Entourage Introduces Dual Screen eBook Reader Cum Netbook Device

Entourage is not a very well known company. In fact, if you go to their website, you will see that they have only one product there. But this one product is quite something. It is called the eDGe and it is at once a netbook and an eBook reader. The idea is simple and hence quite brilliant.

Many of us have taken to reading eBooks on a regular basis and the readers that we use are quite good at the job. The e-Ink screen makes sure that they last really long. But the eBook readers themselves don’t do much else. So you are stuck carrying around an extra device all the time.

The main thing that we need on the move is connectivity to the Internet and productivity in the form of viewing, editing and exchanging documents. A lot of us carry netbooks for that. But a netbook will not last through hours and hours of reading. The screen just uses too much battery for that.

So this company has combined an e-Ink screen with a fully functional netbook featuring an LCD screen. And they are interconnected so that you can view images in full color while reading a book, for example. You can use either or both screens at the same time and battery life is suitable for all day long trips. If you use only the reader screen, you will get more than 16 hours of usage and the netbook part is rated at 6 hours of usage. So over all, with regular mixed use you should get about 8-9 hours of battery life.

It is currently on pre-order and the arrival date is February 2010. The price is $490 and for the things it does, it is worth it. The LCD screen is multitouch and the netbook runs on Android.