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Product Information

Price:$179.00
Manufacturer:Aluratek
Pros:
  • Comes with 100 books
  • Easy to use
  • Small
  • Good display
Cons:
  • Reader sometimes freezes on JPG and PDF files
  • No word lookup (dictionary) feature

Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro Review

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aluratek libre 1Those of you considering the purchase of a dedicated eBook Reader may be under the impression that your only choices are from Sony, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I’d like to show you one affordable alternative. It’s the Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro.

Hardware Specs

RAM: 117MB free
Display: 5″ (12.7cm) ePaper display
Supported formats: PDF, TXT, FB2, EPUB, MOBI, PRC, RTF, BMP, JPG, GIF, and animated GIF picture, MP3
Expansion slot: SD up to 32GB
Dimensions: 6.0 x 4.25 x o.5 in
Weight: 8 oz.
Battery Life: 24 hours (2 weeks standby time)

aluratek libre 2

Package Contents

eBook Reader PRO
2GB SD card filled with 100 books
USB Cable
Power Charger
Hand Strap
Earphones
Carrying Pouch
Quick Start Guide
Warranty & Registration Card

Let me start out right away by telling you that the Libre Pro does not offer a wireless feature like the Kindle and Nook. You will be required to load your books manually instead of buying them through the device. Aluratek helps you out by providing an SD card with the reader that has 100 books preloaded. They are classics such as Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, War and Piece, Wuthering Heights, etc.

Books can also be purchased through ebooks.com

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Having owned both the Kindle and Nook, the small size of the Libre was immediately noticeable when I first took it out of the box. The display is only 1 inch smaller though. Click the image above for a larger view.

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The Libre’s case is made of charcoal colored plastic that doesn’t show fingerprints or smudges. In hand the reader feels solid and does not flex when squeezed.

The slightly recessed display takes up most of the front of the device, with buttons on both sides and below. The back of the reader has a slight ‘hump’ that holds the non-user replaceable battery.

aluratek libre 6

The main controls are located below the display. On the Left is a combination page next/page prev button and next to that is a grouping of buttons that offer font resizing, screen rotation, menu, and also another set of page next/page prev buttons (left arrow and right arrow).

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The Left edge of the Libre offers a third page turning method with a spring loaded sliding bar. Slide it down to turn to the next page, slide it up to go back a page. Raised ridges allow your thumb to keep a grip on this bar. I don’t like this method and find myself using the dedicate paging buttons below the screen.

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On the opposite side, there are ten numbered buttons that are used to select books from the list view. These buttons are also used to enter text for search terms.

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The top edge has a power status LED and an attached cover…

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…which protects a mini USB port and SD card slot. The USB port is used to charge the device and for data transfer of the device itself and the inserted SD card. The Libre mounts as removable drives automatically on Windows and Mac computers.

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The bottom edge has the power button and 3.5mm headphone jack.

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The interface is pretty simple. Turn on the device for the first time and you’re greeted with a list of installed books. To read a book, you can either press the corresponding numbered button next to it or scroll to the desired title with the Dpad and press the OK button to select it.

aluratek libre 13

The Libre does not use an E-ink display like the Kindle, Nook and Sony Readers. Aluratek calls their display ePaper. It reminds me exactly of the old days of PDAs. Specifically the Palm V. Back in the day, the Palm V/Vx was my favorite PDA because the screen was so easy to read. The Libre is just as easy… as long as you’re in a well lit room. This reader does not have a backlight. For those of you that don’t like the E-ink flashing that occurs when turning pages, this reader does not suffer from that affliction.

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The display can be rotated and …

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you can choose from 6 different font sizes.

The initial load time of books can take several seconds depending on the size of the book. But once loaded, there is no lag in page turning. I tested the reader with plain old text files, ePub files, PDF files and JPG images. I didn’t have any problems viewing TXT or ePUB files, but some PDF files would not display and the reader would sometimes freeze when trying to load or display some JPG images. I also encountered issues with the reader freezing when using the Find feature.

The Libre is able to bookmark pages, but it does not offer any type of annotation features. It does offer a couple of interesting features that other readers don’t offer though. It has the ability to play MP3s in the background while you read, and it also has an auto page turning feature.

I’ve been really impressed with the battery life. I’ve been reading on and off with the Libre since receiving it the 2nd week of January and it’s still going strong on its initial charge.

Conclusion

I like the size and price of the Aluratek Libre Pro eBook reader (you can find it for less than $150 at various online retailers) and I think it’s a good device for someone that doesn’t need higher end features like annotations, dictionary and wireless. I do think that the software is a bit glitchy and hope that a firmware update takes care of JPG and PDF freezing issues. Even with those occasional issues, I still recommend this little ebook reader as a good alternative to the big boys.

