[Noah98]

I just bought a Pandigital Novel today to test out. I already have a Nook, an Asus T91mt tablet, and my wife has an ipad.

Long story short (Edit): The LCD had a weird dark spot on it, and that will be my excuse to return it. ***I returned the one with the bad screen yesterday, regretted it, and bought another one today.

Here are my thoughts on my experience with it today:

I downloaded an excellent guide on Slatedroid (thanks Nate!), and had it hacked within a few minutes of owning it. I installed lots of apps, and a really good launcher. Overall, it is a good, cheap alternative ($124 after rebate and 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond) to the ipad or other tablets. The problem is, you get what you pay for.

Pros:

1. with the upgraded firmware, hack, and Launcherpro (didn't like panda launcher--too sluggish) it was pretty snappy.

2. Got Aldiko, Kindle, and ereader pro working really well with fairly snappy page turns. (Kobo wouldn't work, but other reader software did)

3. Retained the Barnes and Noble app and was able to load my epubs through Calibre with ease (Calibre actually recognizes the Pandigital Novel)

4. Easy night time reading

4. Browser and other apps worked well enough to be useful (unlike the Nook's browser)

Cons:

1. Still sluggish, although much better after hacking

2. The screen is not that sharp. For example, the book covers in the Barnes and Noble launcher look blurry. Overall the screen is lackluster compared to my Asus T91mt and my wife's Ipad. I also found that reading on the Nook's screen is just so much more enjoyable. I was dead set against eink for the longest time, and now I think I'm sold on it! I will say that the Ipad has a great screen also, although in direct sunlight the brightness needs to be turned way up.

3. It's heavy (although lighter than my Asus T91mt) , and not very ergonomic. It feels both solid and cheap at the same time. The Nook feels much better in hand and looks far more elegant.


So, my advice is if you are looking for a great ereader with some bells and whistles, get the Nook. You will enjoy reading on it very much. If reading is the primary purpose, the Nook or the Kindle are the best bets. If however you are looking for a multifunction device, and an ipad is not in the budget, then get the Pandigital Novel. It's only competition is the lighter, buggier, outdated and more expensive Archos 7 HT. Although, if you do get the Pandigital Novel, immediately hack it or you will be sorely disappointed!

(Edit) ***The more I thought about it, the more I realized that for $124 (that's tax included, after rebate) the novel is just too good to pass up! I definitely don't need it, but the gadget hound in me needed a new toy I guess lol.