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 . . .
I do hope you get one to test out. You’re reviews are very helpful with lot’s of practical information.
I’ve only found one retailer in my area that had a Cruz Reader out on display but it was a straight from the box unit with no content at all so I couldn’t check ebook, video or music quality. Nor did the retailer have any wifi access to test web browing features of device.
I can say the touch screen needed to be calibrated before it worked correctly, before I figured that out I’d tap an app icon and the one next to it would launch. Plus it’s a very shiny screen that shows glare and fingerprints easily.
well I tested it AGAIN today. New firmware update, and it works MUCH better.
Of course my question was, how well does it handle PDFs, since that is one thing I’d be using it for. Of course, according to seller, it does like a charm. I could not find the APP to read PDFs though. I know it has to have one… since it is listed as PDF capable.
Oh and the WI FI was horrible. Staffer said, maybe our network is down. No, not so fast. I was running my net radio on my IPOD over their network.
Yes again much much better with the new firmware. I would recommend using the actual adobe reader for android app it handles pdfs much better than anything else I have found. I would also recommend getting skyfire or opera mini for it. Pandora 1.4.1 does work though it requires a reboot. Aldiko also works well.
Hi Dave I bought the Cruz yesterday at Borders yesterday I had never heard of it but looks like what I would like. My daughter will help me as i am not very knowledgeable. What are skyfire opera mini and where do I get adobe reader for android app? How do I get Aldiko?
Many thanks Sandy
I have had the Cruz for about a week. I have done the firmware update. and I like this reader. I have not had the Wifi problems complained about. Granted there is a learning curve but I think it is worth the challenge to me, especially for the price. Dave is correct, Skyfire will immprove the internet experience. Keep in mind it is one of the first of its kind so of course there will be bugs to work out the biggest being no official Market access. I am sure it time those who purchased the Cruz will be happy they got it at the price they did.
firmware update? and i can never get or keep wi-fi on mine
I purchased one and the internal memory card disapeared, it was there but the reader didn’t read the card, I got the reader replaced and the same thing happened again, without that card you can’t download books, this is a worthless piece of junk
I bought a Cruz Reader on Black Friday. I was told it was capable of reading ePUB files and pdf files. This is also all over their advertising. But it simply is not true. I called tech support and they told me they could not help me with the problem because it involves 3rd party software. The ONLY format it reads is eBOOKS. Save your money until they develop an app that makes it capable to read ePUB or PDF files.
What a disappointment,
Fr. Martel
It should support those formats no problem via apps. Check my Android reading apps page. You should be able to install some of those using the Cruz’s file manager.
I was very disappointed with the cruz. The speed to get on the internet was horribe and to interact with the icons you literaly need a hammer to push downon the screen. The size is perfect but such a disappointment. I returned mine back to Borders. I will save up my money to get the IPAD.
It is definitely not worth purchasing. Had it one day and it froze. I called tech support 5 times no help! I returned it back to where I purchased it with no problem (not borders) . The tech support said it was defective but would not help me return it! Worst custmer service ever! I would not recommend to anyone even if I didn’t like the person! Do yourself a favor and stay away!
Bought an eReader through Amazon for $149 on black Friday. Two weeks later the price dropped to $109, however no price protection available. Have spent several hours trying to get public domain ebooks to work, no luck. Purchased a book through Borders, won’t load, says file type is not correct. No one at Borders could/would help. Support from Micro Cruz is really non-existent. Their idea of how to close a trouble ticket is to refer you to another web site that was useless. My wife has a Kindle and it works great. If you have a notebook, you don’t need a Cruz device. It is VERY slow and comes with, what has to be the worst documentation I have ever read. Yes, I am one of the few who read the instruction manual. Mine will soon be on eBay, even my adult kids gave the unit back to me out of sheer frustration. STAY AWAY FROM THIS READER! If you must have an ebook reader, get a Kindle. As for me, I am going back to the library.
I received a Cruz Tablet for Christmas. Very disappointing!
Could get on WiFi with no problems but could not read any of the books I downloaded unless I was online. Went to the store that it was purchased. Worked with Manager, thinking that I was doing something wrong, but it did the same thing for her. They exchanged it but the 2nd one had the same problems. I returned it today and will put the money towards an Ipad.