 

Product Information

Price:$179.00
Manufacturer:Aluratek
Pros:
  • Comes with 100 books
  • Easy to use
  • Small
  • Good display
Cons:
  • Reader sometimes freezes on JPG and PDF files
  • No word lookup (dictionary) feature

139 thoughts on “Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro Review”




  1. Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
  2. there is a firmware update in the support section of aluratek site. i don’t know if it correct the freeze problem (no “what’s new”)

  3. This unit appears to be a re-badged Ectaco Jetbook. I have the Jetbook Lite, which dispenses with the mp3 capability and uses regular (I use rechargeable) AA batteries. I can’t speak for Aluratek, but I can say that Ectaco’s latest firmware upgrades have resolved some early DRM problems on the JBL. The JBL also sells for under $150. I like mine a lot and recommend it if you don’t need wireless capabilities (and already have one or more mp3 players!)

    1. @Ralph Yes, you can put PDF files on the Libre… BUT, I have issues viewing some of them. I wouldn’t buy the Libre if PDF viewing is going to be your main use for it.

  4. I saw today that Fry’s Electronics online are offering the White version for $159.99 and the Black version for $129.99.

  5. Hey – great review. I’ve scoured the web looking for reviews on this device and really couldn’t find anything with a lot of critical details (i.e. your side by side comparison between the e-ink screen of the Kindle and the TFT LCD of epaper was very valuable to my buying decision.)

    After picking up this device – I noticed only a minor difference between the screen of the Kindle vs the Libre. A co-worker owns the Kindle2 and the text is only marginally crisper. I found that as I increased font size on the Libre, the edges of the characters are ever so slightly soft (vs. the crisp edges of the Kindle2’s e-ink at any zoom level.) The smaller fonts of the Libre actually appear sharper.

    I’ve only been using the device for a day, but I’m already a convert to eReading. This device is great for text, but continuous tone images look horrible (conpared to e-ink). Diagrams and line drawings however look excellent and crisp. The device is, what it is and it’s fantastic for the price.

  6. Hmm, well, the Aluratek claims to support Adobe Digital Editions DRM, which is what ebooks.com uses as well. So you should be able to use the Sony store, also probably Kobo. At other stores you’ll need to check the format to make sure it’s an ePub or PDF that is compatible with ADE, so if you ended up with the wrong format it won’t work. B&N unfortunately has books in several different formats but doesn’t tell you which one they are in (as their own reader software handles all of them) — and even their ePubs use a slightly different DRM scheme that doesn’t yet work with other ADE-compatible readers.

  7. I’m looking at this e-reader. I already own a Sony PRS 600 Touch and love it. You can get DRM books that are compatible at Fictionwise.com. They have great prices, too. You can choose to become a member for greater discounts, but you don’t have to. I started buying books from them then became a member for the increased savings. You can choose the format for most of the books they have. They carry ePub, Secure PDF, Secure eReader, Secure MS Reader, Secure Mobipocket, Audio and so on.

  8. Hi folks!Any Idea where to get a sd card for Aluratek Libre?I live in San Jose and picked up this ebook readerfrom Frys.It seems they do not have the sd card for this ebook reader.Please help

  9. I have had this for over a month. This is substantially better than Kindle without a doubt, duhh. Has removable SD slot up to 32 gig! I got 16 gig card in and no problem. Supports formats that Kindle don’t like Epub. Millions more books available than Kindle plus reads regular PDF but magnify not supported. Ebooks has thousands more books to download although no discount like Amazon.com. I use this for technical and scientific books and papers, none of which are available for the Kindle. Comes with 100 books already installed on 2 gig card you get for free. I purchased ePub books from other places and no brainer to install and who cares about wifi. Even MP3 sounds good. The pictures of course are low resolution so not that useful but pictures and equations from books show up fine. Aluratek support is unbeatable. I also own their wifi radio which is excellent and the reason why I chose their ereader. I got live phone support without waiting at no cost. Also I used live chat at work when my SD card wouldn’t be recognized in the reader. They just said reset the ereader and that’s what I did and the full memory showed up. At first I thought the screen size was too small but I have no problem reading and my eyes never get tired and I also like the smaller size because I carry this around everywhere. Epub appears to be the standard now and tons of paid books plus millions of free books available. You can go hog wild just downloading the free books. This thing leaves Kindle in the dust.

  10. I just read Chandy’s note. I bought my ereader from Fry’s also $130. Fry’s has thousands of SD cards of any brand you want. The SD card is not a special one for this ebook but any SD card will work. And I recommend buying from Fry’s because every day they have them on sale. Get any one on sale. I used my old SD cards but believe me even 2 gig card may be enough for your life time. Like Julie said you can get SD cards anywhere and your local corner drug store should even have them. No other ebook lets you put that much memory in. Most have fixed memory.

  11. @byron Actually, the Sony Touch reader (600) lets you have 32 GB of added memory – 16 GB on an SD and 16 on a Memory stick Pro Duo. You can put both cards in at the same time.

