Velocity Micro Cruz Reader 7" Color Tablet 2GB Touchscreen 256 MB RAM w/ Android 2.0 R102

by Velocity Micro

• Velocity Micro Cruz Reader R102 256MB 7-inch Touchscreen EBook Reader General Features: Black color
• 7-inch resistive touchscreen display 800 x 600 resolution
• Google Android 2.0 (Eclair) pre-installed 256 MB RAM 256 MB internal storage
• SD/SDHC memory card slot Mini-USB 2.0 interface Integrated IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
• Built-in speakers

Product Description

Portable, affordable tablet fun!This Velocity Micro Cruz Reader Special Edition R102 features a 7-inch touchscreen color display with 800 x 600 resolution. It features 256 MB of RAM for snappy and responsive performance. It's built-in accelerometer provides orientation sensing functions, so you can view it from portrait or landscape views just by turning it. The R102 features 256 MB of internal storage, but you can expand its storage capabilities even further thanks to its built-in SD/SDHC card slot. More than just an eBook Reader, the Cruz Reader Special Edition R102 is also a tablet device loaded with Google Android 2.0. When you're done reading the thousands of books available, you can browse the web, check emails, send tweets, check Facebook, and morel; all over its integrated IEEE 802.11b/g wireless connectivity.The Cruz Reader Special Edition R102 includes an AC power adapter that charges its built-in lithium-ion battery, providing a charge that lasts an average of 10 hours and up to 6 hours of continuous video playback. All of this in a portable tablet design that is perfect for taking anywhere you go! Get your Velocity Micro Cruz Reader Special Edition R102 7-inch touchscreen Android tablet today!Order now!

By Law, California shipments of this product are subject to a $6.00 Electronic Waste Recycling Fee

Velocity Micro Cruz Reader R102 256MB 7-inch Touchscreen EBook Reader AC Power adapter (Input: 100-240V 50/60 Hz 0.5A; Output: DC 12V --- 1.5A) Quick Start Guide Neoprene sleeve

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 107 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good buy if you are realistic about what it is. December 7, 2011

By J. Williams

A friend of mine purchased one of these for as a gift for someone and asked me to check it out for them. The first thing you need to understand about this device is that it is not meant to be and never will be an Ipad or a $500 tablet. It is a reader with some additional capabilities. A lot of complaints I see on other reviews here are the result of expecting a $500 device for $100 or less.

Perhaps the biggest weakness of the device is the Resistive touch screen. Consumers are used to the response of a capacitive touch screen such as the ones on Iphones and other smart phones. These are very responsive to contact. The resistive screen is different. It is actually an overlay screen which is sensitive to pressure. Simply touching the screen is not enough, you have to apply a little pressure. This is something you just have to get used to. If you can't adapt to the feel of the screen, something to try is a rubber tipped stylus. These have a soft rubber tip that will allow for more precise selection than the tip of your finger. In my opinion it works much better and makes the reader much more friendly. It also avoids the otherwise unavoidable finger smudges on the screen. The screen on this device is fairly glossy and the fingerprints really show up.

The Android OS 2.0 standard on the device is a little long in the tooth. You will find applications that will not run on it, but there are literally thousands of apps out there that will. To be honest I have been able to find a compatible version of every app that I wanted to run on mine with a little searching on the internet. One of the best sources I've found is [...]. They have the most recent versions of apps but also usually have several prior versions. If the newest doesn't work on 2....0, one of the prior releases normally will. These little inconveniences are just something you have to put up with if you want a tablet for $100 or less.

Another note about apps...they install to the system memory NOT the internal or external SD cards. System memory in this reader is only 256 mb and about 190 mb of that is used for the OS and pre installed software. Many apps only occupy a mb or two, but some of them are much larger, Accuweather for instance is almost 6 mb. You are not going to be able to install dozens of apps on here at one time. The mention of 2 or 4 gb of storage refers to the internal SD card which is used to store user files such as photos, video clips, music, etc. Apps use this space for some of their storage needs but the app itself installs to the very small and not upgradeable system memory. There is an external SD slot that allows you to expand the storage space up to 32gb...but again, this is not available for app installations unless you modify the device and install third party software to accomplish this. There are programs for this but I have not seen too many successful reports using them on this device.

One very positive thing about the Cruz is battery life...it will run a long, long time on a charge...probably 8 - 10 hours depending on how you are using it. Also, the thing is built like a tank. It is fairly heavy and not at all flimsy or cheap feeling.

