LIBRE EBOOK READER PRO WHITE PERPSD CARD SLOT PICTURE & MP3 SUPPORT
Aluratek LIBRE eBook Reader PRO – eBook reader – Flash: 2 GB – 5″ – white
Price: $126.72
Features
- Supports PDF (Adobe Digital Edition DRM/non-DRM), TXT, FB2, EPUB (Adobe Digital Edition DRM/non-DRM), MOBI (non-DRM only)
- Supports BMP, JPG, GIF, animated GIF picture format
- Includes 2GB SD Card and 100 free eBooks
- Content search for easy navigation between books and pages
- Bookmark and auto page turn function
User Reviews
Before I purchased the Libre, I researched Kindle, Nook and the Sony e-readers at length. I compared price, functions and ease of reading as well as availability and cost of downloadable books. I chose the Libre and am thrilled with it.
Although the page turn key is on the left side of the unit, it's easy to get used to. I hold the unit in the palm of my left hand and turn the pages with my right. I LOVE that there's neither flash nor lag with page turns. Indeed, that was the deciding factor in my decision to purchase the Libre. Adjusting the font size and page orientation is very easy, and there are plenty of bookmarks available. Maybe the Libre doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Kindle, but it has everything I need and it beats the very slow-performing Nook hands down. I have friends who love their Sonys, but the page turn flash would drive me crazy.
I can't seem to install PDFs so that they're readable, but considering that the PDF user manual for the Libre is accessible on the unit, that seems to be user error. The hundred books that come already installed are a good variety, though I won't read a lot of them and I love that a cheap and simple SD card will increase the memory capacity exponentially.
The size is perfect, though I worried the screen might be too small. It's about the dimensions of a mass market paperback though it weighs much less than a fat one and it fits comfortably in the hand and the purse. It comes with a hand strap, a cover, all the necessary cords and earphones for the MP3 function.
I am not a techie but I have no difficulty in downloading books, though I can't do it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble and purchasers should be aware of this. Project Gutenberg however is a constant source of reading material and if I read every minute for the rest of my life, I'd never reach the end of the possibilities there. It's free and incredibly easy to use.
The Libre will never take the place of physical books, nor is the public library in danger. The Libre's role in my reading life is to store classics and go with me everywhere so I'm never without reading material. It's perfect for my needs.
-- Love!
I got this for my birthday in May and use it nearly every day. I've got over 200 books loaded on it, and am working my way through a series. It's my favorite possession. Desert Island list for sure! -- Love Love Love this!!
After reviewing e-book readers (Kindle, Nook, Sony & i Pad to name a few) for over six months I selected the Aluratek Pro. There are several really great features on this reader that convinced me to purchase this reader over the many other readers out there.
One of the two main reasons that I purchased the Aluratek was that it supports PDF TXT, FB2, EPUB, MOBI (non-DRM only), PRC (non-DRM only)and RTF
e-book formats. The other reason was because of the ability to sort my books into file folders and sub-folders on the two GB SD card that comes with it.
The Aluratek also holds picture and supports BMP, JPG, GIF, animated GIF picture formats. Another feature that I like is that I can load music on my reader and listen to it as I read. The battery lasts about four days between charges but, I use the reader every day for music and reading so it may last longer between charges if you don't use it as much.
Another major plus for the Aluratek is that it is priced much lower than the other major ebook readers out there. The price has been about one hundred twenty-five to one hundred fifty dollars on Amazon.com. The price is a bit cheaper than the other major ebook readers out there. And occasionally you can find it for right around one hundred dollars.
The first month that I had the ebook reader everyone in the house borrowed it and tried it out. After reviewing my reader everyone decided to get the Aluratek for themselves. Now everyone has there own reader and it is nice to have my reader back to myself.
ASIN: B002O0KIC4 Aluratek LIBRE eBook Reader PRO - eBook reader. -- Great E-book Reader
I purchased that Aluratek just before the recent price drops on many ebook readers like the Nook and Kindle, but I can honestly say that I'm not the least bit upset about it. Since the Libre uses "e-paper" LCD technology, page turns are much faster than e-ink readers. This is a must for people that read at a fairly fast pace. I also like the fact that the Libre is smaller than many readers on the market right now, since I can easily put it in my pocket and take it with me wherever I go. As far as battery life is concerned, I really have no complaints. I recently went with my son's scout troop to summer camp and only charged it once. I probably could have gotten away with not charging it all week, but I wanted to err on the side of caution. My only complaint is the poor Table of Contents support on all formats other than PDF's, but I hear this is being worked on for a future firmware release, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I originally wanted a large-format reader like the Kindle DX, but I now feel that bigger isn't always better (although a large format would be good for people that read a lot of PDFs).
