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$29 Walmart E-reader — Parallax Forums

$29 Walmart E-reader

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2013-03-05 19:39 in General Discussion
http://www.walmart.com/ip/iTomic-IEBR7C-7-eBook-Reader/19887947?findingMethod=rr

At that price, I might have to get one just for the twins for their videos & music. I'd much rather have them drop that than my Nook tablet.
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Comments

  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2012-06-05 09:38
    Wow. Color even. No touch screen though.
    But for $29 seem worth it.

    bean
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-06-05 10:11
    Picked one up. It's ship to store, so it'll be a few days before I can report back.

    OBC
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2012-06-05 10:39
    Exercising the GOOG it appears that Itomic is dead so there will be no support for this thing. It's probably comparable to the Chinese WiFly Android modules except running Linux instead of Android and no touch screen. I'd be especially suspicious of battery life, which is the WiFly's biggest problem.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-05 11:05
    I ordered one, even though they tacked on a $6 waste disposal fee. Seems kinda high for a small $29 device...

    @localroger: I did see those complaints about lack of support. I mainly want it as a disposable mp3/mp4 player, so I'm going in with low expectations. :)
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2012-06-05 12:37
    I'd considr it except for a few reasons:

    1. It has a limited battery life.
    2. Wal-mart doesn't ship internationally...
    3. I already have a couple of Kindles(A third gen, and a Touch)
    4. The weight of the bl**dy thing...
    Shipping Weight (in pounds): 10.6
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-05 12:43
    I'm assuming that's a typo... this thing ain't lightweight, but 10 lbs? They must include one huge iron core transformer for a power cube...! Or else it's packed really well, in 5## of packing peanuts.
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2012-06-05 12:56
    Are you willing to take that chance?

    ;-)

    Most probably, they're shipping them in a fireproof metal canister because the eReadr uses Sony 'Zippo' series Li-Ion batteries...
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-05 13:18
    Sure I'll take that chance. Whatever it ships in, however much it weighs, it only cost 97 cents. :)
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-06-05 13:29
    From the little Googling I did on this, it looks like it's running Linux.. Wonder if the designers left any interesting connection points on the board?

    OBC
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-05 17:17
    Let's hope these little eReaders don't suffer the same indignities as the Nook:

    http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/nook-version-war-peace-contains-embarrassing-search-replace-183348229.html
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-11 16:01
    Got mine Saturday. Very happy using it as a video player, it plays two video formats that my Nook tablet won't: flv and avi. It also plays mp4, which is all the Nook will play. Downloading through the USB cable was quite slow, must be USB 1.0. So I sideloaded 4 GB of Elmo & Princess videos onto an SD card and shoved that in and the twins are happy.

    A little clunky as a web browser, but it works in a pinch. Haven't tried the ebook function yet.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-16 06:19
    This works so well for the kids that I just ordered a second one. This time, there was no $6 disposal fee added. Better!
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2012-06-16 14:52
    How's the battery life?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-18 02:07
    localroger wrote: »
    How's the battery life?

    It's good for at least 4 hours of continuous movie watching at moderate volume & (daylight) brightness levels. Might be even longer, but I've only tested it to 4 hours.

    It comes with a nice protective case that would cost $29 alone if it were made for an iPad. :)
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-06-18 03:12
    I have an original nook and I would love it except the font size has to be set to small to see pictures in PDF files, the whole reason I got it was for data sheets and technical pdfs like the propeller manual. How is its pdf capability I will sell my nook asap if this thing can do pdf well. I mean id seriously rather read pdfs on my phone the nook is so bad.... Please tell me this is what ive been looking for!?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-18 08:33
    At $29, I doubt if this is better than anything for anything, so you have not waited in vain. I haven't tried PDFs yet, will advise. Dunno about yours, but the two best things about my Nook tablet are the LCD resolution, screen readability at any angle and the touch screen. This iTomic ereader can't touch the Nook screen and it obviously lacks a touch screen. My 2-1/2 year old twins keep pressing on the iTomic screen, expecting it to work like the Nook. :)

    I was impressed by the iTomic's built-in text to speech app. Female voice, decent quality. It only works on eBooks so far, but it IS sold as an ereader.

    Haven't found a way to watch Youtube videos on it yet. The WiFi connection is slow, though, so that may not be its forte.