Making it better:

Out of the box the only source of apps is the Cruz Market which is basically a handful of the most common apps. If you don't want to do any modifications of the reader, you will need to install another source of apps such as amazon appstore. In its stock setup you will not be able to access the android marketplace. Sources like the freewarelovers site mentioned above are accessible through the browser, and have direct links to install the programs. If you try to install an app and get a "parsing error", it probably means it is not compatible with the 2.0 OS.

If you are a little brave you can replace the stock operating firmware with a custom version. Most of these will upgrade the OS to 2.1 or a modified version of 2.0 that will make it much more functional, including the complete google apps suite and access to the Android Market app store. This is not hard to do in it's simplest form, as long as nothing goes wrong, but anytime you do something like this there is the potential of something going wrong and rendering your device completely non functional and voiding your warranty. Do a lot of research on any ROM update you are considering installing and be aware of problems experienced by others. Most problems can be fixed but it may require a higher degree of technical ability than that of the average user.

After playing with the CRUZ I was evaluating for my friend, I purchased one for myself. At $79.95 locally, it is well worth the price even with some of the limitations mentioned above. Mine is now running Macho CRUZ firmware and doing everything I want to do on it including Facebook, Kindle Reader, Youtube (using a standalone app...the browser does not support adobe flash), Gmail, POP3 Mail set up for my business email account, basic web browsing, music playing, note taking, etc...not bad for a $79.95 Reader in my opinion. Read more ›

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Even What You Pay For December 4, 2011

By Bandit Killer

Absolute garbage. When they say it is a touch screen, it really means that you have to pound it to get any kind of response from the device. Not only that, but it is not sensitive to even open the right selections you have made. You press on one button and something else opens up...sometimes. Sometimes it just sits there doing nothing. It runs on an antiquated Android system that is not compatible with anything, really. DO NOT BOTHER with this collosal load of crap.
I give it only one star because NO stars is not an option.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst experience ever February 3, 2012

By Sandy

Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this for my father for christmas thinking it would be a good way for him to try out a tablet before investing in an ipad. This "touchscreen" is the worst I have ever seen, I was forced to buy a stylus for him. Well on top of that 3days out of the box the stupid thing just shuts off and won't come back on. I tried contacting the company with no response so i filed and A to z claim with amazon. Finally the orignal company responds and says because I reported them to amazon they would not give me a refund. The next day Amazon lets me know that my claim was denied because even though amazon provides 90days for you to file a claim the original seller only offers 30days and I should have "read the terms on the 3rd parties website" the whole point of me ordering on here is to ensure ill get my moneys worth. Well thanks for the headache and robbing me blind!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Velocity Cruz Reader R102SE( WorldWide Distributors) January 3, 2012

By Shawn Smith

Amazon Verified Purchase

DO NOT order from this retailer(WorldWide Distributors)! Tried to contact them regarding this purchase for help with a connectivity issue regarding this 'brand new in a box Velocity Micro Cruz Reader 7"' and their only response was, "please contact Velocity support 1-800-303-7866." This reader has NEVER functioned properly since I've received it. Contacted Velocity's customer support...JOKE! Their 'tech' couldn't tell me what broadband range this device is, e.g. 802.11b/g/n or even if my router should be set to 20Mhz or 40Mhz - the only thing the tech was able to tell me was everything I was able to read in their online FAQ's(which are superb btw - it's the actual 'techs' lack of knowledge about their products I have a problem with!). STRONGLY advise that you purchase this DIRECTLY from the manufacturers site or an 'authorized dealer' and not some hack like this distributor appears to be. Just wondering if someone at this retailer tried to 'jailbreak' this reader and it failed or what because it always said:"Sorry - Application settings (in process com.android.settings) is not responding." when you try to connect to WIFI. Performed all the upgrades/router configuration settings to include the 'factory restore' and 'power reset' as per Velocity's Owner's manual and FAQ's without ANY luck whatsoever. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out how to make things work for me, (I've remodeled homes for 4yrs, accounting, lower level management, self-taught web master and repair all of my own vehicles - I'm no 'rocket scientist') but this one is a definite "No Go!" at this point.... Hope this review saves someone from being half as frustrated with this as I have become since Christmas trying to make this thing work after purchasing a new router and hours of researching Velocity's & Belkin's(my router) FAQ's and manuals only to come up short of the answer needed to resolve this issue. Read more ›

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY December 4, 2011

By Jeff Durbin (Apologia Christian Ministries)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought two of these for my Daughters for Christmas. I returned them the very next day. They do not catch on to the wi-fi. Absolutely horrible! They also do not play any videos.