Quote:
Originally Posted by mikescanes
Bought a Cruz reader 103 for $99. Is much as described by others but I persevered with it and kinda got used to it.
i worked on the basis it was so cheap what the hell. Can now read ebooks easily, see photos but cannot find format to play videos. Somewhere in the net I did find a good manual but have lost it. Software icons not easy to understand their purpose, and some cause confusion.
Ayone else had same experiences? If so can we share experiences?
Mike
|
Hi Mike,
I'm new to e-readers, and bought the Cruz 101 because of the price (on sale for $119), and the numerous formats it allegedly supported. I've had it for 2 days, and believe me, it's been a tough 2 days, but I think I almost have this figured out.
For the manual and firmware upgrade, you can get it from the Cruz site here:
http://cruzsupport.velocitymicro.com...sp?deptID=5758 you'll need an external SD card to do the firmware upgrade. I really don't know if this improved things, but after researching the Cruz, it was mentioned that the first thing you should do is update the firmware.
I spent hours trying to connect to youtube, only to find Android doesn't support flash. I found an alternative browser called Skyfire. I downloaded it to my pc, then transferred the file to the internal SD card via the usb cable. I navigated to the file using Astro, the file manager, and after double tapping it, it installed the browser. It does a pretty good job of streaming the video.
Then, I found a problem reading digitally protected e-pub books. More googling, and I found a a free app called Overdrive Media Console (google it). Bliss. I was able to download digitally protected e-pub books borrowed from my local library. To do this, the "ticket" for the protected e-pub book is an .ascm file you have to transfer to the internal SD card. I put it in a folder I created called "downloads." Navigated to it using Astro, double tap, Overdrive opens up, and you're prompted to start the download. Before being able to use Overdrive, you need to get a digital ID from Adobe, so if you don't have one, you have to go to Adobe to register your name and email address.
Oh, I forgot to mention to read the manual, I had to get a pdf reader from the installed Cruz Market. I installed the Amazon Kindle app from the Cruz Market as well, and I'm now reading a book from Amazon. You can't read in landscape mode when using the Kindle app.
To convert videos, you need to convert whatever video to mp4 format- there's many free you can google. I use this:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/akmeffmpeg/ Through some guesswork, I figured out the right setting to convert videos that's viewable on the Cruz.
I've since transferred photos, and mp3 music to the Cruz. Photos and videos can be found using the "Gallery" icon. For music, the music icon.
I've spent
2 long days fiddling with this, and believe I have most of the kinks worked out. I haven't tried opening any txt documents, as the included Office app is a trial only.
I've had pretty good luck in finding 3rd party apps when googling, if I add the words, "cruz android" to the query terms; e.g. "e-pub reader for cruz android reader."
The touch resistive screen is the major weak point in the Cruz. I've found that after calibrating the screen using the tip of a covered Bic pen, and using the very edge, the touch screen will be more accurately responsive.
I'm practically brain dead from 2 days of working with this thing. I'm still a bit undecided whether to keep this, but for the price, and as a reader only, it certainly does its job. The video and music are just extra perks. Being able to download books from my public library is a big plus for me. After all the work I've done, I almost feel I can't return this thing. Anyway, I posted to hopefully help anyone avoid the frustrations I did.