Velocity Micro Cruz
The latest company to join the ereader war is Velocity Micro, with two new e-reading devices scheduled for release in August, the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader and the Cruz StoryPad. There's a third model as well, the Cruz Tablet, that will be released in September as a budget alternative to the Apple iPad.
Velocity Micro is a US-based company that specializes in high-performance computers, gaming systems, desktop and notebook computers, home-theater media centers, and more. A quick search on Amazon for their products brings back some high-end PCs for $3000 - $5000.
Luckily, their ereaders are being marketed as "an affordable line-up of Android powered mobile devices", and start at $149 for the StoryPad, $199 for the Cruz Reader, and $299 for the Tablet.
Velocity Micro Cruz Reader
The Cruz Reader appears to be very similar to the Pandigital Novel. Not only is it an ebook reader, it's a portable video player, image viewer, internet browser, video game, and music player.
It has a 7-inch TFT resistive touchscreen display with a pixel resolution of 800 x 600 and an aspect ratio of 4:3.
The Cruz Reader has a Google Android Operating System, built-in Wi-Fi and a full web browser, an accelerometer, built-in dictionary, note pad, calendar, games, and more apps. It comes with 256 MB of internal memory as well as a 2GB SD card. The battery is rated for up to 10+ hours.
As an ebook reader, the Cruz Reader ties in with the new Borders ebook store and application. An email from support indicates the device will also have an app for reading DRM-free ebooks, since the Borders app doesn't currently sideload ebooks.
Don't hold your breath on the device being able to use the Kindle and other Android ebook reader apps without a hack, because the Android Market won't be available. Velocity Micro intends to use their "Cruz Market" for downloading apps, which has over 3500 apps available for download, according to sources.
Supported formats
Text: EPUB, PDF, TXT, HTML, PDB
Audio: MP3, WAV, AAC, WMA
Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
Video: MPEG-4, H.264
The Cruz Reader measures 7.55" X 5.6" X .57" and weighs about 1 pound.
Cruz Reader Video Demo
Note that the speed and touchscreen responsiveness of the Cruz Reader shown in the video above has since been improved. The video below shows the touchscreen working better, but this video gives a much more thorough look at the device's features, that's why it's here.
Velocity Micro Cruz StoryPad
The Cruz StoryPad is an ereader made for kids. It has a sturdy, simplistic design with an impact casing and spill resistant construction. It comes in pink, blue, and green.
The StoryPad has a 7-inch color TFT touchscreen with a pixel resolution of 800 x 600 that can display high resolution videos and images.
It has 1GB of memory and an SD card slot. It comes pre-installed with some free audiobooks that it reads aloud while the child follows along.
An interesting note, this reference sheet indicates that the StoryPad will have 700+ proprietary interactive titles to choose from at launch.
The StoryPad isn't yet listed on the Cruz Reader website, but presumably supports the same formats as the other two devices. The reference sheet above lists the same audio, video and image formats as the Cruz Reader, but does not mention text formats.
The video below shows the Cruz Reader initially and then shows the StoryPad around the 1:27 mark.
Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet
Powered by Android and capable of viewing Flash-enabled websites, the Cruz Tablet intends to be an affordable alternative to the iPad.
The main difference between this and the Cruz Reader is that the Tablet has a capacitive touchscreen, more memory, and an aspect ratio of 16:9 for watching widescreen videos.
The Cruz Tablet comes with 4 GB internal memory and an 8 GB SD memory card. The screen is 7-inches with a pixel resolution of 800 x 480.
Other than that, most of the specs are all the same as mentioned above for the Cruz Reader. The exceptions are the Tablet supports AVI/MOV video formats and the dimensions are slightly different at 7.49" X 5.6" X .59".
More updates to come.
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