Hi, I’ve had my Cruz e-reader for 5 days and I’m happy with it. I downloaded free & bought books from Kindle android and today downloaded the app from Borders. I’ve watched video from youtube and it runs smoothly off skyfire app. I’ve transferred pictures and music from my computer by using a SD card. I didn’t tether the Cruz to my PC. I still have to download the EPUB app. I connect to my wireless at home with no problems. I haven’t tried anywhere else yet. I downloaded 50 books and tried reading a few by disconnecting internet access and had no problems. It’s doing what I wanted it to do. For $160 I haven’t any real complaints. It does take work to figure it out and I feel the company should put real instructions with the device and not leave it up to the consumer to hunt the internet for instructions. Instructions are out specially since more people are grabbing these. But we shouldn’t have to hunt for them.
I travel to see my family often and carrying a 17″ laptop isn’t an option.Now I don’t have to borrow their laptop or squint to read e-mail & surf the web on my Droid. I’m not a tech person & I have 30 days to return it. Looking like I’ll keeping it.
My Cruz reader did freeze up twice as soon as I got it. You use a paper clip and stick it in the “reset” hole for 6 seconds and it does reset the unit. Haven’t had a problem since.
Update: Here’s my hands-on review of the new 2nd generation Cruz Reader that comes with the Kindle app and capacitive touchscreen.
The CRUZ reader is the WORSE reader I have ever had. Had it under 2 months it was completely finished. Borders wouldn’t take it back or give me a credit because it was past the 60 days. Cruz won’t pay for the shipping or the warranty because I am Canadian and no where was I told that when I bought it. I have had nothing, but PROBLEMS with this ereader and CRUZ support were absolutely useless. STAY AWAY FROM THIS READER.
i from of laredo..mexico..and y bought the CRUZ READER R103 and i update the firmware…and since…the reader frozen and dont work animore.y reset…but dont solve the problem…somebody..can help me…pleaseeee…..
I picked up the CRUZ READER R103 from Bestbuy a couple of weeks ago on sale for $99. I bought it mainly to use at work for reading PDF and .doc manuals and documentation as I have a lot of those. The reader is everything I expected it to be and more. The 802.11G wireless works as advertised. I’ve been using it to read news off the internet and for checking email and for that it works very well. It reminds me of a giant Ipod touch but without the iTunes ball and chain and $100 cheaper.
The reader is a tad heavy, noticeably heavier than a Kindle, but hey, it’s a first generation full color reader. I downloaded and installed FBREADER, then downloaded some of the free ebooks. That seemed to work okay, although that’s not really what I bought it for. The built in SD card slot is also very useful. I’m using a 16GB SD card and I can load the card from my PC SD reader or over the USB cable.
So far, I’m very happy with the CRUZ R103. It’s becoming a alternate internet device for me and I find myself using my laptop less at home and having the laptop available for other tasks at work.
Have been using the R101 for about 6 weeks. Upgraded the firmware right away. I have used it successfully with ereader software from Borders, Barnes and Noble, and ereader.com. Not amazing speed, but it works. Learning the oddities of the device and using it for light web surfing, email, and facebook. It is slow. The touch screen reminds me of an older Palm PDA. A stylus helps. Cost $120. Probably worth $85, but a lot better than $500. BTW, ereader.com software has a scrolling text feature.
I am considering buying the velocity cruz but would like to know if I will be able to download the adobe reader 9 on to the ereader?
No. You use the this Adobe Reader app for Android. It doesn’t work with the Cruz but does with most other tablets, including the Next3, PocketBook IQ…
Trust me , it’s garbage.
Even if they give u 90% discounts . still it is garbage.
God Bless!! I bought my cruz reader a year in 2010 for $120 and before Borders’s death in my country. I was very happy with it, but it’s slow and it had problems with the internet. I still have it today, but the problems persist. If i use the wifi, it will only connect in my home. It’s easy to use and i can download almost every book that i want. If you are a college student, it will save money and time. Epub, PDF, Doc and Html work just fine, but i will like to give some advices:
The cruz reader will be better:
-Faster
-More compatible ebook reader apps
-Screen less resistance (Sometimes i have to push it very hard.
-Better wifi connection
hello my name is Robert I’m from chile buy a tablet cross velocity on the box reads camera, bluetooth since I bought the camera never worked never connect via Bluetooth. I can give advice
i got a cruz and got it for x mas and my was the first i was happy the i was listing to music and it when to a black screen and sut off one me and never came back on and i try ever thing