Black Pandigital Novel 9" - Any Good?

Justy · 04-30-2011, 06:43 PM

Does anyone know if the 9" Pandigital Novel offered at Costco in Canada is any good? I read that the White 7" was better than the black 7" because of firmware, but I haven't seen anything here about the 9". My mother is very impressed by the size of the screen, and the $197 Cdn price tag, and has asked me if it would do the job for her.

My mother is looking for an eBook Reader for the PDFs she gets for free from one of her organizations. So we would have to be able to load an additional reading program or have an easy way to side-load non-drm PDFs into the existing Kobo reader. She isn't very computer savy so any additions would have to be fairly simple and easy to explain over the phone.

Thanks.

tipstir · 05-01-2011, 04:28 AM

I had it for 1.5 months. Lot's of info from and other here

Video #1 here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEdls5CViXo&

Video #2 here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY9rHhlbG5o&

jschall · 05-01-2011, 05:25 PM

@Justy:
I bought the 7" Pandigital Novel from Costco for $150 CDN a month ago.

As far as I know, the only difference with the 9" is the 9" has hardware navigation buttons (which might be easier for your mother). But be aware the 9" is the same width as the 7", but a lot taller. The shape and the extra weight make the 9" harder to hold for long reading sessions.

Again as far as I know, the 9" has the same firmware - Android 1.5, and the same screen resolution (800X480) as the 7"

My experience (my wife's, actually) is that the reader is OK, the wifi is excellent, the web browsing is a bit slow, the resistive touchscreen is fine.

Let us know what you decide!

Justy · 05-01-2011, 05:57 PM

Thanks for the feedback! My mother is pretty impulsive. She picked it up this morning, then called to make sure it was OK. *sigh*

The box indicates that she has access to the Android Marketplace for new apps. Would this mean that she can download additional reading software? Is there one for Android that works nicely with Calibre? (Can you tell I'm new to the Android world?)

tipstir · 05-01-2011, 07:14 PM

Android Market doesn't come with this. But you can use Amazon Apps Store instead.

jschall · 05-02-2011, 07:08 AM

@Justy:
No, you don't have access to the Android Market, and no, you can't use the Amazon Apps store (because you're Canadian, eh?).

The 9" actually has LESS resolution (800X480) than the 7" (800X600).
Kobo Reader is fine for reading epubs and pdfs.

The main limitation is the Android 1.5, which revents us from installing the more recent programs. I was able to add some games and YouTube for my wife.

The SlideMe Android Marketplace ("SAM") is included, and has access to lots of programs, not all compatible with Android 1.5.

I'm sure your mother will be pleased.

AlexSno · 05-02-2011, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tipstir

Android Market doesn't come with this. But you can use Amazon Apps Store instead.

Yeah but the variety there is less impressive than on Android m tbh

tipstir · 05-02-2011, 12:07 PM

Amazon App Store is a work in progress they just launched it. Most of the free app are ad free 0.00 ones. Not all. The other market clones have some limits too.

The only issue I had with this tablet was the NAND internal storage was filling up quick and gave me error messages to remove apps to free up space.

This is what e-reading is like

exscentric · 05-02-2011, 12:57 PM

It is hard to know what the 7 inch black is, some run the older software but there are new ones on the market that are similar if not same as the white.

The white runs android 2.1 at this time, the old blacks I think are still 1.5.

tipstir · 05-02-2011, 02:39 PM

9" - black runs Android OS 2.0
7" - white runs Android OS 2.0
7" - black runs Android OS 1.5

These are made by FoxComm most of the OS is 2.0 and won't be updated beyond becomes of the Novel software use. 7" black uses a different processor. 9" and 7" white uses SamSung 800MHz CPU.

jlg432 · 05-05-2011, 11:20 AM

With the Android 1.5 firmware on a Black Canadian Pandigital Novel 7" Colour you can run the following versions of apps

FBReaderj_android1.5-1.0.10.apk supports non drm epub and fb2, it supports access of e-books directly from the SDHC card - the version for And. 1.5 can be obtained here http://www.fbreader.org/FBReaderJ/

Aldiko Ver 1.1.6 - works but I see page layout issues on my PDN. The page is wider than the screen and I have to pan the screen back and forth. Too interactive for reading.

repligo.v1.1.0.apk is a very good PDF reader that supports Text reflow. Yes it only scrolls vertically but it does allow for easy zooming and reading of PDF's.