  12. Thanks for the review,

    The thing is I am trying to find a ebook reader that is good with PDFs or atleast manageable since 2/3rds of everything I’ll read will be in PDF format, is the Libre absolutely no good for this?

    Or does the update manage to correct this problem? Are there any good ereaders for PDF viewing? I was really looking forward to getting this one… but maybe the Sony 300 would be a better option.

  13. The worst piece of crap I ever seen. The screen is dark as it is an lcd screen with what is supposed to be eink technology. The device frequently locks up (even after flashing with latest updated software) and you have to press the hard reset which of course erases what little onboard memory it has. I bought one and took it back for locking up. The second one had the same issue so I went with a proven brand. NOT worth the price by any means.

  14. As a first time eReader buyer, I bought both the Libre and the Sony 5″ together to compare. I had more learning curve issues with the Sony. And after learning the ins and outs of both, I still found the Libre simpler and more user friendly (like adding new books). I alternated reading days between the two eReaders. Over all, I found that after hours and hours of reading, the Libre’s screen was much more easy on your eyes. The Libre had less glare as well. For this reason, I found that after a couple hours of reading with the Sony, I craved switching back to the Libre. As an added bonus, the Libre comes with an A/C adapter. It’s extra with the Sony’s. So I took the Sony back.

  15. I second what Barry said about enjoying using this device. I have owned mine for nearly two months and have not had to reset it even once so I don’t know why others are having this problem. What I like best is borrowing ebooks from the digital collection of the local public library, this can read both epub and pdf DRMed books. Best of all, since it has no internal clock, even though library books are supposed to be returned after two weeks, even if I “return” the book through my computer, it stays available on the Libre for as long as until I borrow another book. So this is great for slow readers.

  16. I like this also. Just got it at Kmart for $149. Their packaging does not include the 2 GB card but the 100 books are still in internal memory. Took me a bit to figure that one out as the instructions reference the SD card.

    Hopefully they will continue to update firmware as I have a few ‘wishlist’ items.

    Rotate–give me four options not two. Currently it alternates between one portrait and one landscape and I feel it fits better in my hand if the landscape were the opposite choice.

    Everytime I change the font on an EPUB book it goes back to default when I open it back up. I try to stay in habit of leaving book open now but sometimes I want to switch.

    Not sure that it has a word lookup linked to dictionary. Would be nice.

    Still need to test out converting PDFs that contain chinese characters.

    c

  17. I don’t like this reader I am taking it back. The on and off button is driving me crazy. I hold it for the five seconds it says to turn it on and it takes me about 6 or more trys to turn it on.

    This morning I went to read and I can’t turn it on at all. So I put it on to charge. Nothing. Not impressed with it at all. Going shopping today to purchase a sony.

  18. Bought it at Frys a week ago for $159. They are now $79 so I returned mine and got a new one. Decent reader for $83 with tax.

  19. I have reset my reader a couple of times trying to resolve issues with transferring Barnes and Noble (supposedly) ePub books to the reader and no files were lost. I suspect there is some ‘magic’ involved with B&N books and plan to contact Aluratek to see if they have it figured out the B&N issue yet. The sample books I downloaded from the Adobe Digital Editions site work fine. B&N uses some freaky ‘credit card unlock code’ (even if you buy the book with a gift card) so I’m not sure if they use some ‘special feature’ that Adobe skips in their sample Digital Edition books.
    If you buy this reader research the “Page Reflow” option. When it is “on” any ‘free format’ text is magnified but any embedded images are not … oversize images are ‘chopped’ at the right margin … and the arrow keys work like page up/page down keys which is perfect fro most fiction books. With reflow OFF however you will see the PDF file as ‘layed out’ and the text magnify button zooms on the whole page … and you can scroll around the page with the arrow keys. You can switch between modes ‘on the fly’ but there is a significant several second delay when switching modes. If your goal is to read free Project Gutenberg text files then reflow is perfect for that and this reader is highly recommended by me. Organizing your 100 free eBook files into folders on the reader also helps navigation. The Aluratek web site includes a copy of their quick-start guide that is best displayed with ‘reflow’ off and will give you an idea on your PC of how wide a PDF can be and still be readable on the Libre. I have software version v0.16h patch v16 which is what was on their web site last night. I really like that the Libre came with everything I needed … even a case, charger and ear buds.

  20. I called Aluratek and they indicate that B&N books do not work on their readers at this time. It has to do with ‘custom’ modifications B&N made that ‘break’ the .epub standard. There are rumors that Adobe may ‘fix’ this in later versions of their code … basically adding the B&N enhancements into the standard. I bought a couple of ePub books (Council of Dads and the new Sean Hannity book) from http://www.kobobooks.com that properly supports the Adobe standard and they work fine on my Libre … plus kobo adds the ability to read your books ‘online’ with a web browser as well as reading with the PC based Adobe Digital Editions standard reader. For now my B&N books are ‘trapped’ in my PC. B&N should warn folks that their ePub books are not ‘standard’ when you check out. The Libre also handled a .mobi format book from Amazon.com (Prophecy) but the newer titles are in a Kindle only format.

