Saturday, March 9, 2013

Txtr beagle: Why you shouldn't buy this "cheapest" reader

People have shown great interest in Txtr beagle, the cheapest eReader, for quite a few days, since it initially came out last October, with the amazing price ($13) and very limited features. After several months' eclipse, more news eventually come to us again. I am afraid many guys will feel deceived, however, if they know more about this "cheapest" title.


As we know, Txtr beagle was said to sell at $13 initially, which made it pretty fiery in a short time. But a recent report showed that Txtr beagle would cost $69 in the US, as much as the 69-dollar Kindle. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this story a couple of days ago and thought that there must be something wrong. Then another post on The Digital Reader confirmed it. The budget price is exclusively offered for telecom users rather than the public. In all probability, this is only a method to extend the contract according to Nate Hoffelder from The Digital Reader.

In that case, the Txtr beagle is not an attraction any more. The 5-inch display may be pretty cute, but no more than Kobo Mini, I am afraid. The 5-book storage is not a merit, either, whereas 1000 books can be loaded to Kindle at one time. What's more, we can't transfer books to this eReader as easily as what other E-ink readers have done. When transferring books to Txtr, we will have to rely on an Android 4.0 (or up) device with the dedicated Android Txtr app installed. It's apparently impossible to directly purchase eBooks on Txtr itself.

Although it can last 1 year before needing to charge, I am afraid that won't be a lure to us anymore. When it's cheap enough, we may embrace the mentioned limitations. But when it comes at the same price as Amazon Kindle, how does it compete with Amazon's eBook-related services? Hope proper actions will be taken some time later.

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