Velocity Micro To Launch More Tablets with Android 4.0

     Velocity Micro was one of the first US companies to launch an Android tablet back in November 2010.  They released their second generation tablets about a year later.  We reviewed both the first Cruz Tablet and the second generation Cruz Tablet.  Now Velocity Micro is announcing their third generation Android tablets and will demo them at the Las Vegas CES (Consumer Electronic Show) this week.  These will have Android 4.0.

Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet (T408) Review

     A year ago, Velocity Micro launched two tablets and officially entered the tablet with Cruz eReader and the Cruz Tablet.  Velocity Micro kept the processor a big secret and for good reason, it was a low budget Ingenic JZ4760 MIPS processor.  Unfortunately, the processor was low power which limited the usability of the Cruz Tablet. This time, Velocity Micro fully disclosed their processor: 1GHz Cortex A8.  Velocity Micro has launched two sizes: T408 (an 8” tablet) and T410 (a 10” tablet).  So Velocity Micro realized that they couldn't skimp on the processor or the screen (two of our biggest complaints with their first generation tablet).  The T408 & T410 both have capacitive screen. Definitely, this is a big improvement but are they good enough to compete in this crowded tablet market?

TabletConnect Hits One Year

Can't believe its been one year since our very first post (7/15/10).  I am actually surprised that we survived a full year. Initially, this blog was launched as a short term project but has grown to be successful.  Thanks to you!  As long as our readers continue to visit our blog, we will continue to do what we do: provide independent reviews; provide news & information on tablets.

Attention: Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet Vistors

Thank you for visiting TabletConnect.  I need your help as I prepare additional content for our readers.  I know the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet and Reader tablets are not the most popular Android tablets nor have they received good reviews (including my own).  However, my review of the T104 Cruz Tablet is TabletConnect's most viewed article/post every single week (average 970 - 1,000 pageviews/week) since it was published in November 2010.   I am really surprised by how popular this tablet is.  The number of search queries done via Google is incredible.   This tells me that people are really interested in this product... for better or for worst.

I would like input from the readers as to whether I should do another review on their latest model - T301 and whether I should actively report on any new developments from Velocity Micro.  I want to give what my readers want.

For those not aware, Velocity Micro will be launching 3 new tablets (no word when). One of which will have a Tegra 2 dual-core processor. Maybe they will have a real winner assuming that the price is right. Probably will not have Honeycomb (Android 3.0).

Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet (T104) Review

11/2011 - We have the new Cruz T408 tablet on hand and are currently testing it.  Check back for our full review.  As a tease, its better than this T104.

UPDATE: Due to a number of questions on playing Youtube videos, I decided to note the link on where to download the Youtube app.  Click here.  This is directly from Velocity Micro.  As the review mentions below, we did not have success with the Youtube app that we downloaded.  You must use the version from Velocity Micro if it does not work.  

Back in July 2010, Velocity Micro announced that it was going to release an Android eReader and tablet in August.  We were looking forward to the Cruz Tablet as it was competitively priced ($299), to have decent specs and would be the second tablet to be launched by a US-based company this year. 
     Things have certainly changed in the 4 months since then.  First, the release date was pushed to November (the eReader launched in September).  Second, a couple of the initial specs that the tablet was to have changed.  Initially, the Cruz Tablet was to have 4GB of internal memory and Android 2.1.  One area of concern we had was the Velocity Micro was very secretive about its processor.  No mention of it was made on its website nor when we contacted the company.  We are not sure if the processor that it finally ended up using (Ingenic JZ4760 MIPS) was a last minute change.  Running Android 2.0 is a negative especially when other Android tablets hitting the market will have at least 2.1 but more likely 2.2 or higher.

Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet Quietly Goes on Sale

Ads in Best Buy & Sears for this Sunday show Velocity Micro's Cruz Tablet is available. Retail price is $299 although Sears has it listed for $269.99 (at least in the NJ market). The Cruz Tablet has better specs than the Cruz Reader which was released a couple of months ago.

Borders Giving $25 Gift Card With Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet Pre-orders

Image via CrunchBase

PC Magazine is reporting that Borders is offering discounts on the Kobo reader plus giving a $25 gift card with the pre-order of Velocity Micro's Cruz Tablet.  This is in preparation for the competitive holiday season.

Borders is also selling the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader for $169.99 which is $30 off the regular price of $199.99.

Cruz Reader: First Impressions

The Cruz Reader is one of the first "US-based" company to release an Android 2.0 tablet.  We will be doing a full review on the Cruz Tablet when it is released as the specs appear to make it a better tablet.  I did manage to play around with the Reader at a Borders store.  The overall quality and feel is good.  The Cruz Market is very poor.  There were probably 20 - 30 apps in that "store."  The resistive screen does seem more responsive than the Enso ZenPad 4 that we tested.  The accelerometer also appears to be responsive.  I had trouble getting the eReader app to work so I couldn't test the eReader with Borders store app.  The built-in browser was slow but couldn't tell if it was the WiFi connection.  Of course, this is not a detailed review but just the initial impression that I have.  We will post a detailed review on the Cruz Tablet once it is released.

Velocity Micro to launch Cruz Reader & Tablet in September

Velocity Micro has finally announced that they are launching the Cruz Reader, Cruz Tablet & the Cruz StoryPad (for the kids) in September.  You can preorder these devices now and will also be sold via retail outlet.  We believe that this tablet would be the first Android tablet to be sold in major retailers.  The retailers are: Best Buy, Bi-Mart, Borders, CompUSA, Costco, Fry's, NewEgg, Sears, TigerDirect.com, and Overstock.com. 

Cruz Reader Update - Announcement to be released next week

We have received confirmation from Velocity Micro that they will be making an announcement next week regarding the availability of their Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet.  As we reported on 7/26, Velocity Micro will be releasing what we believe is a competitive product. 

Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet Coming in August 2010

   Originally, there was a press release on July 13, 2010 announcing that Velocity Micro is releasing an Android Cruz Reader & Tablet in August 2010.  Although this is old news, we wanted to post this on our blog for those who may have missed it.
   Velocity Micro is releasing 3 tablets in August/September.  A couple of other reasons why we are communicating this news is: 1) price point will be between $149 and $299 (which where we believe tablets should be priced at in order to have strong sales); and 2) these tablets will be one of the first Android tablets to be released this year assuming they are in August/September.  These could be the first major challengers to Apple's iPad.