough to make me not want this.

ALMOST. :)

Scott said...

You are so insistent on depleting the funds in my savings account. This device is great, but perhaps I'll wait for the second generation. Maybe not. Maybe. Geesh, decisions, decisions. Now, I'm off to watch the video . . . again.

Unknown said...

Scott--I've been staring at this webpage for like an hour.

Have you checked out the online demo. IT FREAKING ROCKS. Seriously.

OK, I'm going to quit being such a nerd spaz. Just click here and check it out.

http://www.entourageedge.com/edge-demo

C'mon. Get one! We can be e-reader buddies! :)

Rebecca L Sutton said...

WOW. It's soo pretty. Dying to see what you think when you got one! That way we can all make sure its as awesome as it looks before we go get one. lol Seriously, it looks great!

Sherrie Petersen said...

Okay, you're cracking me up. They should pay you for your endorsement! But I have to admit, it looks pretty cool :)

Yat-Yee said...

So, tell me again, I'm not quite sure, just how do you feel about this pretty new toy? :)

You are making me drool.

When you first said no word processor, I was a little disappointed. And then your red highlighted sentence made me happy again!

Danica M. Rice said...

Oh my GOD this looks amazing. I agree with all the folks who said let us know what you think of it... if you actually like it, who knows, I just might be tempted enough... not that i need any reason to spend more money, being unemployed..but I def want to hear from you that it's all its cracked up to be, when you get it!!!

Casey Something said...

I've been seriously debating the iPad versus an iPod Touch, wishing one of them had the eink, wishing the itouch had a bigger screen, etc. I think you may have found an alternate answer.

Exciting!!

Unknown said...

OMG, Casey, join our nerdy masses! :)

Vivian Mahoney said...

Man. I love your enthusiasm. Can't wait until you share your thoughts on this!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Hey, now THAT is cool!!!!!!

I posted yesterday on my blog about another company that makes tablets out of mac products. Freaking awesome. Thanks for sharing this!

Robyn Campbell said...

It's cool enough, does enough stuff. I'll buy one someday. Maybe. When I sell my book. ;)

Hey, my email is out. UHHUH. AGAIN! EGAD man.

Anyway, I'll see you at the coffee shop tomorrow. =)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I. WANT. ONE. TOO! :-)

Anonymous said...

*Drools*

C.R. Evers said...

~sigh~ buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, blubbery, blubbbery bluh.

'nugh said.

Christina Farley said...

Very cool. I'm so not tech savy like I should be. But it looks pretty awesome!

Casey Something said...

I've decided to join the dark side, Beth. I'm feeling more swayed by the iPad today. After comparing them all again, the iPad still has more of what I want. All I'm sacrificing is e-ink.

But, I can't wait to hear how you like this if you get one! I might change my mind yet again.

Did you see the Microsoft dual screen that might be coming out, though?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/22/microsofts-courier-booklet-emerges-said-to-be-in-late-prototy/

Unknown said...

CASEY!!! NOOOOO!!!!!

OK, OK, I get it. The iPad was my new device of choice. UNTIL I FOUND THIS ONE! *sigh* This is really what I wanted Apple to do. I love the Apple name. Enjoy the dark side!

JEM said...

This sounds incredible! I've been waiting for the e-reader technology to advance a little before buying one, but this could be the one that lures me into the market...