Navigating through the store went rather slowly on the Libre Touch's 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and the site's organization in this interface was not the best--I had to click a 'More' tab to reach categories such as New York Times bestsellers. Interface issues such as these may go away with updates over time, but right now they make the Libre Touch a poor competitor to other readers offering wireless access to Web bookstores.

The browser and email apps are not much fun to use, in part because typing on the resistive touchscreen is difficult and sometimes because taps, as previously mentioned, don't always work right away. On the other hand, I enjoyed listening to music through headphones, and I appreciated the included equalizer, which comes with several presets but also lets you establish your own preferred levels in a 'My Effect' preset.

Battery life varies according to how much you use Wi-Fi-dependent features: Aluratek says the Libre Touch can run for up to 8 hours on a single charge. Wisely, the device shuts down its display after a minute of nonuse, which helps prolong battery life.

Overall, however, I never warmed up to the Aluratek Libre Touch. It didn't come close to meeting my expectations for ease of use, primarily because the touchscreen isn't that great and the online bookstore integration was so flawed. While I like the idea of a color ebook reader, the Libre Touch's execution made me long for my black-and-white Kindle.