RealCalc_1.4.3.apk is a working Scientific Calculator.

Newspapers_3.0.12.apk is a dedicated app for access to American, Canadian and UK newspapers - requires wifi access.

Reuters_News_1.0.3.apk is a dedicated news app - requires wifi

YouTube-v13.apk - is a dedicated app that gives you access to youtube and runs most of the video's. It requires wifi

Wapedia_1.8.2.apk - is a dedicated Wikipedia app that requires wifi to use it.

Urban_Dictionary_3.4.apk - provides definitions of Modern terms and slang words - requires wifi

iReader_v1.0.5.apk - good txt reader supports access to internal as well as SDHC card memory.

ConvertPad_1.5.1.updated.apk - great conversion app between all kinds of various categories such as Area, Volume, Temperature, metric, etc.

coolreader_3.0.426.apk - another txt reader works relatively good but I ran across a few issues when trying to access various options. Still it would work ok as a basic reader.

That's it for now

John

tipstir · 05-05-2011, 04:37 PM

I did like the 9" I had lots of fun with it until I ran out of NAND internal storage space. Pandigital suppose to be coming out with something better for the fall that was announced last night on QVC. 9" has a matted screen. Too bad it was under powered and small storage. It need 4GB for NAND.

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04-30-2011, 06:43 PM	#1
Justy Fanatic Posts: 547 Karma: 27509 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Greater Vancouver Area, BC, Canada Device: Nexus 7, Sony Xperia z3 tablet, Kobo Glo, Boyue T63	Black Pandigital Novel 9" - Any Good? Does anyone know if the 9" Pandigital Novel offered at Costco in Canada is any good? I read that the White 7" was better than the black 7" because of firmware, but I haven't seen anything here about the 9". My mother is very impressed by the size of the screen, and the $197 Cdn price tag, and has asked me if it would do the job for her. My mother is looking for an eBook Reader for the PDFs she gets for free from one of her organizations. So we would have to be able to load an additional reading program or have an easy way to side-load non-drm PDFs into the existing Kobo reader. She isn't very computer savy so any additions would have to be fairly simple and easy to explain over the phone. Thanks.

05-01-2011, 04:28 AM	#2
tipstir Coby MID7015 Tablet Guru Posts: 164 Karma: 980 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: South Florida USA Device: 7015A, CM738A, 7015, M150, A7, A32, Next3, PDN 7"/9", GT78, ePad	I had it for 1.5 months. Lot's of info from and other here Video #1 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEdls5CViXo& Video #2 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY9rHhlbG5o&

05-01-2011, 05:25 PM	#3
jschall Avid Reader Posts: 33 Karma: 3182 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Mont Saint Hilaire, Québec Device: Archos 5 Internet Tablet, Pandigital Novel , Acer Iconia A100	@Justy: I bought the 7" Pandigital Novel from Costco for $150 CDN a month ago. As far as I know, the only difference with the 9" is the 9" has hardware navigation buttons (which might be easier for your mother). But be aware the 9" is the same width as the 7", but a lot taller. The shape and the extra weight make the 9" harder to hold for long reading sessions. Again as far as I know, the 9" has the same firmware - Android 1.5, and the same screen resolution (800X480) as the 7" My experience (my wife's, actually) is that the reader is OK, the wifi is excellent, the web browsing is a bit slow, the resistive touchscreen is fine. Let us know what you decide!

05-01-2011, 05:57 PM	#4
Justy Fanatic Posts: 547 Karma: 27509 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Greater Vancouver Area, BC, Canada Device: Nexus 7, Sony Xperia z3 tablet, Kobo Glo, Boyue T63	Thanks for the feedback! My mother is pretty impulsive. She picked it up this morning, then called to make sure it was OK. sigh The box indicates that she has access to the Android Marketplace for new apps. Would this mean that she can download additional reading software? Is there one for Android that works nicely with Calibre? (Can you tell I'm new to the Android world?)

05-01-2011, 07:14 PM	#5
tipstir Coby MID7015 Tablet Guru Posts: 164 Karma: 980 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: South Florida USA Device: 7015A, CM738A, 7015, M150, A7, A32, Next3, PDN 7"/9", GT78, ePad	Android Market doesn't come with this. But you can use Amazon Apps Store instead.

