Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
More and more devices are confuse the lines between ebook reader and tablet , but the AluratekLibre Touchisn’t one of them . While it does support basic Web browsing , e-mail , and multimedia system playback , the Libre Touch is first and foremost an e - lector with a color touch screen and integration ( via Wi - Fi ) with an online bookstall . But although its feature inclination is hefty , serviceableness flaw make the Libre Touch a tough sell , even at its attractive price .
improbable , narrow-minded , and slender ( 8.0 by 4.9 by 0.5 inch ) , and reasonably lightweight ( just under 12 oz. ) , the Libre Touch looks like many of the 7 - inch readers and tablets we ’ve seen of late , with a couple of minor alteration . Its charcoal - white-haired bezel has three hardware release on the proper side , including two conceal by the face itself ; these are for turning Page forwards and back . The third button is a short , erect silvery bar for returning to the premise task : If you ’re read a book , for example , pressing that button move you to the program library screen where you selected the Holy Writ .
On the top edge is the turgid , silvery exponent button . Along the bottom sharpness are , from left to right , a Mini - USB port ( for charge the Libre Touch and connecting it to a computing machine ) , a MicroSD calling card slot ( if you want more than the internal 4 GB of memory ) , a book rocker control , and a stock 3.5 millimeter earphone port .
Most of the action occurs through the exhibit ’s touch interface . The first clock time you bend it on , the Libre Touch runs a calibration act that immediately deceive its Android underpinnings : The process is target by the fiddling Android bot . However , the gadget is based on an senior version of Android ( 1.5 ) , so it does n’t have all the goody tie in with more current versions . For example , the browser app miss support for Adobe Flash , so you ca n’t get at all vane content . And you do n’t get any tools for downloading extra Android apps .
The screen employ resistive engineering science , which is less fingertip - friendly than capacitive touch screen are — but the Libre Touch ’s designers apparently await you to use your fingertips , since they did n’t include a style . It is n’t the swell experience — sometimes you have to tap a few times to get a response when you ’re trying to follow a link or type something on the software keyboard — so it ’s a good thing that Aluratek ramp up in those hardware button for page turns .
The showing ’s colors are fair to middling , but the 800 by 480 covert resolution is n’t very in high spirits for an e - reader ( in dividing line , the resolution of the 7 - column inch Barnes & Noble Nook Color [ ] is 1024 by 600 ) , and letters are n’t very politic , especially when you utilise the largest of the five usable face size configurations . Like other backlit LCD projection screen , the display of the Libre Touch dampen out all in shining sun , so it is n’t a top alternative for the beach .
Page turns feature brio , but are n’t particularly snappy when you use the aforesaid button . you’re able to set up timed varlet turn , however , so if you have a cosmopolitan common sense of how quick you show , and you need to use the Libre Touch at the gymnasium , for instance , you do have a hands - free selection .
In oecumenical , the drug user interface involve body of work . The home screen has several scattered elements , let in date / time and RSS widgets on top , and three vertical bannerlike dialog box . The leftmost panel has whatsis for accessing the Kobo internet bookstore , your music collection , and the Wi - Fi options . The middle jury affords access to your ebook depository library , and the ripe board shows your recent reading history . A little tab at the bottom wreak up a menu of apps , including access to scene , the World Wide Web browser app , email , and players for music , video recording , and images .
The good affair about the interface is that it offers a family ikon on the top left to get you to the place screen , plus a back icon on the top rightfulness that functions similarly to the ironware back button ; these two controls made general navigation reasonably visceral for me . But the overall look is chaotic and unattractive .
Aluratek preloads the Libre Touch with 100 free books in schoolbook format ; they look as generic icons , though , and if a book ’s title is more than a Book or two long , you ca n’t scan it in its entirety until you select the book .
The Libre Touch supports Adobe Digital Editions and the ePub format for copy - protected book , so I was able to transfer books I ’d antecedently bribe to the Touch using the ADE software on my information processing system . you’re able to also buy Book online without being connected to your computer by using the Kobo bookstall widget , but it did n’t bring all that well in my tests . When you browse to a family , the varlet promises to show you six books at a time , but only three actually displayed for me — and on the next Sir Frederick Handley Page , I acquire items 7 through 9 rather than 7 through 12 .
Navigating through the storehouse go rather slowly on the Libre Touch ’s 802.11b / g Wi - Fi , and the situation ’s organisation in this user interface was not the best — I had to click a ‘ More ’ yellow journalism to reach category such asNew York Timesbestsellers . Interface issuance such as these may go away with update over time , but right now they make the Libre Touch a misfortunate rival to other readers offering wireless admittance to WWW bookstores .
The browser app and email apps are not much fun to utilize , in part because type on the insubordinate touchscreen is difficult and sometimes because taps , as previously mentioned , do n’t always cultivate right forth . On the other hand , I enjoyed mind to music through phone , and I appreciated the included equalizer , which comes with several presets but also lets you base your own preferred levels in a ‘ My Effect ’ preset .
Battery life varies according to how much you apply Wi - Fi - dependent features : Aluratek says the Libre Touch can lean for up to eight hours on a unmarried charge . sagely , the gimmick shuts down its display after a min of nonuse , which helps prolong barrage fire life .
Macworld’s buying advice
Overall , however , I never warmed up to the Aluratek Libre Touch . It did n’t come close to meeting my expectation for relaxation of role , in the main because the touch screen is n’t that great and the online bookstall desegregation was so flawed . While I care the idea of a color ebook lecturer , the Libre Touch ’s execution made me prospicient for my black - and - whitened Kindle .
