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Velocity Micro Cruz Reader hits stores, Cruz Tablet hitting in October along with more in January
Like everyone else, Velocity Micro's about to cannonball into the tablet pool with the hope of making a big splash. Its first product, the $199 Cruz Reader is already boxed up and arriving on store shelves this week. The seven-inch tablet / e-reader runs Android 2.0 and comes preloaded with Borders' e-book application. We got a chance to check out the device this morning, and while we're impressed with the solid build and rubbery back, it's fairly heavy at a pound and the glossy screen results in less-than-excellent viewing angles. Still, it shows a lot more promise than the Pandigital Novel and Augen GenTouch 78 -- we'll never like resistive screens on this sort of device, but we were able to turn pages by tapping as well as scroll relatively well by dragging a nail down the screen. There's no access to the Android Market, but Velocity has its own Cruz Market and preloads some apps like Twidroid. But the tablet buck doesn't stop there for Velocity Micro. The Cruz Tablet that we've been hearing about since April will hit a "major electronics retailer" in October for $299. The Tablet we saw today wasn't working, but we nabbed some shots of the hardware below. This one will have a capacitive screen; however, the company isn't planning on rolling it out with Android 2.0 -- it feels the 600MHz processor isn't quite powerful enough to handle that Froyo and Flash goodness. Not to worry: its future eight- and 10-inch capacitive tablets, which will be announced at CES, are going to be powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU and run Android 3.0. Told you it's aiming for a big splash! Hit the break for a short hands-on video of the Cruz Reader and stay tuned for a full review of that one soon. %Gallery-102016%
Velocity Micro Cruz Reader and Tablet up for pre-order at Borders
We don't need to explain in any great detail just how badly the world needs another e-reader and tablet option, but you're wasting your time wishing for fewer selections. Case in point: Velocity Micro has just placed its Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet up for pre-order at Borders, with both units boasting 7-inch displays and seductive price points. The Reader is going for $199.99 and should ship out by the end of next month, while the Tablet is $100 more and could be at your doorstep a fortnight before Halloween. Hit the source link if you're in desperate need of a specifications reminder, but be sure and hide that credit card if you're looking to avoid any and all impulse buys. Press release after the break. [Thanks, Charles]
Velocity Micro shows off $199 Cruz Reader
We haven't heard much about Velocity Micro's Android-based Cruz Reader since it sort of came out of nowhere back in April, but it's now finally nearing a release (sometime in August), and the company is starting to show it off a bit more. As expected, the Cruz Reader is just one of a series of tablets from the company and, despite the "reader" moniker, is actually more of a full-fledged Android tablet, complete with support for apps, games, web browsing, and other tablet-like activities. Velocity Micro is playing up the reader angle though, and has announced a partnership with Borders and Kobo to deliver ebooks to the device. Somewhat confusingly, however, it will be joined later in August by the $299 Cruz Tablet, which opts for a 16:9 capacitive display, adds 4GB of internal storage and an 8GB SD card, and Flash support, which the Reader apparently doesn't have (we're not quite sure what that means OS-wise). Rounding out the initial group is the kid-friendly Cruz StoryPad, which boasts a spill-resistant case and will run $149. Head on past the break for a look at the Cruz Reader on video, and the complete press release.
Velocity Micro's Cruz Tablet has Android 2.1 with full Flash support
Some alleged spy shots of a brand-new Android tablet materialized in our inbox this afternoon, and after sending a few e-mails and making a quick phone call, we can confirm they're 100 percent legit: boutique PC retailer Velocity Micro's getting in the tablet game something fierce, with a whole new lineup of touchscreen devices it's dubbed "Cruz." Designed to compete with both e-readers and tablets, Cruz will appear in both 4 x 3 and 16 x 9 configurations over the coming months, with the high-end devices sporting 7-inch capacitive multitouch screens, 800MHz processors and Android 2.1 (complete with Flash 10.1) right out of the box. Best of all, Velocity Micro tells us they'll be relatively affordable -- all will arrive under the $300 line. A company rep couldn't tell us whether Android Market would be included or when exactly the tablets are due, but he hazarded a guess of "late summer." Hit up our gallery to see the first prototype. [Thanks, Kendall]%Gallery-91468%
