There was a lot of talk about this unit from Pandigital (maker of Digital Photo Frames and film scanners) around June when they were removed off the shelves of Kohl’s for poor/slow performance. They came back with newer firmware and much quicker response in July at Bed Bath & Beyond Stores along with Walgreens and JCPenny’s. But is this a worthy contender in the burgeoning e-reader market?
Not really. Yet.
I ran to grab a unit at Bed Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon and a PDF of a $20 rebate (to send to Pandigital) in hand to eagerly try it out. The box contains a Mini-USB cable, AC power supply (The Novel DOES NOT Charge via USB; A shame, but not impossible.) A stand (that can be used to sit the Novel for charging or viewing pictures.) and the manual.
The Novel is a solid unit that uses a rechargeable battery that can be removed/replaced unofficially as well as an internal 1gig Micro-SD card that can be replaced.
The Novel also has a external SD slot that can use up to 32 gigs. NOTE: If you turn on the Novel with the external SD inserted, the Novel will not recognize the internal card. To utilize both memory cards you have to boot without the external card.
Pandigital currently has one unit out; a white with a black matte 7 1/2″ by 5 1/2″, although an all black unit will be out soon. The white Pandigital weighs about 1.lb 2.0z, about the same as a 326 page hard cover book. The screen is glass on top, and is a fingerprint magnet, but seem to handle wear OK, although I want to cobble a screen protector. The rest is in white plastic; smooth but not cheap feeling.
There are not many controls on the Novel. It has a sliding power switch and a rocker for volume control. They do feel sturdy enough for extended use.
This is a resistive touchscreen (PDA as opposed to a capacitive one (iPhone, Droid phone) so it needs a nice pointy finger, or a stylus for maximum control. I had a stylus from a Palm TX that did the trick (also can use the reset pin when unscrewed on the Novel reset hole.) But when using the Novel, a finger did do the trick. When holding the unit with the left hand and using my right index finger to swipe pages, a firm poke worked, though you can see the reaction (smearing) on screen with the digitizer. It wasn’t bad, but weird to see when using the Novel.
On top contains the power switch, a rest hole (a paper clip or a palm stylus unscrewed will work), a Mini-USB socket and the external SD slot for MMC or SDHC.
The left contains the Volume switch.
The right side is the outlet for the power supply. It does not seem to plug in flush to the unit, but it does not seem to fall out easily.
You’ll notice that the power outlet is flanked by a flat surface. It is meant to fit on the stand ( you can plug in the power supply through it) so it can charge on the stand.
The bottom features the headphone jack for typical earplugs and stereo speakers. The sound output isn’t bad, but I wouldn’t rock out to the external speakers as the videos play in landscape mode, and the sound could get lost unless you crank it up. Fortunately no distortion though.
Overall, the unit has a nice weight to it, and a solid feel. I heard a little rattle when shaking although I didn’t see anything loose. I have heard stories of units that has some cracks on the edges, but my unit was fine. YMMV but Bed Bath & Beyond does have a good return policy.
The unit might feel a little slick to hold as it is smooth; so hopefully there will be a case for this.
The back is stuck on with double-sided tape, but is still solid after removing it to replace the memory card. The battery looks removable, although I haven’t researched this.
Running on the Android OS, The Novel is a ‘closed’ system; meant to use Pandigital’s proprietary launcher of programs.
It would take approx. a minute to boot up cold.
Under Settings, you can adjust Wireless, Calibration (use a stylus for maximum precision)
Subscriptions, Alarms Photos Support and a Working Reset to Default settings.
Wireless does a decent job of scanning websites using b/g/n adapter. I had some trouble with finding my hidden network, but the manual says how to use the manual setting. Your mileage will vary on your network. I had to reset my router to finally get the Novel and the router talking to each other.
The Novel’s main feature is the Barnes & Noble e-reader/bookstore software; sort of a full color Nook. I did not have the pleasure of running the Novel in a Barnes & Noble Bookstore to see if there were any special items that appear like they do for the Nook; like free timed in-store book readings or coupons.
The Bookstore features buttons for Bestsellers, New Releases, eMagazines, eNewspapers and Update to the Barnes & Nobles server. Clicking on the store items brought up a thumbnail of the cover, a description and the price, usually including a chance to download a free sample of the book. Magazines and Newspapers would not offer samples as much as pricing for single issues or a subscription.
