Well, it works for me.
I switched a 1.24DE Wifi to 1.34US firmware. There it was as you said. No browser, just a sign in for Google. And trying to sign in to my Google account resulted in a "There is no response from the server. Please check your wireless network." message. Regardless, the device considered itself signed in from that point.
Downgraded 1.34US to 1.29US and it starts the browser again. Installed WebPortal and it shows the WebPortal.
The web page it displays in the browser is this message:
Quote:
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"Google eBooks is now Google Play. To buy ebooks for your Story HD device, please visit play.google.com/store/books from your computer's browser. Purchased books will automatically appear on your Story HD device. (C) 2011"
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But you can ignore that and just use the Web Portal as normal.
Signing out of Google changes things. Instead of starting the browser it shows the Google Signin screen instead. Giving my email and password, however, it considers itself signed in again and it's back to the Web Portal.
tl;dr The WebPortal works with 1.29 US but you still have to sign into Google.