Pandigital Novel White or Velocity Micro Cruz Reader?

SpeakOfTheDevil · 04-28-2011, 04:01 PM

Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. Hello everyone. =D

Okay, for the past month I've been researching extensively on which eReader to buy. And it has come to down to these two eReaders: the Pandigital Novel White and the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader. Now my questions are these: Which of them has a longer battery life? And is either of them particularly hard to root, easy to brick?

So far, these two eReaders seem to have all the features I want:

- support epub, mobi, and pdf without conversion
- can read pdf adequately well
- 6" or larger display
- cost around $100, give or take some $
.
.
.
and that's about it. The WiFi, music player, movie player, etc are nice features to have but to me they're just whistles and bells. I don't care if the eReader can support DRM or not because I habitually scrub DRM off my ebooks like the mold that DRM is.

ePaper, eInk, or LCD matters little to me. It seems like if I choose one over the other, I'll have to sacrifice something like page-turn speed over battery life over pdf-readability. At least, that's my impression so please correct me if I am wrong.

So what y'all think? PDNW or VMCR? Or is there another eReader I should looking at as well? =)

hughes · 04-28-2011, 11:52 PM

Between the two, the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader is what I'd choose. I've yet to find believable counter-arguments to the problems reported for the Pandigital Novel White, so I've never initiated coverage of it.

jhempel24 · 04-29-2011, 01:56 AM

I've tried the Micro Cruz Reader, returned it a day later, it was by far the WORST experience with an electronic device I have had...Wi-Fi was terrible, it was SLOW, crashed on me.

When returning it, the manager of the Borders said "I thought it might come back, these things are the worst products we've had to sell"

Noah98 · 04-30-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hughes

Between the two, the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader is what I'd choose. I've yet to find believable counter-arguments to the problems reported for the Pandigital Novel White, so I've never initiated coverage of it.

Why? The Cruz reader and the WPDN are the same device (hardware), just in different cases. The Cruz has a slightly better outer case, but also is harder to hack (and easier to brick) and has some other issues with memory management (I can't remember off hand). If you go on slatedroid.com, they can definitely explain the differences better. Long story short, the WPDN is slightly better, even though they are essentially the same. Now, the Cruz tablet is a whole different device.

hughes · 04-30-2011, 09:21 PM

Thanks, Noah98. Apparently I didn't dig deep enough. Appreciate the slatedroid.com reference too -- great resource.

soondai · 04-30-2011, 10:21 PM

the stuff hughes posted to isn't relevant at this point (there were problems when the PDN was very first released).

I'd probably go with the Pandigital White unless you can get the Micro Cruz cheaper, if for no other reason the CPU on the MC is set at 533 (I believe) while the PDN is overclocked to 800 with current firmware.

But you'll be fine with either. There are alternate firmwares for both over at slatedroid, though again there are more options and modders for the PDN.

I still use mine daily to bedtime reading and really am glad I have it.

Noah98 · 05-01-2011, 09:38 AM

The most polished version of this hardware (it's weird how many companies re-badged this) is the Pocketbook IQ. The os has been tweaked, the case is metal and of higher quality, choice of colors, $150 price, and it has hard buttons.

http://www.pocketbookreader.com/PocketBook_IQ_MHWV.html

GeoffC · 05-01-2011, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpeakOfTheDevil

Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. Hello everyone. =D

Hello and Welcome to Mobileread .....

SpeakOfTheDevil · 05-05-2011, 03:56 AM

So I did some more research and the pdf-support is really unnerving me. Is 800x600 resolution, 7" display good enough that I don't have to scroll and zoom alot?

MikeFromHC · 05-16-2011, 07:28 PM

I've had the white novel since the beginning. I'm hoping I will be able to upgrade it to make it more of an Android tablet with their new update. It will be more useful to me and I hope I will be able to add a better reader to it.
Mine stays plugged in most of the time so battery life is not a problem.
However if you want just an e-reader the PDN is not a good choice.
1. They are heavy. Even holding it in both hands and resting on my elbows in a tripod position is a pain.
2. Adding things to bookshelves is a pain. Bookshelves should be automatic based on author, genre, and folders.
3. Deleting a book once read is a pain. You should be able to do it when you want, not have to go to a special section.
4. Finding a book by title is a pain if you have a lot of books. You should be able to search for it, not have to scroll.

