Help identifying this tablet.

[doduv2]

I did not have time to take a picture of the menu yet, and I don't have my reader with me. But, I went on Aluratek's website and can say that the menu of the Libre Color found here : (http://aluratek.com/libre-color-eboo...th-7-color-lcd) is different. Also, when I look at the description, here are some differences I can see :

- Libre Color seem to have SD slot, Hip street is Micro-SD.
- Hip Street does not play Mpeg-1 or MPeg-2 videos
- Libre seems to support DRMed-epubs - Hip Street doesn't

I would honestly say the Hip Street has less features, but hey, it's a color e-reader for 78 $ !!!! And a good video player. But that's it!

[RoxyJ]

I saw this ad this morning too. I was wondering if the ereader is compatible with Calibre, and does it have wifi?

Also how are you all getting your books onto the reader if it doesn't support adobe drm?

Just out of curiosity, has anyone jailbroken this?

The info states that it's compatible to windows, has anyone tried it on a MAC yet?

(I've been looking for an ereader for night time reading, and this price point looks good)

[doduv2]

It is compatible with calibre, I used Calibre yesterday to transfer a book to it.

The computer sees it as any storage device (like a usb drive/key). You just drop the file (epub, txt, pdf) on it (example e:\ in My computer) or use Calibre. This has to be non-drmed books (ie Project Gutenberg's books).

By the way, no software is necessary on the computer. You could just copy the files on it using the USB cable supplied.

And no, it doesn't have wifi.

[RoxyJ]

so conceivably I could use Calibre to upload my previously purchased books to this device, as long as there is no drm right?

So, does everyone like it, is it a keeper?

[doduv2]

so conceivably I could use Calibre to upload my previously purchased books to this device, as long as there is no drm right?

Yes.

So, does everyone like it, is it a keeper?

Yes (can't speak for others though) and yes.

On other forums people are debating over this one and the Aluratek Color on sale at Dell.ca.

[RoxyJ]

Thanks so much with your help!!

Originally Posted by doduv2

On other forums people are debating over this one and the Aluratek Color on sale at Dell.ca.

Did you happen to have a link to these discussions?

^^^^ Nevermind, i saw the thread on RedFlag deals here is the link for those who are interested.

Would you happen to have a photo of the ebook software, or a description of how it looks and works? ei does it show the book covers, is it just a list of books?

[Ziguezon]

Bought one today but will be returning it. I wanted to use it mainly as a video player for my son to watch videos in the car. Unfortunately the screen is not bright enough for this purpose. The screen on my old HTC Touch phone is much better.

My other issue is that it cannot play the flash videos (flv) that I have. Some are encoded using MPEG-1, and others are encoded using On2 VP6 Video (whatever that is), and neither of these will work on this device.

[doduv2]

Would you happen to have a photo of the ebook software, or a description of how it looks and works? ei does it show the book covers, is it just a list of books?

I do not have a photo... yet. Will try to upload it tonight.

Here's the description :
You click on the ebook item on the main menu.

The list of compatible files saved on memory appears. No book covers, only the filenames. Only compatbile filetypes appear.

You click the filename, the book opens. Once in a book, you can use either the touchsreen or the buttons (arrow buttons) to turn pages. There is also a menu where you can change orientation, add bookmark, open bookmark, delete bookmark, change font, change font size, change brightness.

The book covers do show up when you open the book. But don't expect anything like Aldiko on Android with bookslheves of bookcovers. This thing is verv very minimalistic and simple. Perfect for reading novels, not good for studying, highlighting, taking notes.

Also, this thing is speedy (due to its simple firmware). Powers up in less than 10 seconds, opens a book in around 10-15 seconds and mostly turn pages instantly.

[dwoolley]

Seems this is another variation of a bunch of devices. The forum discussion here shows a version of the current firmware..in this case running on a MiGear ebook reader then being flashed to a Skytex firmware. As far as I can see there isn't one similar to the Skytex with touch support yet but at least it's a possibility.

[cdntinpusher]

Hi,

Have either of you purchasers tried to authorize the device under ADE and load books via it?

[dwoolley]

With the default firmware, ADE isn't supported. Some other devices with similar hardware seem to support ADE so it may be a possibility. Right now I am trying to see if there are any hidden partitions on the internal drive so I can back things up assuming I find a firmware...so far no luck though.

Interestingly the Aluratek firmware update (Livesuit) recognizes the device I guess by using the USB VID and PID in the same manner as Calibre does. While I have the firmware downloaded for the Aluratek color (which supports ADE ), I dont want to test it out until I have a backup of the current system and until Aluratek publishes the firmware for their touch model

[DeadMan]

Originally Posted by nrapallo

What's the screen resolution? Most 7" LCD devices are 800x480.

Does it support DRM Adobe epub and pdf?

Any paper manual or quick start guide included? online manual?

My 7" LCD Next1 is a great device, BUT, there's no touch screen....

I picked up one of these today as well.

http://www.hipstreetonline.com/produ...-E-Reader.html

Online manual:
http://hipstreetonline.com/content/manuals/HS-M700.zip

Still like my Next1/Prestigio better. Although, the Hip Street is much lighter! Didn't come with a cover either But it does come with earphones, buds, speakers, what ever they are called. Also comes with a wall-jack and standard mini USB cable that plugs into the wall-jack or the computer.
The screen is quite nice over all, pictures and text display are nice and crisp.

The refresh on page turns is slow; seems to draw the page from right to left.

There is no DRM support at all, stated in the manual.

I know you like to read PDF's, but from what I tried it totally sucked in the PDF viewing dept.

If there is a way to view an ePub TOC, I haven't found it! Seems to have the standard 6 or so font zoom sizes, and all the basic bookmark, auto play (page turn) options. Will be sold to my buddy who wants it to read comic books on as it displays pictures about the same as the Next1, just on a smaller screen.

The touch screen works quite well, and is nicely responsive. No need to push to hard, and doesn't react if it's brushed lightly; I would say it responds to the same pressure as it would take to flip a page of a regular book.
It does not have an auto-rotate function; You have to open the menu and select the "Switches anyway" option to rotate it in one direction only.

I did not try movies, music or the recording function.

I bought it basically for poops and giggles to see if it would compair to my Next1. In some ways it does, but in to many ways it doesn't.
Will make an OK basic reader for ePub and txt files. I will start searching about for a similar firmware from another device

[DeadMan]

Well I bricked mine while playing with the update flasher. Liveupdate from the Libre firmware update package.

Not saying the flash was bad, as it didn't get that far. The software starts, detects the device, and gives a warning that I should back up all important data from the device.

Once I clicked it to start the flash, it turns off the device, then tries to install a driver (Similar to how the RK28 Device Manager works). This is at the point it failed, the driver did not install correctly (Windows says a driver did not install), the software just sat there forever after until I killed the process and the unit would not turn on after that.

My system is Win7, x64. I did make a couple feeble attemps to hand install the driver before killing the process and unplugging the device, but things weren't cooperating. I will just return the unit today, and I won't bother getting another.

[egon1]

I bought one yesterday at Walmart Canada. I am impressed with quality of movies. It can play mkv movies as vell (my wifes pandigital novel can't). Pictures are clear and slide show is good. Touch screen is very responsive. Doesn't have Wi-Fi (pandigital does but is soooo slow). Ebooks (EPUB) are very good, loading fast, page turning is tap screen (bottom right for next, bottom left for previous) and react good. If you using Calibre, adding ebook to library is taking off DRM automaticaly so it is possible to transfer book to reader. For price HS is very good reader (movie and picture) device. Recording voice is good too. Have to learn how to use all comands and where are they on the screen but once you get it it is OK.

[hpjrt]

I purchased one of these from my local Walmart the other day ... and was quite impressed with what it was.

It will never replace my Sony PRS-650, but I thought that it might work well for cookbooks. While the cookbooks show up nicely on it, the lack of ability to "go to" is a real detractor for cookbook use.

It displays video well, although I could stand a couple more shades of brightness. Nonetheless, it plays the videos I've tried well.

It displays photos well ... and given that at $78 it's cheaper than a digital picture frame ... so it's handy for that. With the 7" screen, this is something I could take to show my 94 year old mother photos of her great-granddaughter.

For $78 ... it's pretty good ... but again, while a reasonable LCD basic reader ... it doesn't hold a candle to my PRS-650 ... and I'm not likely to use it as a reader. It might, however, be a handy reader to leave in the guest room so that guests have something to read if they want.

I don't know yet how long the battery life is ... it hasn't seemed to have lost charge since I first charged it earlier in the week.

Mary