05-02-2011, 07:08 AM	#6
jschall Avid Reader Posts: 33 Karma: 3182 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Mont Saint Hilaire, Québec Device: Archos 5 Internet Tablet, Pandigital Novel , Acer Iconia A100	@Justy: No, you don't have access to the Android Market, and no, you can't use the Amazon Apps store (because you're Canadian, eh?). The 9" actually has LESS resolution (800X480) than the 7" (800X600). Kobo Reader is fine for reading epubs and pdfs. The main limitation is the Android 1.5, which revents us from installing the more recent programs. I was able to add some games and YouTube for my wife. The SlideMe Android Marketplace ("SAM") is included, and has access to lots of programs, not all compatible with Android 1.5. I'm sure your mother will be pleased.

05-02-2011, 12:07 PM	#8
tipstir Coby MID7015 Tablet Guru Posts: 164 Karma: 980 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: South Florida USA Device: 7015A, CM738A, 7015, M150, A7, A32, Next3, PDN 7"/9", GT78, ePad	Amazon App Store is a work in progress they just launched it. Most of the free app are ad free 0.00 ones. Not all. The other market clones have some limits too. The only issue I had with this tablet was the NAND internal storage was filling up quick and gave me error messages to remove apps to free up space. This is what e-reading is like

05-02-2011, 12:57 PM	#9
exscentric Addict Posts: 379 Karma: 1033424 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: WY Device: Kindle keyboard	It is hard to know what the 7 inch black is, some run the older software but there are new ones on the market that are similar if not same as the white. The white runs android 2.1 at this time, the old blacks I think are still 1.5.

05-02-2011, 02:39 PM	#10
tipstir Coby MID7015 Tablet Guru Posts: 164 Karma: 980 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: South Florida USA Device: 7015A, CM738A, 7015, M150, A7, A32, Next3, PDN 7"/9", GT78, ePad	9" - black runs Android OS 2.0 7" - white runs Android OS 2.0 7" - black runs Android OS 1.5 These are made by FoxComm most of the OS is 2.0 and won't be updated beyond becomes of the Novel software use. 7" black uses a different processor. 9" and 7" white uses SamSung 800MHz CPU.

05-05-2011, 11:20 AM	#11
jlg432 Addict Posts: 237 Karma: 15786 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: jetBook, ALP, Pandigital 7"Color(Black+ White), Kyros MID7015a	With the Android 1.5 firmware on a Black Canadian Pandigital Novel 7" Colour you can run the following versions of apps FBReaderj_android1.5-1.0.10.apk supports non drm epub and fb2, it supports access of e-books directly from the SDHC card - the version for And. 1.5 can be obtained here http://www.fbreader.org/FBReaderJ/ Aldiko Ver 1.1.6 - works but I see page layout issues on my PDN. The page is wider than the screen and I have to pan the screen back and forth. Too interactive for reading. repligo.v1.1.0.apk is a very good PDF reader that supports Text reflow. Yes it only scrolls vertically but it does allow for easy zooming and reading of PDF's. RealCalc_1.4.3.apk is a working Scientific Calculator. Newspapers_3.0.12.apk is a dedicated app for access to American, Canadian and UK newspapers - requires wifi access. Reuters_News_1.0.3.apk is a dedicated news app - requires wifi YouTube-v13.apk - is a dedicated app that gives you access to youtube and runs most of the video's. It requires wifi Wapedia_1.8.2.apk - is a dedicated Wikipedia app that requires wifi to use it. Urban_Dictionary_3.4.apk - provides definitions of Modern terms and slang words - requires wifi iReader_v1.0.5.apk - good txt reader supports access to internal as well as SDHC card memory. ConvertPad_1.5.1.updated.apk - great conversion app between all kinds of various categories such as Area, Volume, Temperature, metric, etc. coolreader_3.0.426.apk - another txt reader works relatively good but I ran across a few issues when trying to access various options. Still it would work ok as a basic reader. That's it for now John

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05-05-2011, 04:37 PM	#12
tipstir Coby MID7015 Tablet Guru Posts: 164 Karma: 980 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: South Florida USA Device: 7015A, CM738A, 7015, M150, A7, A32, Next3, PDN 7"/9", GT78, ePad	I did like the 9" I had lots of fun with it until I ran out of NAND internal storage space. Pandigital suppose to be coming out with something better for the fall that was announced last night on QVC. 9" has a matted screen. Too bad it was under powered and small storage. It need 4GB for NAND.