A word of advice to ebook newbies, there are literally thousands of free ebooks available online at places like Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks, [...], and the Baen free library. I would recommend downloading Calibre to help organize your collection and Sigil if you want to make your own ebooks (or clean up any epub files you may have if you are a perfectionist like me). Also, it is an absolute must to create an account at the MobileRead forums. There are many people there that can help you get started and make your ebook experience much more rewarding. -- A good reader at a good price...
(First, keep in mind that I am fairly technical and was not looking for an e-reader with WiFi / remote sync. Things like drag-and-drop, manual firmware updates and ebook conversions are not a problem for me)
As of this writing, [...] is about to offer this for US $[...]. So hopefully this will become the standard price in most on-line stores, soon. I've owned this for over a week and took it on vacation with me, so my thoughts on the device...
Pros:
- The LCD screen. This device differs from other readers like the Kindle, Nook, and Sony reader in that it does not use E-Ink. What that means is that the Libre battery is being drained while you are reading the screen, but it does not suffer from the "flash" effect when turning pages. I personally find this to be an advantage, even at the cost of battery life. At ~20 hours, it will get you through an entire day of use.
In sunlight, this thing is wonderful to use. Indoors, you will need a good light source, just like a printed book.
- The extras included. Besides the device itself, you also get a pair of (really bad) earbuds, a USB cable, an AC adapter, a 2GB SD card and a soft case. Basically, you don't have to buy anything else for this, except maybe a book light. This is important to factor in as other e-readers may require extra purchases that you don't have with the Libre. Also, keep in mind that the SD card, USB cable and AC adapter can be used with other devices - they are not proprietary.
- The size. Imo, it is just perfect. Big enough to read comfortably, but small enough to fit inside a large pocket. I was carrying this around for a week and it was a little snug, but definitely not a problem. It's also fairly lightweight and can be used with one hand for extended periods of time.
- The page flip controls. You have at least two ways to flip pages, with possibly a third way depending on the book. Those options allow you to hold the player several different ways, if you want.
- The ebook formats supported. Mainly the offering of EPUB, PDF, TXT and MOBI are key for me. It also supports some DRM formats, but YMMV. First thing you should do if you buy this is UPDATE THE FIRMWARE, especially if you plan to use ebooks with DRM. Also plan on what you will use this device for before purchasing - again, your major issue will be DRM and whether or not the Libre supports the retailer you are buying / renting your ebooks from.
I haven't really played around with PDF too much yet, but my limited experience is that PDF's with heavy graphics may be a problem with the device. Imo, EPUB is probably the "best" format to use with the device, and you can use the JetBook setting in software like Calibre to transcode non-supported formats like LIT or PDB to use on the device. Calibre is a fantastic free ereader transcoding program and I would highly recommend it.
Cons:
- The User Interface. I'm personally not thrilled with it. A bit slow to maneuver and it takes some getting used to. But once you are reading your book (which is 90% of what you'll be doing, most likely) it's fine. It will at least remember where you left off in the book you are currently reading when you turn it back on, which is really all I need. There's no "Link" support tmk (clicking on a chapter in the TOC and it sends you to that chapter, for example - not supported). But, you can do searches or type in a page number manually.
- The MP3 player. Although I appreciate that it's offered at all, it's almost a half-hearted effort which I wish they could tweak with firmware updates. It doesn't support AAC, WMA or even OGG Vorbis, just MP3. And the playback SQ is a bit problematic with higher-end headphones that seems to be related to whatever decoder they're using. It's not horrible, but I certainly wouldn't use it as my main music player. It's more useful for MP3-based audiobooks, imo.
- No full "Power Off" button. When you turn the device off, it goes into sleep mode and continues to drain the battery. It's wonderful to get back to where you left off in your book quickly, but I'd like to have an option to turn this off fully if I don't plan to use it for a few weeks. A work-around is to use the "reset" button, but then you need to carry a paper clip with you, all the time. :-)
Overall, I give this four stars with the hope that the minor cons I mentioned could be further tweaked with firmware updates, in the future. -- A great bang-for-the-buck minimalist e-reader
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