The success of Amazon's Kindle not only meant a huge amount of money for J. Bezos but also made many bookstores and publishing companies bet on the electronic book and the eReader. In Spain we had a similar case but on a smaller scale with The House of the Book and its Tagus devices, whose latest model, the Tagus Gaia Eco + launched earlier this year.
Many of these companies quickly aspired to be Amazon's competitors, as was the case with Barnes & Noble or Kobo, but others preferred to offer a digital alternative to their customers. Many of these companies launched eReaders that became known as national eReaders, since they were limited to their customers and they were always from the country to which they belonged.
Many of these national eReaders have disappeared, as have Amazon's competitors, but in Spain a brand of eReaders still prevails that stands up to Bezos's Kindle. La Casa del Libro, famous in Spain, has launched the Tagus Gaia Eco +, an eReader that falls between the mid-range and premium range of eReader.
The device aims to be La Casa del Libro's eReader model of the year 2020 and as other companies are doing, La Casa del Libro has only launched one model this year, reducing its range of devices.
Features of the Tagus Gaia Eco +
The Tagus Gaia Eco + is a device with a 6 inch screen, with a resolution of 212 dpi. The screen is fully tactile, a novelty in the Tagus world since it was a brand that until not long ago maintained the touch screen option along with the traditional side buttons to turn the page. Like many other eReader models with this screen size, this model has an illuminated display with Adaptive Light Function technology that makes the light that it emits graduated according to the ambient light, in order to improve the health of our eyes. In addition, this model includes the blue light filter that will allow us to eliminate the blue light from the lighting and thus be able to have better reading sessions in dark environments. This is important for those of us who have the habit of reading before going to sleep.
The Tagus Gaia Eco + has 168 gr. of weight, 8mm thick and 115mm wide by 160mm long.
The internal storage of this device reaches 8 Gb of which 6 Gb (approx.) Will be available to store ebooks. A fairly decent storage if we take into account the real space occupied by ebooks in electronic format, that is, we can store hundreds of books in electronic format.
The interior of the Tagus Gaia Eco + is made up of a 1,2 Ghz quadcore processor with 512 Mb of ram memory. A Wi-Fi module will allow us to communicate with the device wirelessly as well as being able to connect to the device through the microusb port.
The device's battery is 2.500 mAh, a fairly high amount that will provide us with an autonomy of several weeks, as long as we use the Tagus Gaia Eco + in a normal or slightly abusive manner.
And just like previous Tagus eReader models, the Tagus Gaia Eco + has Android 4.4 as the operating system of the device. A slightly old version of Android but enough to make this eReader become something more than an electronic book reader, such as a calendar or a device to access our social networks without the need for a smartphone.
Caring for the environment: a new role for eReaders
With each new eReader model, businesses add new functions or new features that other devices do not have. The case of the Tagus Gaia Eco + was not going to be an exception and it has a unique function within the range of Tagus eReaders and we can say that it is unique in the entire market: the Tagus Gaia Eco + cares for and eliminates harmful bacteria that we can find in the environment. .
It may sound very pretentious but this is what the manufacturers of the device claim. On the one hand, the device is coated with a layer of photocatalytic nano-technology that through natural light prevents dust particles and bacteria from being deposited around the device or on the device, in addition to eliminating and purifying the air by neutralizing NOx and SOx. This makes the eReader, among other things, as time goes by as the first day.
Little is known about this new role apart from what La Casa del Libro has, since this new role is unique among eReaders and no other manufacturer uses it. But it seems that it reacts with the operation of the device, so it will be a function that is present in the device throughout its life. Unfortunately, this layer does not repel all bacteria or viruses, so it will not be an instrument to fight some diseases or a prophylactic means.
Tagus Gaia Eco or Tagus Gaia Eco +?
At the beginning of this 2020, La Casa del Libro launched two almost identical models, one called Tagus Gaia and another called Tagus Gaia Eco +. The latter was the device that contained all the functions and features that we have mentioned while the former it did not have such a long autonomy nor did it have the blue light filter. Currently La Casa del Libro has decided to do without the first and They only sell the Tagus Gaia Eco + model online, an eReader that They sell it for € 130,90 although we can possibly acquire the Tagus Gaia Eco model for a lower price in one of the physical bookstores of La Casa del Libro.
The software, its star point
One of the best features that the eReaders of the Tagus family have is that it not only has Android 4.4 as an operating system but it is also open to install any apk on the device. This not only means that we can install apps like Google Calendar or Gmail but also we can install apps from important libraries such as the Kindle app or the Kobo app. We can also use ebooks with drm, something useful if we want to use the eBiblio program, the digital ebook loan service. Or we can also install new services like ebook flat rates, if what we prefer is to have many ebooks to read or listen to.
