Pandigital Novel: Color LCD eBook Reader that Runs Android Apps

[Wetdogeared]

Pandigital's Novel enters crowded reader market (Benny Evangelista, SF Cronicle)

Pandigital's Novel has a 7-inch color touch-screen LCD display and connects to the Internet through Wi-Fi. The Novel, which runs on Google's Android platform, can also play video and other multimedia content.

Although the Novel has more iPad-like functions than an e-reader, such as the ability to run Android apps, Finnegan stressed he was not marketing it as a full tablet or netbook computer. But the company believes it can tap a larger mass market than its e-reader competitors.

Specs from Panadigital website

General
Screen Size 7”
Panel Digital TFT LCD
Resolution 600 x 800 pixels
Operating System Android
Dimensions 5.5 x 7.5 x .5 inches
Weight 16 oz

Supported Formats
eBooks EPUB, PDF,
Audio MP3, AAC, WAV
Images JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
Video MPEG4

Storage
Internal Memory 1GB
Card Reader 2-in-1
Expandable Memory SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC+ up to 32GB

User Interface
Virtual Full touchscreen / Virtual Keyboard
Tactile Volume Up/Down, Power On/Off

Connections
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
USB Port 1x mini-USB 2.0
Headphone Jack 1x 2.5mm stereo headphone

Power
Battery Built-in rechargeable Li-ion (AC adapter included)

Compatibility
Menu Languages English, French, Spanish
Operating System Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X

Compliance and Warranty
Certifications FCC, CE, UL
Compliance RoHS, WEEE, CARB
Warranty 1-year

Plus:
Access to Barnes and Nobel eBook store
Initial limited release includes: web browser, an alarm clock, calendar, a few games, a photo and movie viewer and music player with thousands of apps for android available on first firmware upgrade.)
Battery life: Up to 6 hours of reading on a single charge. (With Wifi turned off.)
ARM 11 Mobile processor
1GB internal memory (available now)
2GB internal memory (available June 2010)
Price $199


Review by Suzanne Kantra ~ Technilicious




*update*

Pandigital news release (PDF)

Using the powerful and flexible combination of the Android operating system and an ARM 11 Mobile processor, this Pandigital Novel has a built-in, full web browser so users can quickly go online to update social media sites and check out recent news, events and weather.

model number PRD07T10WWH7) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $199.99 and is backed by a one year limited warranty. It will be available at several national retailers beginning in June.

[kjk]

Analysts said Pandigital could succeed in an increasingly crowded e-reader market because the 12-year-old firm has the advantage of an established distribution network for its digital photo frames, with 37,000 outlets in North America - including Kohl's, Macy's, Costco and Bed, Bath & Beyond - that don't just specialize in electronics.

I wonder how they will market it in these locations-kiosks? Demo stands? Hope we can play with them!

[AnemicOak]

It looks interesting. IIRC the last time they released a reader it wasn't so hot.


a bit more discussion here...
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84516

[Wetdogeared]

* deleted*

[cheerio6414]

Originally Posted by kjk

I wonder how they will market it in these locations-kiosks? Demo stands? Hope we can play with them!

Kind of a weird way to demo stuff

[SameOldStory]

I've read where photo (I guess we should use ephoto) display makers were about to get into the ereader market. Add to that the success of the iPad and everyone wants in.

At first most aren’t going to be very good, but that’s to be expected. Look at the nook. REAL problems when it first came out. Now it's a good choice for many.

I just got my PocketBook 302. Thought that I would stop in while loaded it with books. I might buy one of these things but it isn't going to replace my 302 for normal reading.

[Tamara]

Battery life is pretty anemic based on the specs.

[fjtorres]

Wasn't BB&B something of a launchpad for Jetbook?
If you want to reach the non-techie crowd, it's not a bad place to start.

The real interesting thing about it (after the app-supporting update) is the possibility of getting Kindle for Android on it. That would mean double-DRM commercial ebooks; B&N ePub and Amazon Mobi. That alone makes it (and the horde of Android tablets headed our way) interesting.

It also brings up a thought: how soon til we see a standalone B&N app for Android?

6 hours battery life is... suboptimal... but acceptable. Barely... It works out to an evening's worth of reading. My netbook runs about 7 hours and I rarely run out of power. The battery had better be user replaceable, though, cause that thing is going to run through a lot of recharge cycles in a year.

Nonetheless, the features (if they work) and the price are very interesting.

[luqmaninbmore]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Wasn't BB&B something of a launchpad for Jetbook?
If you want to reach the non-techie crowd, it's not a bad place to start.

The real interesting thing about it (after the app-supporting update) is the possibility of getting Kindle for Android on it. That would mean double-DRM commercial ebooks; B&N ePub and Amazon Mobi. That alone makes it (and the horde of Android tablets headed our way) interesting.

It also brings up a thought: how soon til we see a standalone B&N app for Android?

6 hours battery life is... suboptimal... but acceptable. Barely... It works out to an evening's worth of reading. My netbook runs about 7 hours and I rarely run out of power. The battery had better be user replaceable, though, cause that thing is going to run through a lot of recharge cycles in a year.

Nonetheless, the features (if they work) and the price are very interesting.

Don't forget Kobo/Shortcovers for additional content. Also, the Android version of Fictionwise eReader is quite nice with a built-in dictionary and good annotation capabilities.

Luqman

[Sweetpea]

If I didn't already own a 7" LCD reader, I'd have been tempted. It's a good second reader for those times when an e-ink reader just doesn't cut it.

[pendragginp]

I'm thinking of this as a kind of upgrade of my beloved but so limited ebookwise 1150.

[Avarwen]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Wasn't BB&B something of a launchpad for Jetbook?
If you want to reach the non-techie crowd, it's not a bad place to start.

The real interesting thing about it (after the app-supporting update) is the possibility of getting Kindle for Android on it. That would mean double-DRM commercial ebooks; B&N ePub and Amazon Mobi. That alone makes it (and the horde of Android tablets headed our way) interesting.

It also brings up a thought: how soon til we see a standalone B&N app for Android?

6 hours battery life is... suboptimal... but acceptable. Barely... It works out to an evening's worth of reading. My netbook runs about 7 hours and I rarely run out of power. The battery had better be user replaceable, though, cause that thing is going to run through a lot of recharge cycles in a year.

Nonetheless, the features (if they work) and the price are very interesting.

I agree I like the fact that you will pretty much be able to buy from most online e-books stores but the battery life is meh. The price is right so I might bite. I was hoping for an e-reader with an e-ink screen that could read from all e-books stores but now with people copying the ipad that idea is most likely a dead duck.