  21. I am trying to figure out how to download library books onto my Libre. I cannot figure out how Digital Editions works on the Libre. It looks like the files are on the Libre when I am hooked up to my computer and I can read them in DIgital Editions from the Libre when it is hooked up. But when I try to read them on the Libre I get the message “Failed to open file.”

  22. I purchased my Aluratek libre from the Shopping Channel. It came with 1000 e-books & a 4 GB SD card.
    I’m not too crazy about the enclosed instructions. They’re not very explicit. I’ve only been able to access 125 e-books so far. What should I do?
    Otherwise, so far, I like the unit.
    Thanks for any help.

  23. I prefer the one with a large screen. As I need to read many ebooks there, it can relief me from turning pages frequently. Furthermore, the additional buttons are humanity designed. Maybe I can choose one from them.

  24. I have just purchased the Aluratek libre ereader. I was trying to update the firmware to the latest version. The problem I am seeing is that there is only 20 mb of free ram on the libre, the 0.17 version of the new firmware is 30 mb. I think I may be missing something but am not sure where to go from here.
    I tried called Aluratec but support is closed on weekend.
    I did send in a support request but probably will not hear anything till Monday.
    thanks for any help,
    Temp

  25. Thanks for the great review. I need someone to clear this up for me, I want to read technical pdf documents such as ccna ebooks and microsoft ebooks. Can this reader display diagrams and images embedded in the pdf? If not, can you please recommend one? ( i don’t need wifi)

  26. Could anyone confirm whether the Aluratek Libre supports:

    1) LRF format.

    2) Micro SD Cards when used with an adapter.

    Thank you!

  27. I just got a Libre and downloaded a epub book from barnes and noble. I finally got it into my ebooks and into the Libre but it fails to open the file. Help please someone?

  28. Can I copy a book onto a SD card from my computer and read it on the Libre?? Or is the only way you get books is thru Borders?? I would like to purchase this reader but I’m trying to do some research before spending the money. Thank you for your reply.

  29. When are these Company’s going to wake up to reality.
    CONSUMERS Want color display and a price range from
    $60 to $120 for something that they can read pdf files on.
    Any thing more and you might as well get yourself a netbook.
    I have many pdf books and most have graphs, pictures and,
    Oh Yeah, “COLOR”!
    These “PDF Readers” will not become big sellers until color and price range is met. Don’t think that is true? Just look at sales info on these since they were introduce to the public. Compare that to Net-book sales in just the last 2 years. Net-books are newer and have exceeded these “Readers” in sales, PERIOD!

    I believe most readers (consumers) of this will agree with me on this.

  30. NOT HAPPY WITH IT AND NOT HAPPY WITH THE Dishonesty MANNERS OF THIS COMPANY!

    This review make a big mistake. And it is about the SD card who IS NOT INCLUDED IN ALL THE PACKAGE, WITHOUT ANY NOTICE, and on the ALURATEK web site and on the box also, this SD card is not mentioned to be part of the content list. But many ways in all the instructions book printed or in pdf, they talk like if the SD card is included.
    In that case, the 100 free books are in the internal memory and take 80 MB of 101 total real internal memory (this review talk about: 117 MB witch is not the fact) .
    So you won’t have enough internal memory space to do the firmware updated.
    I don’t like that way to act from this company with there customers. I try many times to live my comments on the web page of this product, but they didn’t publish any. (I also communicate with the customers services)
    So because of all that and no matter how good it might be, I returned it to Best Buy in Montréal, province de Québec, Canada.

    Matter of fact, event a 117 MB internal memory, and event if you take out the 100 e-books, after the firmware updated loaded, it is not very good with the memory left to make the machine work smoothly…event with those low resources demand and so ugly pages of his interface.
    Sony e-readers have 512 MB, Kindle 1 GB and some others 2 GB.

    Aluratek pretend this e-reader working with a SD card up to 32 GB.

    I wish to see how long it will take to see a book that I select from a 32 GB SD card full of thousands books… :-

  31. I would like to purchase an eReader, but I want to be able to download library books. Has anyone been able to do this with the Libre?

  32. Borders.com who is advertised on the Aluratek web site, till this morning when talk about the internal memory of this e-readers, said: 512MB. I avised them of “the mistake” and according Alurated themselves, it suppose to be: 117MB.
    So this morning they correct the “mistake” with an other mistake and they replace 512MB for 256MB…
    Can you beleive and make business with them?
    Not me! To scarry if any problem happen!

