e-Readers on the Horizon: The Entourage Edge

While Apple’s iPad has dominated recent coverage in the electronics world, especially where text readers are concerned, it is by no means the only product on the market offering multiple functions in one device. The Entourage Edge, a dual-screen e-book reader/tablet/netbook, is set to release March 26, 2010, for the price of $499 and is among the first dualbooks available on the market.

Entourage seems to be targeting the field of education with the Edge, with student use particularly in mind. Edge users will be able to annotate the onscreen text by using a stylus pen on the black-and-white eInk screen, something not yet possible with the Kindle or the nook. Users can also drag images from the black and white screen to the color LCD for view. The integrated tablet notebook operates on Google’s Android platform, allows for Internet use (which lets users make connections between the text on the Edge and what is found online), contains a virtual keyboard, has two USB ports, 3 gigs of memory (with the possibility to add up to 30 more gigs), and Bluetooth capability. The Edge can also run third-party software, such as Microsoft Office. And while education might be its early target market, it shows promise as a device that will be useful to professionals in the fields of law and medicine as more and more people seek to have information and usability portable and at their fingertips.

There’s concern about its size, though (3lbs). At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January, a blogger who got his hands on the Entourage Edge said that the device, compared to its competition, was big and clunky for an e-Book reader, but that it scored points for originality. However, considering the weight of textbooks (at an average of 3–5 lbs.each), the 3lb. Edge can pack in 30 pounds of book in just the 3, and for students lugging “libraries” around on their back from class to class, a multifunction device that gives them access not only to books, but the Internet, e-mail, and word processing, just to begin, could prove to be a relief—and an advantage.

As a first-generation product, it shows promise. Undoubtedly, with time and further technological improvements the Edge may prove to be stiff competition for Apple’s iPad, which may have the added effect of lowering the price of both devices, making these multifunction readers more accessible to users who are seeking a new way to consume books and other traditionally printed texts.

Protecting Your E-Books on the iPad

The iPad will hit the streets on April 3rd, and several major publishers—Penguin, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and HarperCollins for now—are on board. When the iBookstore opens for business, these publishers will be armored against the inevitable efforts of pirates with Apple’s FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) software. DRM protects content by allowing an e-book to be downloaded only to a finite number of devices. As pirates attempt to hack the system, Apple responds with harder-to-hack software—a back and forth that began while attempting to protect music and has no end in sight.

Given the buzz about the iPad, publishers hope that this will keep e-book sales rising. The opportunity to introduce their content to millions of iTunes and Apple users is one of the reasons Penguin chairman John Mackinson is excited to have his company on board. Of course, iPad won’t just have iBooks. There will be “apps” for using “Kindle for iPhone, Stanza, Iceberg Reader, eReader, and Kobo,” just to name a few.

Prior to the announcement of the iPad, there was debate about whether or not Apple would use DRM on its iBooks. After all, Amazon has been criticized by some for using this technology and there are a handful of publishers electing to go without. Most publishers, however, including all five of the major publishers on the iPad, are opting to protect their books with DRM. In a culture where people are used to paying for books, the transition to the e-book may not mean that consumers will suddenly expect content for free. Still, it never hurts to be safe.