Aluratek Libre e-book reader
I had a chance to try out the Libre eBook Reader, and it really isn’t that much different from other e-book readers. The Libre boasts that since it has no backlight, they say that it is just like reading a real book. I believe that most e-book readers can do that.
It also boasts as being eco-friendly, because “Ebooks helps conserve the environment by saving trees and eliminates pollution associated with shipping books across the world”. Okay, I’m pretty certain that most e-books in general do that, and unless the Libre was the first to do it, I wouldn’t put that claim for their product.
It has a monochromatic 5-inch epaper screen that supports “PDF (Adobe Digital Edition DRM/non-DRM), TXT, FB2, EPUB (Adobe Digital Edition DRM/non-DRM), MOBI (non-DRM only), PRC (non-DRM only)and RTF electronic book format as well as BMP, JPG, GIF, animated GIF picture format”.
In short, there isn’t really anything to set the Aluratek Libre apart from other ebook readers. In all honesty, I’m not certain how the e-book reader market will compete against the currently growing tablet market, which will probably kick into high gear with the iPad. Many are already calling the iPad “the Kindle killer”.
I did find that there was about three ways of turning a page on the reader. There was an interesting shifting switch on the left that could do it, and it was a lot like flipping a real page in a book. There were two switches below for this, and one of them served as the menu of the device.
There was another unique feature. I will have to say that the Libre seems to be set up for those who have never had an e-reader before. It even comes with a 2GB SD card that comes with 100 free eBooks. The list includes many classics, and several of them are probably public domain. I’ve actually recently heard that the iPad will come with 30,000 ebooks. I’d be willing to bet that all of the titles on the Libre are probably on the aforementioned iPad.
The Libre also allows the user to download free eBooks on sites such as googlebooks.com as well as Gutenberg.org.
The SD card slot can hold up to 32GB, and the lithium polymer battery is good for about 24 hours of use. The package contains a USB Cable, the Power Charger, Hand Strap, Earphones, Carrying Pouch for about $150-170.