Entourage closes Edge store, drops Pocket Edge in some areas
updated 12:40 pm EDT, Mon May 23, 2011
Entourage shows signs of refocus or shutdown
Entourage has left an uncertain future for itself with a notice that it had shut down its e-book store. The shop is now giving those who had bought content until May 27 to download their titles before all servers are taken down. The company is steering Edge users towards Google eBooks for the bulk of their content.
The startup also used the move to take a shot at Google, asking American owners to try e-book apps from the Amazon Appstore. Its heavy customization led to Google declining support for the Android Market and locked it out of third-party titles. "You will now have access to a lot of Android apps that Google would never give us access to," it said.
Closure plans came on the heels of plans to discontinue the newer but smaller reader, the Pocket Edge earlier this month, at least in Canada. The company had early on bragged about beating the iPad for reading, but a combination of a big and heavy design, high relative prices, and an outdated Android 1.6 build left it both struggling to compete with Apple as well as other Android makers.
Rumors floated by Good eReader have pointed to Entourage shutting down its current efforts primarily to retool and create a "slate PC." Whether or not it uses Android or Windows isn't known, but it would be a much more conventional design instead of the e-reader and tablet hybrid.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2011
bummer
I really hope they don't shut all the way down. I just got one off of woot and love it. I grabbed a edge screen protector from xoskins after reading a forum post on them. However it appears their forums were shut down...