MY LIBRARY would feature multiple bookshelves; the first shelf containing what you are currently reading. The other shelves would populate with the other books in your inventory if you put them on the internal or external card. The library would only show cover-art if you had matching title art. The excellent ebook management program Calibre can generate artwork for the Novel as well as other ereader programs.
You can download books through Barnes & Nobles website if you have an account as well as lending books out to friends. Not bad.
Pressing on a book title starts the reader program. It reads EPUB & PDF well enough. The reader program features the usual items; changing fonts, day/night reading, bookmarking and a dictionary. The reader can be used either in portrait or landscape mode and can be locked in either mode for reading.
I found the reader program handled EPUBs quite well, either from sources like Google Books or Calibre. But I found PDFs to be a mixed bag. The user guide to the Novel was included and read fine, but I tried some back issues from Maximum PC that was hard to read sometimes, the colors were strong and the layout was fine, but it might be too complex for the built-in reader program. I found many downloaded user manuals in PDF performed better. Maybe they were simpler. I found that books in PDF format performed well.
The Web browser program included in the Novel performed well enough. Mostly it would be treated as a mobile phone browser, so it would take you to the mobile website version. The browser handles java script but not flash yet. You can browse the web portrait or landscape with a lock on landscape only. I tried under settings to see how you can adjust for different websites, but no such luck. Going to Google, it would start at Mobile mode and fail to get my location. Trying to go to Google Maps would send me to a page to get the application at the Android Market, where it would give me an web page not found error. But for basic web surfing, it could be worse.
Music takes you to a very basic player that handles MP3, AAC and WAV files. You can create a play-list and delete files simply as well as to be able to minimize the player to listen to music while reading.
The Video Gallery only plays mp4 and that is slightly questionable on what kind of mp4 format. I made some files via Quicktime and Final Cut and they did not play. However, if you try DoubleTwist,( an iTunes for non Apple products,) you might be able to transcode to the right format.
Photos will read from either the internal or external cards to view, create a slideshow or even make wallpaper for the Novel. You can adjust the settings for the slide show under Settings with all the fades, wipes and dissolves you want or leave the date and time onscreen.
Email is a very basic yet simple mail client that can read pop3, smtp, imap or exchange accounts. I tried it with Google and it worked fine for imap.
Alarm is very basic clock program to allow multiple times.
Calendar is simple and allows repeating events, but no syncing with Google or Yahoo.
Contacts is also a simple address book, but again no real means to sync entries to Google or Yahoo.
Stocks and Weather shortcuts uses the browser to connect to Yahoo. Simple but it works.
Facebook goes to the mobile site. Crude but effective.
Shop B&N brings up the browser where you can log on with your B&N account.
Import SD will ask you what you’d like to move to the internal card (photos, books…)
Searching is actually pretty good in looking for media on the Novel provided they are labeled properly and in the right folder (Books/Photos/Music/Videos).
The Dictionary program does handle many words for a quick referral. I do not know how complex it is, but for me it passes the “zymurgy” test ( one of the last words found in many dictionaries that describe the science of fermentation in brewing or wine-making.)
Games provides Solitaire & a Concentration-type game.
Update finally sends the browser to the update page on pandigital.net, so you could download the updated firmware to the external SD card, where you could ‘flash’ your unit on the field, good luck telling Grandma how to hold the volume up button while turning it on…
Right now, the Pandigital Novel is a very basic reader. The online bookstore is nice for Barnes & Nobles customers and I was able to read many of the books I purchased earlier. But it is very crude for anything else. 6 hours battery use is not bad although I would not leave the unit in standby for too long. But by leaving the wifi off and lowering the brightness until needed; I’m able to use the unit pretty well. Firmwares have updated the performance dramatically and I look forward to other changes to the system but we shall see.
The toughest problem for the Novel is not to be able to get applications from the Android Market in this present form. But I don’t really see Pandigital adding market access to the unit as it only has the 2 buttons available (Volume ± and Power.) There are ways to get around these limitations and turn the Novel into a more functional Android unit, but that is for another time.
So, in the end, if you are a Barnes & Nobles fan, it works well. Do you want to buy this to send to Grandma a hundred miles away? Don’t forget to update that sucker or else face the wrath of a confused customer.
Product Information
| Price: | Varies: $149.99 - $179.99 |
| Manufacturer: | Pandigital |
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{ 198 comments… read them below or add one }
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Is there a way to number lock the keyboard – for playing
suduko, etc.
