Not long ago we were talking on the blog of the Yotaphone un device that combined two screens, of electronic ink and LCD, for the two possibilities it offered: telephone and electronic reader. On the other hand, at the IFA in 2012, Onyx Internacional he presented us his e-ink display phone. If electronic ink is moving to phones, why can't we think of doing that with tablets?
And this is how we take a look at the enTourage Edge by enTourage Systems, which was released in March 2010 but it seems that a new version is planned for this year 2013 that, although at first glance it may seem a bit cumbersome to use, it is still an interesting idea to combine reader and tablet in a single device.
Let's take a look at the technical characteristics from enTourage Edge:
- Screen 9,7 ″ of electronic ink with a resolution of 825 × 1200 with 16 levels of gray, to which should be added the 10,1 ″ LCD screen of the tablet with a resolution of 600 × 1024 pixels.
- Operating System:Android.
- Battery 8000 mAh Lithium polymer.
- Storage capacity 4 GB (of which 3 would be available), expandable via SD card.
- Connectivity: USB 2.0 port, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
- Weight: 1,5 kg.
- It includes audio output and speakers.
Seen like this it has some interesting features as an electronic reader that coincide with a good part of the readers currently on the market (acceptable resolution, 16 gray levels, storage space, etc.). But the highlight would be, as we already said, the e-reader and tablet combination with all the possibilities that this offers.
As indicated by the manufacturer, screens are interconnected With what, while you are reading on the electronic ink screen, you can see on the LCD screen the color images that our electronic book may contain. With this we get the best of electronic ink (reading without straining our eyes, without annoying reflections in bright sunlight, etc.) and the advantages of the LCD screen (color, ability to play multimedia files, more fluid web browsing, etc. .).
These complementary screens allow us, for example, to exploit the great possibilities (especially educational) offered by the enriched books: with a simple movement of the eyes we would change the screen to see the interactive elements of our book or magazine, all without having to change devices.
The fact of using Android as the operating system on the tablet also allows us to have a wide variety of applications and all the power of the tablet to manage our library.
But at first glance certain drawbacks and one of those the most striking is the weight. Whether as a tablet or as a reader, 1,5 kg of weight seems a bit excessive to me and not only the weight, but also the size and shape make it seem a bit cumbersome.
Another major drawback: the price. I am not saying that it is not worth the € 558 it costs, but it does seem to me that it is a fairly high price for the average of the devices that it is supposed to "replace", despite the added value of the interconnection of the screens.
As an idea, I already say that it seems to me very interesting, but could be improved (as I imagine it will seem to you), especially considering how much electronic ink technology has advanced since this device appeared in 2010 until today. However, in the absence of a tablet with a color e-ink screen, the combination of the two types of screen can be very suitable, although the configuration could be different. Without losing sight of the Yotaphone, the solution could go through a similar device but in a larger format and conceived as a tablet-reader.
On one side we would have our reading device with a 9,7 ″ electronic ink screen and turning the -Yotaphone- device over, we would have the LCD screen and the functionality of the tablet; all wrapped in a case in the style of the original Sony PRS-505.
Actually, any option that reduces weight and size would be welcome, with a better use of the connection ports, in short, a more user-friendly device. Although I already say that it is only an idea and we will have to wait for the new version of 2013 of the enTourage Edge to see what news it brings.
More information - Yotaphone, the first phone-eReader?
Source - armdevices, in Tourage