Here’s the link to the Cruz Reader/Tablet review that I posted earlier today, which includes a hands-on ten minute video walkthrough.

The review is also a beginners guide of sorts for getting started with apps and Android on the Cruz Reader if you need help learning how things work.

Certain to cause confusion because they go by the same name, the review is of the newer Cruz Tablet model T301 that comes pre-installed with the Kindle for Android app, not the older model that comes with the Borders app.

The Cruz Reader has some advantages over the competition in the Pandigital Novel and PocketBook IQ, but it also has some drawbacks that certainly makes the decision between them even harder. Hit the review for the complete details and video.

Filed under: Android, Reviews, Tablets | Tags: cruz reader, velocity micro | No Comments »

Velocity Micro has quietly introduced a new 7″ Cruz Reader Tablet. And get this: unlike the previous Cruz Reader that connects with the Borders ebook store, this new one ships with the Kindle app as the main ebook provider of choice.

While you can get the Kindle for Android app on virtually any app-friendly Android device running 1.6 or higher, it only comes pre-installed on a few smartphones and laptops. Velocity Micro might be making a big move by getting the Amazon Kindle name on their device, but it needs to perform well in order to be of any success.

Filed under: Amazon Kindle, Android, Tablets | Tags: color, cruz reader, velocity micro | 5 Comments »

The Cruz Reader from Velocity Micro started shipping earlier this month and the preliminary Cruz Reader reviews are not good.

In all fairness, though, there just aren’t very many Cruz Reader reviews to go off of yet. Borders was one of the first to start selling the Cruz Reader, but their customer review section has been “under construction” for several weeks now.

The most reviews can be found over at Newegg. They have been selling the Cruz Reader for about 2 weeks now and currently have 18 reviews. 10 of those reviews are 1 star reviews and just about every one complains that the device is too slow, a couple have had it stop working altogether, and others had trouble getting the screen to calibrate properly or the WiFi to work.

Two reviewers gave the Cruz Reader 5 stars, but didn’t go into very much detail as to why. Five reviewers gave it 4 stars, all mentioned that the device was slow, but seemed to have less of a problem with that than the other reviewers. These reviewers liked the Android operating system and spoke favorably about the movie player and ability to install apps.

At this point it’s hard to tell if the Cruz Reader is destined to flop or if it just needs some firmware updates to get things working better. I had planned on doing a hands-on review of the Cruz Reader, and even placed an order with Amazon several weeks ago, but for some reason, despite the fact it has been selling from several different retailers over the past month, it is still listed as pre-order on Amazon. What’s the deal with that? Now I’m starting to wonder if it’s even worth the time . . .

Filed under: Reviews | Tags: cruz reader, velocity micro | 25 Comments »

Thanks to a tip at MR, it looks like the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet are now available for pre-order with an expected ship date of September 8th for the Reader and September 27th for the Tablet.

The Cruz Reader is another multimedia device like the Pandigital Novel that can display movies, pictures, browse the web, and play music, but is being marketed as an ereader. It ties in with the new Borders’ ebook store and runs Android 2.0, although apps seem to be limited to the Cruz Market and not the Android Market.

For a complete rundown of specs for the Cruz Reader and Tablet, and also the Cruz StoryPad for kids, check out our dedicated Velocity Micro page.

The Reader is currently selling for $199 and the Tablet for $299 from the Cruz Reader website, which says that it will also sell from a number of major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Target, etc. But none of those places have the devices listed at the time of this writing.

Update: Borders now has the Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet up for pre-order. The Cruz Tablet is listed for an October 15th release (on the product details page it says the 30th, so who knows) and the Reader shows a release date of September 30th.

I’ll be getting a Cruz Reader and maybe a Cruz Tablet to review, so check back in September for more details.

Cruz Reader Video Demonstration

Filed under: News, Sales and Discounts | Tags: cruz reader, cruz tablet, velocity micro | 13 Comments »

So the big news this week is that Velocity Micro, a US-based computer and electronics company, has officially announced the upcoming release of three new Android-powered multimedia/ebook reading devices, the Cruz Reader, Cruz StoryPad, and Cruz Tablet.

Each device is aimed at different markets. The StoryPad is designed for children, the Cruz Reader for reading ebooks from Borders, browsing the web and playing videos, and the Cruz Tablet is similar to the Cruz Reader but with upgrades in memory, performance, and it supports Flash.

For more information and a couple of video demos, check our new Velocity Micro Cruz page.

One bit of concern, I can’t help but notice how basic the ebook reader app appears in the videos. No mention of any kind of features aside from a night reading mode and adjustable font sizes.

Neither video nor anywhere on the Cruz Reader website does it mention anything about being able to change font type, page background color, adjust margins, or anything at all about ebook reading in general—despite the name of the device, “Cruz Reader”, e-reading doesn’t appear to be much of a priority.

Hopefully the device will be able to use other Android ebook reading apps like Aldiko and Kindle—no word about that yet.

Click here for more about the Velocity Micro Cruz devices »

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch and Engadget

Filed under: New eBook Readers | Tags: cruz reader, cruz storypad, cruz tablet, velocity micro | 2 Comments »