Velocity Micro is best known for its computers, which tend to appeal to the niche, higher-end users. With the Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet, the company has its first entrants into the increasingly mass-market tablet space, which is finally starting to be populated five months after the launch of the iPad.
We got a chance to spend some time playing with the Cruz Reader, and to look at and hold the Cruz Tablet (the device we saw wasn't a working prototype). We found a lot of things to like about the devices, but a few things that gave us some pause. More than anything, we're curious how devices like these are going to be received.
The Cruz Reader isn't really an e-book reader—but it's not a tablet either. It's a $199, 7-inch device running Android 2.0, but thanks to its larger-than-a-phone screen, it doesn't have access to the Android Market. Velocity has developed the Cruz Store, with custom apps for the device, but apps won't likely be a huge focus for the Reader.
The reason it's even called a Reader, rather than a full-fledged, iPad-competing tablet, is because the Cruz Reader has a resistive touch screen. It doesn't allow for multi-touch and is significantly harder to navigate than the capacitive touch screens on most phones (and the iPad). The resistive screen was chosen to keep the price low - $199 seems to have been a magic price point for Velocity Micro. Navigating the Reader took some getting used to, but I eventually got the hang of it. In a store, though, the screen might seem unresponsive and difficult in the few seconds most shoppers will give it.
The Cruz Reader did handle its stated purpose—reading e-books—pretty well. It uses the Kobo reading application and the Borders bookstore, both of which are excellent. Turning pages in a book was simple and responsive (for someone who knew how to press on the screen). Since it's a full-fledged Android device, the Reader also has a full browser, e-mail client, Facebook app, and more. Not having an E Ink screen loses some of what makes dedicated e-book readers so nice to look at and easy on the eyes, but it's a tradeoff—all things non-book look much better on the Cruz Reader than they do on a Kindle or Nook.
Though we didn't get to play with the Tablet, we got to hold it and take pictures of it (see the slideshow for evidence of both). The tablet has a 7-inch screen, in 16:9 rather than the 4:3 on the Reader, and will cost $299 rather than $199. Its screen is also capacitive, which means that touching it will make more sense to anyone with an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad – pinching and spreading will work, and everything should feel much more responsive. It's got 4-Gbytes of internal memory (to the Reader's 256MB), has Android 2.1 instead of 2.0, and has the same battery life, bookstore, and file support.
The key for both of these devices is the price. There are a number of things I didn't love about the Reader, but a $199 price tag for what is essentially an Android tablet covers a multitude of sins. At $299, too, the Tablet is cheaper than most of its competitors. The Reader is a tweener device—more than an e-book reader, not quite a tablet—and the question is whether people want such a device.
The Reader is already on shelves in Borders, Staples, and elsewhere, and on virtual shelves at stores like Amazon and Newegg. The Tablet will be available in October.
We got a chance to spend some time playing with the Cruz Reader, and to look at and hold the Cruz Tablet (the device we saw wasn't a working prototype). We found a lot of things to like about the devices, but a few things that gave us some pause. More than anything, we're curious how devices like these are going to be received.
The Cruz Reader isn't really an e-book reader—but it's not a tablet either. It's a $199, 7-inch device running Android 2.0, but thanks to its larger-than-a-phone screen, it doesn't have access to the Android Market. Velocity has developed the Cruz Store, with custom apps for the device, but apps won't likely be a huge focus for the Reader.
The reason it's even called a Reader, rather than a full-fledged, iPad-competing tablet, is because the Cruz Reader has a resistive touch screen. It doesn't allow for multi-touch and is significantly harder to navigate than the capacitive touch screens on most phones (and the iPad). The resistive screen was chosen to keep the price low - $199 seems to have been a magic price point for Velocity Micro. Navigating the Reader took some getting used to, but I eventually got the hang of it. In a store, though, the screen might seem unresponsive and difficult in the few seconds most shoppers will give it.
The Cruz Reader did handle its stated purpose—reading e-books—pretty well. It uses the Kobo reading application and the Borders bookstore, both of which are excellent. Turning pages in a book was simple and responsive (for someone who knew how to press on the screen). Since it's a full-fledged Android device, the Reader also has a full browser, e-mail client, Facebook app, and more. Not having an E Ink screen loses some of what makes dedicated e-book readers so nice to look at and easy on the eyes, but it's a tradeoff—all things non-book look much better on the Cruz Reader than they do on a Kindle or Nook.
Though we didn't get to play with the Tablet, we got to hold it and take pictures of it (see the slideshow for evidence of both). The tablet has a 7-inch screen, in 16:9 rather than the 4:3 on the Reader, and will cost $299 rather than $199. Its screen is also capacitive, which means that touching it will make more sense to anyone with an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad – pinching and spreading will work, and everything should feel much more responsive. It's got 4-Gbytes of internal memory (to the Reader's 256MB), has Android 2.1 instead of 2.0, and has the same battery life, bookstore, and file support.
The key for both of these devices is the price. There are a number of things I didn't love about the Reader, but a $199 price tag for what is essentially an Android tablet covers a multitude of sins. At $299, too, the Tablet is cheaper than most of its competitors. The Reader is a tweener device—more than an e-book reader, not quite a tablet—and the question is whether people want such a device.
The Reader is already on shelves in Borders, Staples, and elsewhere, and on virtual shelves at stores like Amazon and Newegg. The Tablet will be available in October.
