Anything good/bad about Pandigital Novel black?

[cameron65]

I have seen the pandigital novel (black) Canadian one, and it looks like a really nice ebook reader. I like the colour screen since I am used to reading books on a little device like iPod.
Please let me know what you think. Again, this is the Canadian one(I read a few bad reviews about the U.S. one)

[givitup2E]

Biggest problem I have had with it is that Calibre doesn't support it 100%...mainly just doesn't support making thumbs for it. I can't say I am overly fond of how Barnes and Noble is so tied into either. Other than that, I haven't really had much problem with it. I have been currently playing with different options of the Android OP. This had alot more to it. That has allowed me to get rid of the B&N stuff. I am also confident there will be support for Calibre to do the thumbs too.

The night time read feature is awesome. Don't forget to update the latest firmware. It seemed to make things much faster.

[cameron65]

Originally Posted by givitup2E

Biggest problem I have had with it is that Calibre doesn't support it 100%...mainly just doesn't support making thumbs for it. I can't say I am overly fond of how Barnes and Noble is so tied into either. Other than that, I haven't really had much problem with it. I have been currently playing with different options of the Android OP. This had alot more to it. That has allowed me to get rid of the B&N stuff. I am also confident there will be support for Calibre to do the thumbs too.

The night time read feature is awesome. Don't forget to update the latest firmware. It seemed to make things much faster.

Not familiar with that Calibre...? (Have a Mac, not Windows, or doesnt that matter?)
Like my iPod, I do have ebooks downloaded from Kindle (a lot and I like the big selection, they have about everything!), Kobo, Barnes&Noble so is it possible to have those with Pandigital as well?
You think its a good purchase this ebook reader?

[RW2112]

The Pandigitial Novel Black supports epub, pdb and pdf formats only. All others must be converted over.

Screen isn't the most responsive to finger swiping, does better using the included stylus. Kobo and Barnes & Noble works with it. Music plays well on it, video playback is rather jerky, though I hear that if wi-fi is turned off it does improve some. In order to access your books that you may load on from your PC you go into "My Library" and tap title at top of screen, then select local from choices given.

Overall was too sluggish for my tastes, I ended up buying an Archos 7 Home Tablet and was much happier I did so.

[Care]

Future shop has a lot of ratings and reviews on the Pandigital, some good some bad. I have read about a lot of people from Mobile Read returning theirs though, so I am surprised there aren't more posts.

There is also the Pocketbook IQ, which I have never seen in person but have read a lot of good reviews on it. If you want screen quality to be that of the iPad you might want to look into a NOOKcolor. You do have to do some extra stuff if you want a Nook shipped to you though (unless you live close enough to the border to go down and get one like I did with the Nook).

You can also just find out what the return policy is and buy the Pandigital and try it out. If you don't like it, return it and try something else. Good luck!

[givitup2E]

I found this bit of info surfing the web, thought it was a good read for those interested.

There was so many great questions brought up in the discussion below that we asked forum that we asked Jason Topel, Pandigital's VP of Marketing and Product Development, to help clarify. Here's what he had to say:

Hi Everyone – Sorry for the delayed response. Thank you for the forum Suzanne and for the excitement/support from everyone. I’ll look to answer as many comments and questions as possible.

It runs Android 2.0 but Pandigital couldn’t confirm whether it would run the Kindle app….. Also, returning to my quest to learn more about Android, I read somewhere that Google only makes Android apps available for phones—does that mean that despite this Android OS on the Novel, buyers won’t be able to download new apps until Google decides otherwise?
The initial release of the device will not run external apps. We are engaged and pursuing on multiple fronts the goal of including support of the Android Marketplace and the loading of apps in a future firmware (FW) update.

What about PDF’s, mobi & txt files?... Also, any plans to make it work with PDB eReader files?...
In addition to the PDF and EPUB file types, we are working to broaden the native file format support.

I assume then that you could also run Google chrome browser on this device too or is that the browser it comes pre-loaded with?
The Pandigital Novel uses an Android browser –not officially Chrome.