  33. I just purchased the Libre 1 week ago. I love it. Finally decided to go to their website for the firmware upgrade. Worked great. The v0.18 upgrade now lets me search through text for a string. I hope this kind of support continues. Supports so many formats, and its great for looking at PDF’s. Worth every penny I paid for it.

  34. I find I’m flipping between this and one of the sony’s… The sony’s offer the ability to download LIBRARY books- could I do that with the Libre? Not sure I’d ever really need to, but it would be nice to have that option. The sony’s seem a bit Bells-&-whistles and I just want something that I can read or listen to books on.

  35. At some stores the white Libre is cheaper than the black one (139.00cdn. & 109.00cdn) is there any difference between the white and black other than colour?

  36. I cannot download books from my library directly to the Libre, although it downloads to my computer. Can someone help. I have taken it back to Borders where purchased but no one seems to have any insight. I cannot find a website to contact the company. Thanks.

  37. For my library, in order to see library books, I had to use Adobe Digital Editions. Download the library books to your computer through the software. Hook up the Libre via usb and with Adobe Digital Editions open, the Libre is recognized as a device. You must authorize the device. Then in the Adobe Digital Editions software, drag the books to the Libre. I was stumped for a while but once I figured it out, it’s a great way to get and read books.

  38. I just bought one and recommended it to a friend and he bought one same day.Excellent buy for the money would like a better on and off button but i understand the logic less chance to turn off accidently but harder to turn on. I bought this at Fry’s on sale for $89 with a $20 rebate. I was hesitant before because I did not feel that the prices of any reader matched the worth. However I think this reader was an excellant buy. Would like to see the reader have a dictionary built in but a minor detail . The battery lasts an exteremly long time I like that and ease of use is really above par. I highly recommend the product puts all other readers to shame. When they come out with something with a WiFi connection or Ipad like I will consider upgradeing however it will also have to be a great deal. I like value for my money and if its as expensive as the Ipad or close to that price it will be a long time before I purchase it. I Like this reader better than Sony, Kindle and though it is not on par with the Ipad I like this better. My friend has an Ipad and while impressive it is very expensive.

  39. Oh and to the guy that bought one in Canada, I bought mine in Ca. USA and received a 32 G SD card and the promised 100 books and had no problems at all so maybe some one mispackeged your product or was a repackaged product, or they just don’t like Canadians at Best Buy lmao.

  40. Jacques Langlois

    @ Mike: little problem with your story and your conclusions or you don’t know what you talking about: 32 G SD card must cost more than the Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro itself…
    Very funny!

  41. Your right I meant 2 gig card I was typing this just before I went to bed. Yes 2 Gig card and just went out and bought a 4gig card last night. Sorry for that small mistake.

  42. Oh and as an after thought how did you have all those books on the internal memory if its so small? The internal memory is where you said the books were on the one you bought. I thought some one said it only has like a 120 meg something internal memory. Doubt if you could get 100 books on 120 meg something internal memory but I’ve been wrong before LMAO.

  43. Oh and if the memory is smaller than 120, please don’t ding me too much I kinda just rounded up and I really was just saying you cant get that many books on the internal memory.

  44. So does this gizmo actually read and speak the words of the book to you? As in turn a regular reading book into an audio book?

  45. I found two devices in the shop today.
    Aluratek Libre 5″ Ebook Reader Pro (AEBK01FB) – Black
    Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro (AEBK01F)
    They vary in the price significantly.
    Which one of them is described here?

  46. i bougth my first libre insptember would only download one
    book and no music. took it back exchanged for another.
    new one locks up wont hold charge long enough to
    even get to try to read a book. wont even stay on long
    enough to download any from my library.taking it back and
    not exchanging it .very disappointed with this product!

  47. Has anyone timed the battery/reading time. I bought a Nook, which promised 10 days (i’m sure they didn’t mean 10 days of straight reading – but hey!). i kept track of actual readying time twice and it was 3 hours. I am looking for something i can read on a long flight (to New Zealand). I don’t expect 16 hours, but how about more than three. I’m surprised there is so little discussion of this.

  48. I have found that the Libre lasts a long time, not sure of the amount of hours though! Planes these days usually have USB ports built into the back of the chair in front.

  49. @Ellen. Coming back from the UK to the US. Flight was 9 hours and the reader had 2 ‘bars’ when i started reading. Read for at least 6 hours on the flight, haven’t charged it again yet and 2 days and more hours reading, it still has the 2 bars. Going to NZ should be no problem.

  50. I just ordered one from eBay for $139. I am now concerned about reading at night in a dark room. That’s the main reason I bought it. I assume there’s no backlight? what are my options? attached booklight?

  51. I ordered a Kandle book light today. It’s not cheap but I think it will work best & not fall off as easily as the Mighty Bright light that I already have.