Page turn is adequate but there is some magic trick that makes it almost instant and I can't figure out what I am doing. It just happens every once in a while.

One last thing, I have never been able to update my unit through a USB port. I get error messages and rarely even see it as a device. It always locks up and can't be reset, I must wait for the battery to discharge and that can take several days as it will go into sleep mode..

WillysJeepMan · 05-16-2011, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpeakOfTheDevil

So I did some more research and the pdf-support is really unnerving me. Is 800x600 resolution, 7" display good enough that I don't have to scroll and zoom alot?

No it's not.

I have an iPad2, nook color, and a white PDN. That is the order of suitability for reading PDFs, IMO.

bobw · 05-17-2011, 06:24 PM

The white PDN. I bought both the PDN and the Cruz, tried several iterations. The PDN has better software and the CPU speed difference does make a difference in the snappiness, and the screen sensitivity. It is a bit heavier, but since it doesn't need a light, its what I curl up with in bed late at night.

Otherwise, its my kindle or sony reader for reading. As for "scrolling" if your format supports reflow (as should all the popular book formats like epub, or the kindle mobi formats), the text will auto reformat to fit the screen.

gastan · 05-17-2011, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpeakOfTheDevil

So what y'all think? PDNW or VMCR?

The Pandigital white, without a doubt. Easy to root, relatively fast, and stable. Great bang for the buck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpeakOfTheDevil

So I did some more research and the pdf-support is really unnerving me. Is 800x600 resolution, 7" display good enough that I don't have to scroll and zoom alot?

In my opinion, no reader less than 10" will do justice to a pdf document. The PDN is no excepion.

crsheilah · 06-04-2011, 11:12 PM

I'm also looking at these two. The deciding factor may be which one will read Amazon's ebooks?

musicman2523 · 06-07-2011, 04:09 PM

pocketbook iq.............love mine..........really love it.
and you can even put Launcher pro on it and make it really easy to get around.
plus it reads EVERYTHING

04-28-2011, 04:01 PM	#1
SpeakOfTheDevil Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: none	Pandigital Novel White or Velocity Micro Cruz Reader? Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. Hello everyone. =D Okay, for the past month I've been researching extensively on which eReader to buy. And it has come to down to these two eReaders: the Pandigital Novel White and the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader. Now my questions are these: Which of them has a longer battery life? And is either of them particularly hard to root, easy to brick? So far, these two eReaders seem to have all the features I want: - support epub, mobi, and pdf without conversion - can read pdf adequately well - 6" or larger display - cost around $100, give or take some $ . . . and that's about it. The WiFi, music player, movie player, etc are nice features to have but to me they're just whistles and bells. I don't care if the eReader can support DRM or not because I habitually scrub DRM off my ebooks like the mold that DRM is. ePaper, eInk, or LCD matters little to me. It seems like if I choose one over the other, I'll have to sacrifice something like page-turn speed over battery life over pdf-readability. At least, that's my impression so please correct me if I am wrong. So what y'all think? PDNW or VMCR? Or is there another eReader I should looking at as well? =) Last edited by SpeakOfTheDevil; 04-28-2011 at 04:11 PM.

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04-28-2011, 11:52 PM	#2
hughes Addict Posts: 223 Karma: 1006020 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Akron, OH USA Device: Kindle PW, Galaxy Nexus, iPad 1	Between the two, the Velocity Micro Cruz Reader is what I'd choose. I've yet to find believable counter-arguments to the problems reported for the Pandigital Novel White, so I've never initiated coverage of it.