We had one of these and it mysteriously developed a crack in the touch screen while being left to charge. Looking on ebay for a replacement, there are multiple items listed that have a nearly identical crack in the exact same place (running in a gentle curve from roughly 2/3 the way across the top left-to-right, to roughly 1/4 to 1/3 the way down the left-hand side. To me this hints at some kind of production or design issue.
I have one of these and I can’t seem to read any e-book that I down load from a public library. Pandital tells me to down load Adobe Digital Editions, but whe you try that it tells you that you need adobe flashplayer. So you go to download adboe flash player and it tells you that it is not avaible for this device.
Any help???
Phyllis playing suduko means you must have the Android Open Platform right? If so there are some apps at http://www.freewarelovers.com in the android section that can help. I use I think it is called button savior that helps to get you back home and there are other apps too, or you can ask over at http://www.slateroid.com since over there they know everything about the Novel.
Mike, I have a theory and it is just that, a theory, about the cracks. I am wondering if the led light might cause it. Is the crack up near it because if it is, maybe the light is getting too hot when you charge it, or the bulb creates pressure on the glass when touching it that eventually causes it to crack. I do my best to not put pressure in that area just in case. Again just a theory. Also I bought some of that thin clear gel like cover over the glass to not only protect it, but hopefully maybe it will create a buffer to protect the glass.
George, I downloaded the Android Open Platform kit over at Pandigital and got apps over at freewarelovers using the app installer.app from that website and downloaded Adobe Flash and I can’t recall where I found the Overdrive Media Console app at but it has a setting that authorizes Adobe books for library use and you can download lots of free books from Gutenberg and others too. So if you can’t get ADE to work, you might consider this method. I also use Aldiko and iReader too as well as the Adobe Reader and I think I downloaded most of those from freewarelovers.com, over in the Android section. The trouble with the standard Novel is the inability to add apps and should they update it to do so, then the standard version would be fine, but until then, this is the method to use for more apps. If you do decide to go with Android Open Platform, be sure and do EXACTLY as it says so it will go smoothly.
Note for the Aldiko books app using Android Open Platform, to get it to show up the home button, you have to uncheck the volume button for volume, in settings and honestly it was hard to get my Novel to find settings, but I just kept trying to hold the menu button, the three lines button, and pressing it to get to settings, finally it somehow got me to get to the settings, but I couldn’t really explain how it finally went to settings so I think it would be easier to do a button hack and over at Slateroid.com as they would be the ones to help on that. Just know the reason when you press the volume button and it just has volume and not the menu bar in Aldiko is because you have to uncheck the volume for volume setting in settings.
I can not get my Pandigital Novel to let me insert my email. any ideas
Karen, if you have Yahoo here is an answer:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101229134501AAu0HMv
If not, I would ask over at Slateroid.com but be sure and read the Pandigital newbie section since some over there can get huffy if you ask a question that has already been asked and answered.
Mine is being so complicated.
I reset it, because I was having problems, and I cannot seem to retrieve the automatic free books that were on there.
I’m having trouble setting up an email account.
I don’t know how to sync music or videos on to my Pandigital device.
Would you be able to give me any help?
Also, is it possible to download books, magazines, etc. from Nook for Pc?
is there a way to move an ebook to my sd card
Mallory, resetting it probably deleted your free books but the few books included were already public domain books so just go to http://www.Gutenberg.org and you can find tons of free books just download them in the epub format. I think one of the books was Bram Stoker’s Dracula and is found there too.
Make sure your wifi is working and when you are on wifi, try getting your email account to work. If that is not it, ask over at http://www.Slateroid.com as they know a lot. I wish I could help on syncing, I am using Android’s Open Platform on the Novel and I use the Realplayer app to sync but if you use the locked down version I am not sure on that. Again a question to ask over there. About the Nook, again you usually have to go with the Android Open Platform to use other apps like Kindle and Nook. I have the Kindle app and I use several other reader apps on the Novel but you have to have the open platform to use them. If you decide you want to have other readers and apps, ALWAYS read everything about it at places like Slateroid before you do and do EXACTLY what they say to do so it will go smoothly. But if you do it right, you can have all sorts of apps. If you have a techie friend that could do it, that is something you might want to look into too, if you aren’t a techie.