  52. @Lorraine I just got a white Kandle book light to use with my Sony PRS-650. I also have a Mighty Bright telescoping triple LED deluxe book light. I love how bright the Mighty Bright is. I use it all the time as a little flashlight, but I don’t like using it with my Sony because it is heavy and the light is hard to get adjusted to light the screen without blocking my vision or sticking up 6 inches above the top of the Sony.

    I clip the Kandle to the top of the back of the cover (I’m using the unlighted standard Sony cover). The Kandle is shaped so that the top of the ebook reader nestles in and lays flush against the back cover. The little arm holding the Kandle’s light head is just long enough to position the light so that it shines down the entire screen. It grips the back cover tightly enough that it’s very stable, but not so tightly that it mars the the cover. I like the Kandle better than any other clip-on book light I’ve tried.

  53. Thanks Janet. That’s reassuring. I’ve been using my Mighty Bright to read books in bed, in the dark, when there’s no reading lamp ;o( & I barely manage + I have to keep adjusting it so that I can see at least half the page. Didn’t want to do that with my ebook reader. Can’t wait to try them both.

  54. I have been reading different reviews about e-books for a while now. I am getting ready to buy one. I see e-book as my only option to be able to read books stored on my PC. It has different file types, mainly pdf, doc and word. I read in one of the reviews (on Future shop site), that it’s not possible to download from your computer due to copyright policies. Seems like this one allows to do that. However, I just wanted to be reassured. Can I download books stored on my computer ( in other language ) to this e-book?
    I assume, it would be no problem, if the book is in different language…
    Since it’s reading pdf is somewhat difficult, will there be in the future software update fixing this problem?
    Thank you in advance for your answers, as I don’t have the luxury buying different e-books, just because it doesn’t work properly according to my needs.
    All I want my new e-book to do, is to be able to accept files (books) from my computer and to display comfortably pdf, doc, word files.

    1. @Rima You can copy ebooks from your computer to the Aluratek, but they have to be in a format that the reader can display. This does not include Word files. They need to be PDF, TXT, FB2, EPUB, MOBI, PRC, RTF. As far as displaying other languages, that shouldn’t be an issue as long as they are text based or PDF files. I’m not sure that the reader can display Kanji characters.

      I can’t answer the question regarding PDF file viewing. If that is what you’re mainly wanting to use this reader for, I’d pick a different one… I’d probably go with the Amazon Kindle DX with the larger display.

  55. We’re buying an e-reader for our elderly computer-illiterate mom who is a voracious reader. She liked the screen of the Alurtek Libre Pro at Borders, but I hear from others that the Kindle (with 3G) can do email as well, which I’d like to use with mom. I can load books on the Libre as needed. Any comments on comparing Libre vs Kindle, such as which is better with reading ease, user-friendly?

    Thanks for any comments.

  56. having suffered 4 (!!!!) frozen screens with kindle — wanted refund >#2, they only offered additional kindles, till I threatened to sue) — I’ll never buy another eink device, so for me it boils down to getting an lcd reader screen. Then the question becomes considering an aluratek vs. the nook with option for lcd via android (must confess, price is a factor too). Can anyone comment?

  57. (skabo again) Also, need a clear instruction on how to best buy/load into aluratek libre any books from ebooks.com. Sounds tricky and lengthy.

  58. @skabo
    2 biggest issues I’v found between them is readability and battery life. The rest boils down to features. Some people hate reading the lighted lcd screen and find the aluratek less bothersome. Some find the aluratek dull and hard to read and prefer the bright lcd screen of the color nook. The lighted color nook screen will use more power and with things like wi-fi running and android apps updating in the background (social net stuff, weather etc) the battery goes much faster. You will be charging much more often.

    The Aluratek reads book. That’s what it does. Android devices do lots of things as they can run apps.

    Basically which is most comfortable to your eyes, is daily charging going to be a problem, do you need it to do more than read, and how much are you willing to spend.

    Danneauxs

  59. Just purchased the Libre yersterday. I’ve been very impressed thus far. I’m having some trouble downloading music though. I thought a file folder would come up when connected to my laptop, but there is not a folder for music.

    Can someone give me some advice as to how I can download music?

    Thanks!

  60. Hi i just bought this gadget for my mom and was wondering if i can load books off my usb flash drive on to it, or even just leave the flashdrive in the device. I have loads of books on my flashdrive and would just b easy to give her that 2, or do i have to take all the books off my flashdrive and load them on a SD. Thanks for your help!! 🙂

  61. I just got this reader for Christmas today. I have some audiobooks that I transferred onto my SD card in a audiobook folder. When I try to access them through that folder, I got an error message. I found the audiobook file in Mp3’s. My ebooks on the card show up in ebooks but audiobooks in mp3. Can I change that?

  62. I found it now…Settings>>SD card manager>>my created audiobooks folder>>my audiobook1, then choose it, and it starts playing. Not sure what was happening before.