04-29-2011, 01:56 AM	#3
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	I've tried the Micro Cruz Reader, returned it a day later, it was by far the WORST experience with an electronic device I have had...Wi-Fi was terrible, it was SLOW, crashed on me. When returning it, the manager of the Borders said "I thought it might come back, these things are the worst products we've had to sell"

04-30-2011, 09:21 PM	#5
hughes Addict Posts: 223 Karma: 1006020 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Akron, OH USA Device: Kindle PW, Galaxy Nexus, iPad 1	Thanks, Noah98. Apparently I didn't dig deep enough. Appreciate the slatedroid.com reference too -- great resource.

04-30-2011, 10:21 PM	#6
soondai Guru Posts: 672 Karma: 1109784 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Paperwhite	the stuff hughes posted to isn't relevant at this point (there were problems when the PDN was very first released). I'd probably go with the Pandigital White unless you can get the Micro Cruz cheaper, if for no other reason the CPU on the MC is set at 533 (I believe) while the PDN is overclocked to 800 with current firmware. But you'll be fine with either. There are alternate firmwares for both over at slatedroid, though again there are more options and modders for the PDN. I still use mine daily to bedtime reading and really am glad I have it.

05-01-2011, 09:38 AM	#7
Noah98 Eccentric Posts: 510 Karma: 342150 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Florida Device: The nook, ipad 3, Kindle Fire HD (8.9), Kindle Paperwhite	The most polished version of this hardware (it's weird how many companies re-badged this) is the Pocketbook IQ. The os has been tweaked, the case is metal and of higher quality, choice of colors, $150 price, and it has hard buttons. http://www.pocketbookreader.com/PocketBook_IQ_MHWV.html

05-05-2011, 03:56 AM	#9
SpeakOfTheDevil Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: none	So I did some more research and the pdf-support is really unnerving me. Is 800x600 resolution, 7" display good enough that I don't have to scroll and zoom alot?

05-16-2011, 07:28 PM	#10
MikeFromHC Zealot Posts: 143 Karma: 880 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Pandigital Novel	I've had the white novel since the beginning. I'm hoping I will be able to upgrade it to make it more of an Android tablet with their new update. It will be more useful to me and I hope I will be able to add a better reader to it. Mine stays plugged in most of the time so battery life is not a problem. However if you want just an e-reader the PDN is not a good choice. 1. They are heavy. Even holding it in both hands and resting on my elbows in a tripod position is a pain. 2. Adding things to bookshelves is a pain. Bookshelves should be automatic based on author, genre, and folders. 3. Deleting a book once read is a pain. You should be able to do it when you want, not have to go to a special section. 4. Finding a book by title is a pain if you have a lot of books. You should be able to search for it, not have to scroll. Page turn is adequate but there is some magic trick that makes it almost instant and I can't figure out what I am doing. It just happens every once in a while. One last thing, I have never been able to update my unit through a USB port. I get error messages and rarely even see it as a device. It always locks up and can't be reset, I must wait for the battery to discharge and that can take several days as it will go into sleep mode..

05-17-2011, 06:24 PM	#12
bobw Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 56 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: NJ Device: Kindle, PRS-600, PRS-500, Pandigital Novel, Android Phone	The white PDN. I bought both the PDN and the Cruz, tried several iterations. The PDN has better software and the CPU speed difference does make a difference in the snappiness, and the screen sensitivity. It is a bit heavier, but since it doesn't need a light, its what I curl up with in bed late at night. Otherwise, its my kindle or sony reader for reading. As for "scrolling" if your format supports reflow (as should all the popular book formats like epub, or the kindle mobi formats), the text will auto reformat to fit the screen.

06-04-2011, 11:12 PM	#14
crsheilah Connoisseur Posts: 67 Karma: 30000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Costa Rica Device: Velocity Cruz T103	I'm also looking at these two. The deciding factor may be which one will read Amazon's ebooks?

06-07-2011, 04:09 PM	#15
musicman2523 Groupie Posts: 164 Karma: 302432 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: pocketbook iq 701	pocketbook iq.............love mine..........really love it. and you can even put Launcher pro on it and make it really easy to get around. plus it reads EVERYTHING

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