The features of 2.2 are outstanding, and if this $200 device can support Android 2.2, you’re in for a real treat!.... ? I don’t recall the hardware specs, but curious if a 2.2 update will be made available (or can we install our own manual update of it)….
Agreed – we’re working on it….

if multi-touch isn’t supported (not sure?)
Sorry –not at this time.

I’m not sure what Firmware upgrade this is for the Novel, but I’m curious if anybody else has seen this page or knows further details.
The FW updates are being released regularly to further improve the device performance –with future updates planned for adding further functionality.

Sorry….Need to skip-ahead some posts here. I’ll look to come back and catch those questions I’ve missed soon.
From George Malley on June 06, 2010 :: 7:38 pm
2. the white DOES NOT support landscape orientation, but the black will.
We encountered an issue which arose over time/circumstances. Both the white and the black builds support landscape orientation and this will be activated again in a future firmware update.

3. The black 2gb model will be avail in “late July”
Please look for our press release on this product in a few weeks.

4. The black 2gb model is not merely a different color and with an extra gig. I had asked “since a 4 GB SD card could usually be purchased for around $10, how much more could a 2GB model be over a 1gb. The black one is thinner, lighter, has a smaller (or no) lip/raised edge (thus thinner) and is more advanced tech than the white. For example, it will support landscape reading and more.
The black model will provide an option to users who may prefer the matt-finish screen instead of the edge-to-edge glass styling. Feature-wise they will be comparable.

5. Neither the white nor black will have the physical hardware capable of supporting a cell connection in the future (ie edge or 3g)
Our current plans do not include a cellular model in this size.

6. Neither has a browser that supports flash or java
Correct – We are working toward an Android 2.2 update which will incorporate HTML5 as our avenue for a richer web browsing experience.

7. Neither will have access to the android app store or the ability to run apps beyond those loaded originally. Of course, this could change, but at present, the white is launched and on the market and the black is in it’s final tweaking and testing and neither support android apps nor are they actively planning it.
As noted above - The initial release of the device will not run external apps. We are engaged and pursuing on multiple fronts the goal of including support of the Android Marketplace and the loading of apps in a future firmware (FW) update.

[RW2112]

The Black model DOES NOT run android 2.0, but rather 1.5 (cupcake). It also does not appear (at the current time) to be capable of a future upgradeable path beyond the android version it currently has.

Unless rooted you cannot install ANY external apps. Angry Birds and the Kindle for Android will not install (I've tried).

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by RW2112

The Black model DOES NOT run android 2.0, but rather 1.5 (cupcake)

HI RW,

You sure about this? Just for fun was seeing and checking reviews about the 9" Pandigital Novel; found in a couple of sites it does run Android 2.0. But I don't own one so maybe you can provide a better input.

Also, after couple of months, how's yours so far ...

[Noah98]

Originally Posted by jocampo

HI RW,

You sure about this? Just for fun was seeing and checking reviews about the 9" Pandigital Novel; found in a couple of sites it does run Android 2.0. But I don't own one so maybe you can provide a better input.

Also, after couple of months, how's yours so far ...

The Black 7" model is completely different than the 9" model.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/20/p...-novel-review/

It is limited to android 1.5 (confirmed in the engadget review and others). If you go on Slatedroid.com, they do a great job of explaining the different models.

[waffleman]

I've got the Nook color, my neighbor has Pandigital so I got to do a quick compare. The Nook Color wins hands down. Most importantly, the NC has better screen / readability. The NC is also faster / more responsive and has more features.

[JennyCy]

I received a Pandigital for Christmas and think it is awesome. It does a lot for an e reader. I have read a lot of complaints on it but then I realized that all these people complaining were trying to make it do more than it was intended to do. People are trying to make it into something like a tablet, but forget that it was intended to be a reader. It surfs the web, plays music, checks email, and in my opinion just pretty awesome in general. But then again this is my first reader and i am super excited to have it considering I am running out of places to put my physical books. The one complaint that I do have about the Pandigital Novel is that the Canadian and US firmware updates were way different. The Canadian one has a feature where it reads to you, and has these little arrows on the pages for to flip. It also included some other things but that escapes my memory. I would also like to note that the before firmware and after firmware update makes for two totally different pandigital novels.