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K. Silva “Kris” (Los Angeles, California United States) –

  

As I opened the box this afternoon, I was initially worried about the size. It’s small. However, my fears were alleviated when I accidentally rotated the page and found the button to increase the text.

The books that came with the Libre were in txt fomat and some of them have been on my to be read list – Others were books I read at Uni where this could have been useful.

The next step was to add different things to the SD Card to test. The SD Card wasn’t recognized by my computer – but I realized it was the computer’s fault. I plugged the Libre up to the computer using the USB Cord that was provided and was able to add photos, pdfs of word documents created for work, and music.

That settled, I unplugged the Libre, and wanted to see if the feature I wanted most would work – background music while reading. It did! I was pleased to also note that initial loading of the pdf was shorter than expected as there is a warning that the music would slow things down considerably. I also noted that adjusting the volume of the music was impossible without leaving the book that was being read at the moment. It’s not a big thing.

I went to recent readings afterward and was able to return to the page that I left off, which was another plus. Removing books from the list was rather easy too.

The photos aren’t really going to WOW you because it’s in B&W BUT I downloaded a photo from the net and it’s in good quality.

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THE MACHINE

On the left panel of the Libre there is a sliding section that scrolls down for you while in the ebook mode. It also skips to the next song in the mp3 section and the next photo in the photo section.

The right panel is the navigation panel with choices assigned to numbers. It’s easy to figure out, such as choose 2 for item 2 listed.

To the bottom left of the Libre there is a page turn button.

The bottom right buttons are a little more complicated (as there are more of them) reader, but nothing to far fetched. The outer top left button gives options such as jump to (where you have to press 1 to jump to a particular page), Recent Readings (press 2), Clear all Recent Readings (press 3), etc.

The bottom left button rotates.

The bottom right button goes back to the previous page.

The top right button zooms.

The center is an OK button.

It only takes a few minutes to learn to operate.
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I gave the Libre 4 stars because there can be things to improve. Lighting might be an option to work with, or color. Adjustable volume or maybe a temporary dual screen /or separate controls for the mp3 so you could adjust the mp3 section without leaving the book. However, these things are not necessary for using the Libre as it is.

There is no Internet like the Kindle and others of it’s class but it’s a nifty device that has made accessing files so much easier for work without having to lug my computer around.

You’d probably want to get a bigger SD Card too at some point.

I’ll test the battery to see how long it lasts, but I am willing to bet it would be a long while.

UPDATE: 3/24/10

BATTERY

It’s been 2 months and I have learned to sacrifice page loading while listening to music. It’s not too bad but noticeably slower. The battery lasts me long. I can read all day long on and off, on the bus, and still have juice to go. A lot of time I listen to music as well and that CAN shorten the battery life, but so far I am VERY pleased with the battery life. I usually charge it midday while I am at my desk every other day. I took this on a 7 hr road trip and was entertained the whole way there without charging. It was a first for me, and I can now look forward to overseas trips.

SD CARD

For a while I goofed and wasn’t saving directly to the SD Card but using the internal memory, but once I realized my error (as I could only save about 20-ish songs and a handful of files which were over 1000 pages). My next stop is to see how big an SD Card I can use, if such a limit exists, and if any brand would work. The card that came with my Aluratek was a Transcend card, so I am going to assume any brand would be effective. This is NOT true in a lot of cases for me to be wary.

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By 

Barbara James “freebyrd” (Georgia) –

  

Bought a Sony E-Reader and Aluratek Libre. Here’s my review of both:
Sony – too long for the pages to turn, had to adjust angle of reading when lighting changed, no SD card, no MP3 and no pics.
Aluratek – pages turn fast, no problem adjusting to light, MP3 capability and pics (black & white) and SD card.
Which one did I return? No brainer: the Sony. Very, very happy with the Aluratek and would highly recommend this over the Sony. Another great feature is their tech support. They were very helpful and patient with me as they helped me update the software and download my first book. Oh and did I mention? It costs less than Sony EReader. Well worth the money!

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