Is Tagus Gaia Eco + for me?
The ecosystem of La Casa del Libro is not very large, at least if we compare it with Amazon or Kobo, but it does seem that we have a great rival to the Kindle Paperwhite. If the choice of our next eReader is based on the price of the device, the Tagus Gaia Eco + seems one of the best options of the market since in addition to having similarly priced to the Kindle Paperwhite, it is not incompatible with other ecosystems. But if we are looking for other features such as a large screen, higher resolution or immunity to water, it may not be the best option we have on the market. We can say that the Tagus Gaia Eco + is focused for users who love to read a lot but do not want to be tied to an ecosystem or want to use other forms of reading.
Editor's Opinion
- Editor's rating
- 4 star rating
- Excellent
- Tagus Gaia Eco +
- Review of: Joaquín García
- Posted on:
- Last modification:
- Screen
- Portability (size / weight)
- Storage
- Battery Life
- Lighting design
- Supported Formats
- Connectivity
- Price
- Usability
- Ecosystem
Pros
- Illuminated display with blue light filter.
- It purifies the air, is self-cleaning and antibacterial.
- Android system and software included.
- Weight :
- Autonomy
- Good price / quality ratio.
Cons
- Screen size.
- Lack of sound
- Low dpi resolution
- RAM
- Ecosystem
I have had an incredible PROBLEM with the Tagus Gaia Eco: I carried it in a handbag, which did not suffer any bumps or falls and yet the screen broke. The technical service charges me € 45 which I have rejected because I don't trust it to happen again. It is very fragile. A clerk at La Casa del Libro told me that it was common to receive them broken, for carrying them in a bag, or in a pocket, since with very little pressure the screen breaks. For more INRI I bought it as soon as I left and there were still no covers for sale in the La Casa del Libro store on Gran Vía in Madrid where I bought it; I wanted to buy it to protect it from falls or bumps, not because I knew it CANNOT BE TRANSPORTED safely. I think you would buy the cover to prevent it from happening to you. Cover that in my opinion should be included with the reader, since it is ESSENTIAL to avoid breakage.
Good Raúl. Unfortunately the problem you mention is happening to many in recent weeks. I don't know if Casa del Libro will do something about it, but apparently the screens break very easily, not only because it is worn without a cover but it also happens when you wear it with a cover. Personally I think it is due to a faulty game, but it is just an opinion. I'm sorry that happened to you since the device without this problem is quite interesting. A greeting and thanks for reading.
You will comment that we can also use ebooks with drm, something useful if we want to use the eBiblio program, the digital ebook loan service.
But it does not work. I have the Tagus Gaia Eco + and the adobe digital editions does not recognize my device. In March I got in touch with the technical service and they replied that "we are aware of the error you are reporting, the error has been reported and they are searching for a solution." As of today it has not yet been resolved and I cannot use eBiblio.
Hello Iván, what you are saying I did not know, but according to the company behind eBiblio, that would not be much of a problem since it is the official app and that is what I recommend you try. Try to install the official eBiblio app and use it instead of Adobe Digital. If you have doubts, Androisis have tutorials on how to get the app from the Play Store. A greeting and thanks for reading.
BEWARE OF TAGUS !!
With only 2 months from the purchase, reading only at home, with a cover from the first moment, without bumps, falls, or any other misuse, the screen is locked.
They say it's screen break.
TAGUS does not take over. They want to charge 66 euros to fix it and if I don't fix it they also want to charge 30 euros.
120 euros thrown away.
I had bought a Tagus Gaia eco at the Casa del Libro, but it turns out that I cannot access the purchase of books through the eReader because according to what they tell me in the Tagus store has a problem with data protection and cannot be purchased through of the device, you have to buy it through another medium and pass it to the eReader. Do you know anything about this?
I have a Tagus Gaia Eco + and it tells me it can't find the neoreader. I understand that it is an application, but I don't know how to download it to the ereader, or where I can find it. Can someone help me? Thanks in advance!!
Good Margarita. Neo Reader is the default reader for Tagus Gaia, it is giving many problems and it is also not in the app store. I would recommend that you install another ebook reader that is more complete. Through this link https://www.androidsis.com/como-descargar-apks-directamente-desde-el-play-store/ you can get the apk file of the program you want. Once you have the apk file, you upload it to the ereader and run it. There are many free ebook readers in the play store and you can even use readers from other companies like Amazon or Kobo. I think this helps you, but tell us and we will help you. 🙂
Unfortunately I bought the Tagus Gaia + and I have to join the bad experiences of those who have published their opinions here even though it is not the same model. Bad buy. I can't download the books purchased from the web and I can't buy from Tagus either because it can't connect ("access failed").
In short, disappointment and anger for the money thrown away. I do not recommend at all.