  63. Hi Julie, I just want to read, no wifi or 3g needed. What is the model # of the unit you recommend? I found them on sale but there are different models with only a $10 difference. Can’t find the difference. Thx

  64. So, I got the e-book reader by Aluratek. Happy. Some small issues, but overall, it really does what it supposed to do. Uploading mp3 files is a very long process, but I left it overnight. Reading PDF no problem. Slow in general, but I am not in a rush to turn the page. I got it for 116 $ Can at Future Shop, now is 129 $, which is still a good price.
    Regarding WiFi I wouldn’t even want to have Internet connection, I can do everything with my computer.
    Put a memory card from my camera, works well. Listening MP3 in the background, happy.
    Overall, I am happy with the product, haven’t seen the new color Aluratek in Canada yet. Would definitely consider. This particular one, 5″ feels like ‘yesterday news’, that is why I would love to upgrade some time soon. Not sure that I will, though. Happy reading everyone!
    And one more thing, I was absolutely amazed on how quickly I received the response to my question on this site. Such customer service alone, helped me decide on an e-book reader, that Aluratek is the way to go for me!

  65. One more thing, the Memory card was not included in my package, either, but the box didn’t even say that it is, so no big disappointment there. Maybe in Canada no Memory card only?…

  66. @Rima K The Gadgeteer doesn’t provide customer service for the Aluratek Libre or any other product. The Gadgeteer reviews products from many sources, but doesn’t represent or support them.

  67. Leanne, I got Aluratek 7″, color. It’s excellent! I absolutely love it. It’s very fast, it’s very intuitive, super easy to use. I am amazed at this product. The Aluratek 5″ is OK, too, but it is quiet slow, especially to load music to your e-book takes forever. The new one, is super fast, 1 GB of MP3 music I loaded in 15 minutes. I returned the old one and got the new 7″ yesterday. Was very surprised. It plays movies, too, but I believe, for movies TV is the best. You shouldn’t buy e-book to watch movies. It plays MP3, while you are reading, without slowing it down. The 5″ was even slower to turn pages, when playing music in the background. Overall, I love the New Aluratek 7″, it fast and it does what it supposed to do superbly.

  68. i NEED to know how to check out books from the library and download them onto my libre!!! any help is appreciated!!!!!!!

  69. I’ve had my Libre Pro since May and I love it. I have had none of the problems listed above to any great extent. I have a Version of the Bible on mine and it has the ability to go to a specific book, chapter and verse but I don’t seem to be able to get the reader to do this. Is it something I’m doing wrong or is the reader not capable of doing this? (When I view it in Adobe Digital Editions it does worK) Thanks for any help.

  70. I have a question….I have downloaded some ebooks in pdf file but my libre will only read about 15 pages then the rest are blank. When checking my card on the computer the book is all there. Any ideas on how to fix this? I have a lot of books that this is happening with.

  71. Someone told me the “Kobo” would read the files with no problem. It’s a lie. I just bought one and am extremely disappointed with it. Not only does it not read the missing pages but the re-sizing is a pain and it is no way near as easy to use as the Libre.

  72. Just bought one of these ebook readers – they are actually surprisingly good for the money and I would have no hesitation recommending them. The screen is lovely to read from and the unit is solid and well made. Half the price of a Kindle, if you check out ebay and very cute.

  73. I have Libre Pro and I like it a lot. their Firmware updates have fixed a lot of issues and have also added new features including support for more languages.

  74. I purchased the Aluratek for my father and he loves it. One question I have is about the 100 preloaded books. Is there anyway of deleting the books when done reading them . There is quite a few that my father is not interested in and wants them deleted and I can`t find any delete button. Please someone help me so I can help my dad. THanks

    1. @Jackie The books are on the SD card. If you have a card reader for your computer, you could delete the book file from the SD card.

  75. Jackie Just connect it to your computer, the screen will open with all the books in it, in a separate folder. I Copied to the folder on my computer for the future reference. You can use the same method to delete it. I hope this helps.

  76. When I connected reader to computer ..I found the files (folder) for preloaded books and when I tried to delete say Alice in Wonderland it wouldn’t let me. Said it was file protected and could not be deleted now I am confused :}

  77. I hve had me Aluratek Libre for 5 months, (my first e reader), and really like it. Didnt know if I would take to ebooks, but have read more in the last 5 months than in the previous 5 years. Dont know if it is better than the a sony or kindle, but it suits me. The only other thing I would like it to do is support enewspapers/magazines. Is it possible to download newspapers to my computer, and then move them to my Libre?

  78. Still having a problem deleting the preloaded books off the ereader. is there anyone who has tried to delete them and was successful in doing so. Please help!!!!!!!