    BTW, battery life is up to 4.5 hours of movies and as Monty Python would say, "it's not dead yet".
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-06-18 09:20
    like i said only intrested in using it for pdfs.

    i have the original nook classic with eink that you cant even tell has android on it unless youve done a ton of research. i love eink as im primarly isi g to read pdfs, the web browser is just to goofy without a touch screen.

    heres what my nook does though i open a pdf set the font size to medium which is just right for my eyes. the problem is the Smile pdf software removes all pictures and tables unless the font size is small. so lets say i read the propeller manual, all the text is there but if there is a data table code example or picture i have to set the font size to small to get it to appear, the difference between small and medium is soo extreem too i have perfect vision and i cant read it on small. so basically i read things changing the font size back and forth when i can tell theres a picture or code example missing. this gets super annoying and sometimes makes it so hard to comprehend the text i give up and use my phone. if you get a chance to test some pdf files please lemme know ill sell my nook in a flash
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-19 02:24
    Yep it downloaded PDFs. A little funky to scroll around with that tiny touchpad, but it works. And it READS it to you! :)
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-06-19 04:52
    Cool! Data Sheet Bedtime stories......

    ...Goldilocks then came across 3 resistors. The first resistor was too big, it wouldn't allow enough current to flow , the second reisistor was too small and would cause too much current to flow and melt your I/O pin! Teh last reistor was just right (as youcan see by the applicaiton of Ohm's law) and it would cause just the right amount of current to flow. So goldilocks took the third resistor, soldered it in place and her LED glowed happily ever after. The End.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-19 11:01
    Oh, how I love happy endings.

    That said, too bad Goldilocks didn't realize that she could increase the resistance of the "too small" fixed resistor by slowly filing a triangular notch in its middle, or that she could parallel two "too big" resistors to reduce the paired resistance. Silly Goldilocks.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2012-06-20 17:02
    erco wrote: »
    BTW, battery life is up to 4.5 hours of movies and as Monty Python would say, "it's not dead yet".

    Good enough, order placed. The Chinese android tablet (for $99 even) died after 90 minutes, and even after 2-3 hours when turned off. The Itomic sounds like it might actually at least be useful for something portable.
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-06-21 15:18
    Got mine in this morning.. A touchscreen would have been nice, but for the money it's a good deal. (Just ordered the second one)

    OBC
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-21 15:24
    (I ordered a third one, 'cuz I know the kids will break one eventually)

    But at $29, who cares? Lets see: 20 of these, or one iPad... :)

    These could suffice as headrest video monitors in the car if you piped the sound through the car stereo.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-21 18:45
    Received both units today. Fedexed for 97 cents each! I weighed the packages, 44 ounces each. A far cry from the 10.1 lb shipping weight mentioned on the website!
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-06-21 18:53
    I'm starting to wonder what the inside of the unit looks like.. Waiting for my second one which will probably be opened. With linux running on it, I'm hoping a designer left some connection points somewhere.

    OBC
  • CircuitsoftCircuitsoft Posts: 1,166
    edited 2012-06-21 21:59
    rwgast_logicdesign wrote: »
    I have an original nook and I would love it except the font size has to be set to small to see pictures in PDF files, the whole reason I got it was for data sheets and technical pdfs like the propeller manual. How is its pdf capability I will sell my nook asap if this thing can do pdf well. I mean id seriously rather read pdfs on my phone the nook is so bad.... Please tell me this is what ive been looking for!?
    The other nice thing about the Nook is that it has a JTAG/Serial header broken out on the back just below the SD card. I've extracted the bootloader (which appears to be u-boot), but I haven't had time to do much with it yet.
  • sam_sam_samsam_sam_sam Posts: 2,286
    edited 2012-06-24 12:28
    I just bought one for my self I want it to read PDF files
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-24 19:28
    Just remember, everyone who buys one has to mail me a dollar... :)
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-06-24 22:35
    @erco, you should set up some sort of website linked to items like this under affiliate links. College fund for those cuties.
    You find more ways to help me spend my money.. :):)

    OBC
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-06-25 01:01
    Oldbitcollector (Jeff) wrote: »
    You find more ways to help me spend my money.. :):)

    OBC

    That's more ways to $AVE you money...! :)
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