Velocity Micro T301 Cruz 7-Inch Android 2.0 Tablet (Black)

I recently bought this tablet, and my overall impression is that this is a great tablet and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a bargain in a multi-function device.There are two Cruz tablets being sold on Amazon (no, this does not include the reader). Seemingly, neither Amazon nor most reviewers are aware of this. One tablet costs $159, and this one that costs $144. The major difference between the two is that the $159 tablet has 2GB internal memory, and the $144 tablet has 1GB internal memory. If this an issue with you, please be aware of this difference. Since I had no prior experience with Android or any type of phone or tablet with a touch screen, I had an open mind (in spite of all the reviews I read). I bought this tablet primarily on the strength of the company that manufactures it; Velocity Micro.I have found this device to be fantastic. For now, the apps it comes with are everything I could want. It connected to my wireless home network with no trouble. I downloaded, and am in the process of reading a book, thanks to the included Kindle app. Since I already had an Amazon account, this was extremely painless and very convenient. I think learning this device, and all that it offers, will be a long-term effort on my part. It probably helps that I did not necessarily buy it with a very specific use in mind, although it is capable of many things. My next step is to see if it can read an Excel spreadsheet, which I am confident that it will be able to do.The only thing I can fault this tablet on is something that is not the tablet's fault. All of these tablets are upgraded to Android 2.2 when they are shipped. One step that was forgotten, which I happened to know about because of the reviews I read, was that upon upgrade the tablet should be reset if it won't power-off. Mine wouldn't power-off the first time I used it, so remembering what I read I took a paperclip, reset the tablet, and everything has work perfectly since.It does what it does well, it is relatively fast, and the apps are useful. How in the world can you complain for $144? If you want pretty, slick, and mindless then buy a tablet in the $600 range and above. Me? I'm happy because I only know that I got a good deal on a tablet that is doing all I need it to do. If I want more functionality later, I know I can always buy up. Thanks for this great little table Velocity Micro - you guys rule!

Received it with the new Froyo 2.2 OS installed right out of the box, its 2.2.1-rc7 to be exact. The capacitive screen behaves better than I thought, and I am not sure why people have such a huge issue with it, it works great and really is very responsive. The multi-touch does work, and yes, it does have some delay if you scroll around, say on a webpage or even to look around through your installed apps, its definitely not the same speed as you'd expect from an iPad, but its not bad at all either, I mean come on, this is a $150 product ! The more I use it, the more I like it, its definitely not as horrible as others have commented on some other reviews.Tried to install Angry Birds, nope, didn't install at all, none of the different Angry Birds did. Guns and Glory though runs pretty slowly, again, the processor on the T301 is only a bit more than 500mhz, so I am not surprised. Some other games work fine, such as Robot Defense, which runs a very playable speed. Adobe Flash Player didn't install at all, so no direct Flash support as stated in the Cruz manual. However, Youtube app does work fine, as well as some other apps that play online videos, which use the youtube app as a playback engine. Haven't tried anything 3D'ish, my assumption is that either it wouldn't install or wouldn't run.As an eReader, it works flawlessly ! Amazon Kindle came pre-installed, and works great, iReader runs great, I have yet to put more, but I know that the Kobo reader app will run just fine and is available for download at the Cruz Market. Speaking of market, there's no way to put Android Market on this thing, but there are other app stores that can do the trick for you, such as AppBrain, SlideMe, and some others. It took me a while to find an internet radio app to install and run on the T301, Resco Radio 1.3, and must be 1.3, all other versions failed to install. Its awesome to have music going while I am reading !!z4root didn't install, so forget about simple rooting. None of the searches I found on Google tells a solid rooting routine for the T301, but so far, I don't see why one needs to root it. App2SD does work and works wonderfully.A couple of CON's I need to give the T301. There is no way to locate the T301's MAC address, since my router is set to use MAC address filtering for connecting to the web, I had to have its MAC address. You would expect to find it in the Settings>About... But no, its not there, this is not the first Android tablet I've owned, I know where it is normally, but on the T301, its just not shown ! I had no choice but to disable my router's MAC address filter but to have it wide open. Got the T301 connected, and loaded up the router's settings, and voila ! There's the T301's Mac address listed on the router's admin page !Another CON is that the box says there's 2gb of storage space, but I only found 650megs !? I am not sure how and where I can get to the other 1.4gb of storage... If someone's reading this and knows what to do to claim space back, please help ! But then again, I have an external 4gb SD card inserted, its still good after all.Like many other reviewers mentioned, the T301 is indeed quite heavy, at least heavier than my other tablets.I have not tried loading movies on it, so I have no comment about it. Otherwise, if you have patience to look up apps that you need and that they DO install and work fine on the T301, then its really a great tablet for the price, but just don't expect it a gaming machine !UPDATE 08-08-2011:So it turns out that there IS a way to put Android Market on the Cruz T301. I did it by following what the below link suggested, and thank goodness, it DOES work !!!! The only thing I had to do prior to perform this little procedure was that I had to update my T301 with the firmware released some time in May on the Velocity Micro website, I had to make sure the Android OS is 2.2.1, but NOT 2.2.1rc7 or anything rc's. It took only about 3 to 5 minutes to update the firmware, and I got myself a fully working T301 with OS 2.2.1.Putting the Anrdroid Market on it was also pretty easy, just follow what the folks said on the page. I have been downloading apps from the genuine Market like a kid in a free candy store ! Also Aldiko Premium 1.2.9 DOES work on the T301, install it for more of your reading needs !Here is the link: [...]

Been playing with this tablet for a few days now, it does have some issues that can be ironed out. First- the market that is pre-installed is terrible, second- finding accessories are becoming a hassle, third- battery life is fair at best. This said, these issues can be worked out, then you would have a awesome tablet or ereader. Get on the internet and find a better market like "Slideme", download can be had from cnet. Don't expect to find much on the accessories at Target or Walmart, just not enough demand yet, stick with ebay. The battery to me is a smaller issue but it's nice to know know that velocity sells more, keep a spare a long travels. Comparing it to only other android tablets, apples to apples, this is a very good tablet that is very capable of surfing, watching videos, streaming music, and as an ereader. Having Kindle preinstalled, does make it a little better reader than tablet.