VELOCITY MICRO CRUZ T408

The immediate attention-grabber for the Velocity Micro Cruz T408 tablet is the price - at a suggested retail price of $200, the Cruz T408 instantly became one of the lower-priced tablets within the Android-powered field. And Velocity Micro has done an admirable job in producing a budget tablet that well approximates the look and feel of a premium-priced device.

The Velocity Micro Cruz T408 is powered by a Samsung 1 GHz Cortex A8 microprocessor and includes 4 GB in internal storage; micro SD card and mini-USB ports are available. The operating system is just Google Android 2.3, a bit of a drawback for those accustomed to the greater functionality of later versions; another minus for some is the total lack of Google apps bundled in the Cruz T408.

At full use, the Cruz T408 delivers about 5.5 hours of battery life, quite a bit lower than the Apple iPad and Motorola Xoom models; on the other hand, this figure is comparable to the much-loved (and more expensive) Samsung Galaxy Tab and makes the Cruz T408 well competitive against similarly-priced tablets.

While the 8” touchscreen is plastic, the Cruz T408 still gets high marks for responsiveness; the screens supplied on this tablet and its brother product, the T410 , are among the tops in this area.

The verdict: Overall, the Velocity Micro Cruz T408 is a solid, if not overwhelmingly brilliant, tablet PC. At this price, it’s a reasonably good choice for the casual or first-time user.