  79. Jackie, try Cut the folder of your 100 books into the folder in your computer. Delete then whatever you want. Or, after you have Cut the books to the computer, Copy and Paste back into the e-book. I usually do that saving space

  80. What type of cases are you using with this? The ones listed specifically for this one are overpriced. Will any of the other covers work for this?

  81. Hello,does the libre still having problems with pdf files even after the latest firmware update? And where could I download the latest firmware for Libre?

  82. Aluratek helps you out by providing an SD card with the reader that has 100 books preloaded. They are classics such as Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, War and Piece, Wuthering Heights, etc.

    War and Piece

    Piece

  83. Jackie,
    There is a slider usually on the side of an sd card and it will say lock right above that. Slide that button the other way and it will allow you to delete the files. Barring that, you can always get another sd card too. Hope this is helpfull.

  84. hi everyone,
    I would like to know did anyone ever lost their downloaded books
    after they recharged the battery, i did now my Aluratek is saying
    (failed to open file)

  85. i am new to ereaders and don’t know too much about them. is the aluratek capable of downloading books from the free ebook websites, barnes & noble, amazon etc?

  86. hi julie, thank you for clearing that up. is it possible then to download onto my pc storing the books on a sd card and then putting the sd card in the e reader?

    1. @arubalou The Libre supports Adobe Digital Edition DRM ebooks. Before Borders closed its doors, their books were supported on this reader. Now that Kobo has taken over for Borders, I don’t think they are compatible any longer. I’m not 100% sure though. Aluratek’s site has a live chat feature that you can use to ask for confirmation.

  87. Hay, Anastasia, it does support Russian for sure, I tried. However, I would strongly suggest to get the 7″ color Aluratek ‘Libre’. Not only does it have 2 gb of internal memory and comes with 2 gb memory card, it is also very fast! The black one is very very slow! I had to return it and splurge on the ‘Libre’. Now, 8 months later, the ‘Libre’ cost less than the 5″! I have been using/reading ‘Libre’ 7″ color e-book for 9 months and still extremely happy!
    At Future shop the 7″ now is only 100$ (the last time I checked it was actually on sale for 80$).

  88. I am thinking of buying the Libre Reader, but I am concerned with the review that it is hard to read in dim light. I pretty much only read in bed before sleeping and only have my side table light on, will I have trouble reading the screen, should I look for an e-reader that has a back light and any suggestions?

  89. Sheila, I strongly suggest, get the 7″ color Aluratek. YOu won’t be disappointed and you will be able to read in the dark, it has lit screen (adjustable!). It’s the most amazing reader I have come across, I have been using it for a year now.

  90. I am a librarian trying to load country western mp3 files onto the libre pro. It is not working. What am I doing wrong? I click on the file manager and there is nothing there.

  91. I purchased on these little gems at a clearance price of $60 CDN.
    I haven’t been able get and Hyperlinks in the eBook material to work though.
    On the desktop I use calibre – E-book management. It’s free software and I highly recommend it. It will download news from many sources and make it suitable for Ebook use.

  92. I have the aluratek libre ereader pro and it has quite a few aggravating glitches that Aluratek needs to address. As far as ease, yes when I first received it as a gift I loved it; however, they really should just give you a site that has all those classic books on them and enough space for you to upload them if you choose to. I think that they have over loaded the reader so that when you want to load something onto it you have no space and therefore have to purchase an additional sd card. I could only load one book and had to get the sd card. Also after a period of time it stops turning pages so I reset it charged it and the last time I had to upgrade the firmware. Well, afterward the ereader went to German, then I spent the entire day trying to fix things, every time I fixed one thing two more glitches happened. I believe it needs some big time glitch fixes. It is now working again; however, it won’t be long before it again won’t turn the pages and I will be back at square one. Oh one more thing, I was told to plug it into my computer and open the files up and go to properties then to tools, and click to fix it, so I did and then when I opened the book I had been trying to read for the past two days, it came up with almost the entire book on the ereader, an ant couldn’t have read it, the font was so small. So again I had to fix it, well, again it did’nt want to fix, then after about a half hour of it on the font page it went to the largest print and stayed there for over 2 hours. Now it is working again. So glitches is an understatement. I think Aluratek needs to do some more testing for this ereader. The size, shape, feel, etc. of the ereader I am pleased with as well as the ease of use, when it works, but when it doesn’t it is the most frustrating piece of electronics I have ever owned. What do you think??? Like to hear more feedback Thanks Patty

  93. I have a aluretek reader and I use kobo to download books but I always have problems with the sight it’s terrible any other sites I can get books it really frustrating

  94. I have the Libre Pro too… I can’t get the firmware update to work. I followed the guide on it and still doesn’t take. Can someone help me with this???

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Product Information

Price:$179.00
Manufacturer:Aluratek
Pros:
  • Comes with 100 books
  • Easy to use
  • Small
  • Good display
Cons:
  • Reader sometimes freezes on JPG and PDF files
  • No word lookup (dictionary) feature