Velocity Micro Cruz T508 8-Inch Tablet PC – 8GB (Black)

Velocity Micro Cruz T508 8-Inch Tablet PC Features

Velocity Micro Cruz T508 is a compact, attractively priced tablet with some surprisingly good features. The Cruz Tablet range is now an established brand, and the new Cruz T508 follows the precedent quite well. It is a portable device, in size as well as in price, and it might well have its greatest appeal among those who like a bit of bling with their gadgetry. The 8-inch screen is definitely useful for web browsing and reading, it still feels relatively compact compared to the massive-screened tablets, making it the perfect blend of usability and portability. The 8-inch Cruz T508 is small enough to fit in any purse, backpack or briefcase, without sacrificing too much screen size. With its 0.4-inch thick chassis, the tablet feels rather thin in the hand and overall it is relatively compact.

The screen is not the best, it has to be said. The eight-inch panel delivers 1024 x 768 pixels, which is good enough for web browsing, video viewing and eReading. The screen is definitely viewable indoors, but its viewing angles are not great, and outdoors it is also reflective in brighter sunshine. The physical design will not have you gasping in amazement, either. Still, the rounded corners and general look and feel are perfectly acceptable.

Get past the physical design though and the Cruz T508 impresses greatly with its internal specifications. You really did not expect to see a capacitive touchscreen in a $200 tablet, and you have got one here with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), front and rear cameras, and 802.11n Wi-Fi. It is powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor offering delivered well, and backed up by 1GB of RAM, which is sufficient for everyday use but does not stand up so well to heavy multitasking. There is an 8GB of internal storage, accompanied by a microSD card slot for extra storage. The HDMI is also available on the chassis that enables you to output your movies to a larger TV screen for more comfortable viewing, if you prefer.

The main camera shoots at two megapixels, lacks a flash and produces only mediocre photographs. The front facing camera is more useful for video chat over Wi-Fi. Velocity has included integrated microphone using with voice recording software, Speech Recorder.

Velocity pre-installs a good range of apps and they really add to the usefulness of the Cruz T508 including Amazon Kindle for Android, which gives access to the largest selection of the books people want to read. And another Amazon Appstore, allows access to thousands of prequalified apps and a new free paid app every day, creating the best Android experience. There is also Adobe Flash Player 11 installed, bringing the best of the web browsing experience in the palm of your hand, and the excellent Quick Office Pro with which you can access, create, edit and share documents compatible with Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This tablet is also backed by Velocity Micro’s expert US-based support. You will find Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Zinio, Angry Birds Space, and Browser as well.

Plenty of media file formats are supported, the Cruz T508 is compatible with MPEG-4, MOV, WMV, FLV, and H.264/H.263 files for video player, and compatible with MP3, WAV, and OGG files for music player, making it a great device for on-the-go entertainment. The battery lets you down a bit, needing a daily charge, and it requires a provided cable to do so, which is a nuisance to have to carry around.

Overall, there are still more positives than negatives here. The Velocity Micro Cruz T508 lacks a killer feature, but it is a solid Android tablet for the price. At this budget price, you get a fast processor, but let down by the battery life. It is a functional tablet with a good selection of ports are included. There are lots of good software features make for a well-equipped tablet. Quick Office Pro is a great tool for writing and creating spreadsheets on the go. Google Play is missing from the start, instead you have got Amazon Appstore for Android. It is highly recommended to everyone who wants a budget tablet for work and play.

Velocity Micro Cruz T508 8-Inch Tablet PC: Customer Reviews

Pros:

Running the show is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). It supports Adobe Flash Player 11.

The chip accommodates a Dual Mali-400 video card for accelerating three-dimensional graphics.

The device features 1GB of DDR3 memory and 8GB of storage, which is expandable by up to 32GB via the integrated mSD card reader slot.

Equipped with front and rear cameras for video chats and taking pictures.

Comes with a good range of ports and connectors including a microSD card slot, a micro-USB port, a mini-HDMI output and a 3.5mm audio jack

Cons:

The tablet is not a Google Certified device, so it does not have the Google Play Store or other Google apps such as Gmail and Google Maps. Instead it offers the Amazon Appstore and other apps including Amazon MP3, Astro File Manager, Twitter, and Zinio.

The 2MP rear camera has no Flash.

There is no Bluetooth built in.

Conclusion:

At this price point, you can get other better alternatives like Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 for $199, there is not as much room for budget tablet makers as there used to be, and unless this tablet is priced at $150 or less, it is going to be a sell.

Velocity Micro Cruz T508 8-Inch Tablet PC Specifications

Velocity Micro Cruz T508 8-Inch Tablet PC is now available on Amazon.

Date first available: August 1, 2012
Retail Price:
Amazon Price: