If you want to spend little money on a e-book reader which doubles as a basic tablet, then take a look at the Velocity Micro T301. It won’t do what the Xoom tablet can do, but it will take you through a day of reading books, listening to some music, playing some videos and some casual web browsing. The tablet is compatible with the Kindle format and there’s a dedicated app for browsing their online library, which has about 700.000 titles. But you’re not limited to that, as the tablet can display popular formats, such as PDF, TXT and HTML, so basically there isn’t anything out there the Micro T301 can’t display in terms of text.
The capacitive, 800 x 600 touch screen is very responsive and turning pages will work fine. There’s even an accelerometer which is tilt activated, meaning the page format will change automatically when you go from landscape to portrait or the other way around. But you can do much more than reading books. The Velocity Micro T301 supports WiFi, so you can connect to the internet without a problem.
The home screen offers access to your most important apps
There’s no support for Flash, so you won’t be able to watch Youtube videos, for example, but everything else is there and you can read blogs and check your email at will. If you want to unify your gadgets and not carry around more than one device, you can use the Velocity Micro T301 also as a music player. It supports most audio formats and you also have the option to create playlists.
Video playback is also supported, namely you can run MP4 and H.264 files, which are not the most common formats out there for movies, but it will take you through a viewing with no problems. There’s no support for Android Market on the tablet, but this doesn’t mean you can’t install apps on it. There are many third party apps you can download and a bunch of sites offering all you need in order to enjoy the tablet. The e-book functions, web browsing, social media functionality, Napster, Office Suite viewer and media players come straight out the box, so you won’t have to wonder about the internet in order to garment your tablet.
Very easy to hold while reading or writing
Anyway, the manufacturers are offering their own marketplace, called Cruz Market, from where you can find lots of apps and games, tailored to work flawlessly on the tablet. There are also some pre-installed apps for weather forecasting and there’s support for Google Maps. In terms of storage, the tablet comes with 4 GB of internal storage, but you also get a 4 GB SD card out of the box, so you have enough space at your disposal from the get go. The Lithium Ion battery is user replaceable and has more than 10 hours of autonomy on a single charge, while on standby goes beyond 24 hours.
The T301 truly shines when used as e-book reader
The Velocity Micro Cruz T301 is now available from Amazon for $179.70, being one of the cheapest tablets available that is able to handle video, audio and act as an e-book reader. The tablet got generally favorable reviews on Amazon, users hailing the great price and its versatility when it comes to apps and functions. Some complained about Cruz’s customer support, while others said it worked just fine. I guess it’s also a matter of luck, although if you spend money on their product, they should do their best to help you.
To round things up, the Velocity Micro Cruz T301 is a great choice if you’re looking for an e-reader with Kindle access and which can offer quite a lot of extra features, like browsing the web and playing videos. There are some limitations in terms of performance (no Flash Player support, for example) and the device doesn’t have a camera or GPS, but it’s versatile enough to keep you entertained. And for that under $200 price, it doesn’t get any better than this.
