I would suggest that to some degree you get what you pay for and good hardware is expensive. I would also suggest being suspicious of any deal that appears too good to be true or buying from companies you never heard of. Those companies may not even be in business 6 months from now and in the case of China, where the discussion is not about the latest, greatest device but who makes the best knock-off of the latest, greatest device, to be even more careful. You might even want to think about how you feel about intellectual property theft. These no-name companies are often relying on others to do the R&D and simply copying the design. Frankly, some do it better than others. While you're reading reviews, you might want to make sure you are including some professional reviews from leading publications or reputable web sites. More than a few folks "rationalize" the purchase of mediocre equipment by downplaying deficiencies as a trade-off for a lower price. The simple fact is a lower resolution screen is a lower resolution screen and that cheap device with inferior hardware will never be an iPad or Xoom. Maybe off a little but kind of like saying a Chevy is just as good as a Cadillac and justifying it by thinking you never really wanted leather seats anyway.

I have had no problems and have had kindles for 2yrs now. That is how it works with kindles and it works just fine. No one but me has ever known my amazon password even before I got the fire and I change it every month. I change a lot of passwords monthly. If your kindle is lost or stolen you log in online and deregister it and let amazon know then no one can buy stuff on your account and it's bricked from someone else being able to register it. Much the same as if your cell phone is lost or stolen. Then if you get a new one you just register it to your account and all your books and apps are on Amazon for reloading onto the new device. I had to have my fire replaced by amazon due to a faulty charging port so this was very convienient for me. Same if you have the kindle reading app your pc or tablet or phone. Any books you buy are stored in your amazon account for reloading if you get a new tablet or pc. Nice thing is if hubby and son get kindles I can register them to my account and they can have access to all the games and apps I bought where as if they got their own accounts they would each have to buy those apps and books separately. Amazon offers one paid app free every day so I have a ton of apps and games I have collected that way like monopoly is $5 but they had it free one day. Also if you belong to amazon prime you not only get the free shipping deal but can borrow one free book a month from the kindle lending library. I can't say enough about amazons great customer service. Mary

do all the updates for it before you put anything on it because many times doing big updates can wipe it clean. Also you want to get the sd card for it (be sure you get the right kind) and you want to put your books and stuff on the sd card so you do not fill up the small internal memory, many apps can also be moved to the sd card and should be. If it does not automatically find the updates when you connect your wifi, you can go into settings and in that list there is an update option you can select and have it check for updates. to get books from barnes and nobel or amazon you do have to set up an account on their website and have a user name and password even if you are only getting free books it looks just like a regular purchase only the price will be zero. I would do that and go to barnes and noble and select some of their free ebooks to put in your nook account, then if it has the nook reader when you open it and select store it will show you your archived books you just select them and it will put them right on your Cruz(you do this while using the browser on the Cruz) If you do not have the nook reader just go to one of the links I provided you above and download the nook reader. Just go ahead and get started don't be scared of it. Unfortunately though the one you got is pretty outdated, and you will need to use your finger nail to tap and it takes a harder tap or use a stylus. but your best option is to fully read the user manual for it. this link is the pdf manual download it to your pc and save it so you have it. Getting Started with - Cruz Tablet also here at the cruz page Cruz User Guides Available for Free Download Support Center this is important! this older model it sounds like you will have to do the update by putting it on the Sd card then moving it to the Cruz, so this model may not automatically get the updates. How do I update the firmware on my Cruz Tablet T301? What apps are compatible with the Cruz Tablet T100 series or T301? It appears this model does not have the android market on it. How do I install Android apps? Since the market is not on the Cruz go to my original post and click the links I provided for you to download and install the amazon app apk and also the getjar app apk, once you install those on your cruz you can get your apps right from those 2 stores directly from your cruz and install them. Much easier than the directions they are providing. since this is an older model with an older android you will have to do a lot more yourself but once you have it set up it will be functional.

For crosswords, I use the Shortyz Crosswords app (free at Google Play) and lock the screen into Portrait (open the app, tap settings [3 small stacked squares/dots at the upper right of the screen], tap SETTINGS, and then tap ORIENTATION LOCK. Tap PORTRAIT.) You will need to do this only once. All future Shortyz crosswords will be oriented in Portrait mode. As you noted, in Landscape mode there's not much space left to actually display the crossword when the keyboard is also displayed. I'd be unhappy if I had to work in this mode. Despite the fact that I don't have long, slender "piano" fingers, I don't use a stylus. I find I can tap the keyboard letter I want with only the occasional miss. With Shortyz, the daily crosswords available are: NY Times, Washington Post, Newsday, Joseph, Los Angels Times, Sheffer, Thinks.com, Universal, and USA Today. Shortyz also offers 13 other sources for weekly crosswords. You can choose which of these (or all) you wish to download, and the date to be downloaded. You also have the option to automatically download the puzzles you have selected when you go online (only the puzzles with that day's date will DL). I especially like that below the clue, you see the spaces for the answer. If any of the spaces are filled in (because of an answer to the clue going in the opposite direction) that letter(s) is shown. I find this really helpful for the vertical answers as it makes it easier to visualize a word forming. It may be that most online crossword puzzles do this. Frequently I don't even look at the crossword display but rather this layout below the clue. I definitely do not find it frustrating to do crosswords on the tablet. In fact, I prefer it. No holes in the paper from too many erasures and it's easy to hold the 7" in one hand and "answer" with the other. Plus I can put in "maybe" letters in hopes that I have an "aha" moment and the answer comes to me. I haven't had any glitches regarding how the crosswords display. If something happened to my tablet today (assuming it didn't spontaneously combust, etc.) I'd curse myself for being so clumsy, etc. and rush out and buy the exact same one again. This isn't related to crosswords, but in my earlier post I mentioned I had just DL a GPS app. Earlier this week I had a chance to try it out and I'm amazed at how well it worked (Navfree: Free GPS Navigation) and definitely recommend it. After having DL the map of my state earlier and saving it, the tablet "found" us on the road and a voice (surprise!) even advised when we needed to "turn left in 100 yards", etc. I've since DL the maps of a few adjoining states for a forthcoming trip. Good luck in your research, Pammyfay.