Velocity Micro readies $199 Cruz Reader

Another day, another e-book reader hits the market, this time round in the form of the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader. It will come in a pretty pocket friendly price point at just $199, although it remains to be seen whether the Cruz App Market mentioned will be able to offer something comparable to its other rivals on the market (Amazon Kindle, Nook, iPad). It is interesting to note that Velocity Micro is not a member of the Open Handset Alliance, which means there is a high possibility that the device will not ship with Google’s stock Android applications. The Cruz Reader took nearly one year to complete right from the start, and will feature the Google Android 2.0 (Eclair) operating system among other hardware specifications which will be detailed in the extended post. This isn’t all though, as Velocity Micro is looking at a triple whammy by rolling out a more powerful 7″ Cruz Tablet ($299.99) and Cruz StoryPad ($149.99) in September, with the former running on the Android operating system as well.

• 7″ full color touchscreen display
• 800 x 600 resolution, 4:3 ratio
• Google Android 2.0 Operating System
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and full Web browser support
• 720p High res video and high quality audio playback with no proprietary content restrictions
• Built-in Dictionary, Notepad, Calendar, Alarm Clock and many other useful apps
• Built in accelerometer for easy viewing from any angle
• USB and SD card slot for upgradable storage, including 4GB SD card
• Up to 10 hours of use and over 36 hours of standby time, with a replaceable battery
• Access to over 2 Million ebooks via included Borders E-book library portal application
• Enough storage for over 1,000 books

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: Tablet, velocity micro