Janet, yes, just put the SD card into your PC and copy all your books, using Windows Explorer, (if you use a Mac I don’t know), and find the SD card in the directory (probably will say something like PD Novel, or something like that) and paste all your books onto the SD card, then safely remove the SD card by clicking on the icon down by where your time is at the bottom right and click safely remove, take it out and put the SD card in your Novel and it will find them when you turn your Novel on and it will import your books into your reader when you are in your reader and import the books.
Is there anyway I can download adobe flash player so that I can watch youtube? And play flashgames?
Lauren, as is, the Novel is locked down and you can’t. If you change it to the Android Open Platform kit available at Pandigital’s website, you can then add apps to it, BUT you have to be a techie to do it as you could brick (kill) it and it is important to read everything at the Slateroid website to understand all about it. But yes, then you could download apps like Flashplayer, YouTube, etc onto it.
Just lately – when I go to get a book that I ordered or downloaded, I keep getting “unknown server error” as a message. I’ve rebooted the blessed thing and just can’t get it right? Any ideas??? Thanks
Kathy, Make sure the wifi isn’t cutting out as that can cause it, other than that, I don’t know. Can you download your books to your PC, then transfer them over to your Novel? I always download my books to my PC and transfer because the wifi is so iffy.
Can u download games and how do i download javascript
I just got my pandigital. And iim not happy. it’s giving me many problems. I bought a book, but did not go to my library. I go to barners and noblees and clicked on my library the book is there but when I click download does not do anything. Then I can sing in on my computer to my b&n account, but if I try to sign from my pandigital it sais signing failed. and if I try to sign to the b&n and try to enter my email or password I cant because there is not sign in buttom. What can I do? I went to the place where I got this device and they did nothing. DO i have to download anyaplication? if so which one? please help because i think this is giving me alot of headache. I dont know whAT to do…
Customer service at Pandigital is an Oxymoron It does not exist. One telephone line that puts you on hold forever. Email doesn’t answer. And my reader itself had more flaws than I can mention. Couldn’t get help,so I returned mine
There isn’t any service at Pandigital. One phone line that keeps you on hold…Emails that are not answered. My reader had more flaws,and Pandigital would not help. Finally returned it
Ingrid, ask over at http://www.slateroid.com since they know a lot over there.
I upgraded my pandigital white ereader to the open platform format and I hate it. I cannot get my barnes-n-noble library to come up and it won’t let me download the app. I want to change it back to the original format. Any ideas on how to do that?
Thanks Michelle
Tiara, you can’t download games and such with the Novel as it is, it is locked down. You have to have Android Open Platform to be able to download games and such, but you have to have some tech skills to do it, or have someone with tech skills do it for you.
Michelle, just hit the reset button and it will reset it back. The reset button is the tiny hole near the power switch. Push it in with an end of a paper clip. Voila, it goes back to the original. To add apps, you need an app installer such as appinstaller or know how to push apps onto your Novel. I like the Android Open Platform and have Kindle, Aldiko, Kobo, Nook, Adobe, iReader, eReader, a document and text reader and others on mine so I am not stuck with just one.
I have been trying to download eNewspapers and eMagazines from the Barnes and Noble Site, but when I try to download them to my Novel, it says that they are in an unsupported format. What do I do?
Joey
Thanks for the info but when I hit the reset button it does not reset to the old format. Well since that is not working how do I get an appinstaller? Once I set that up how do I install the different apps, like nook and others? Do I just go to their websites and download and it should work? Sorry I am not usually so end user but this one has got me.
Thanks
Michelle
I’ve had my Pandigital Reader for a month now and I still can’t figure out how to get a book from B&N downloaded on it.
It seems a waste of money and gift cards.
Michelle, here is something I would do. Put the Android Open Platform download, that you mentioned you put on already, onto the SD card and go to http://www.freewarelovers.com and in the Android section, find appinstaller and download that. Put the appinstaller on the SD card too. Only have those two on the SD card. Reflash your Novel with the SD card, again having the zipped Android OP (don’t unzip it) and the appinstaller app on it. Do the volume + and power switch and press and hold as you turn the Novel on. Release after about 5 seconds or so and then the little android robot comes on with the progress bar. After it does its thing and it is restarted look and see if you see appinstaller installed in the app section, usually the bottom drawer that opens up when you touch it, to show your apps. See if you see it. If so that is great, you can then just use appinstaller from then on to install your apps. A lot of the apps like Kindle and Aldiko can be downloaded at http://www.freewarelovers.com in the Android section, put them on an SD card and put the card in your Novel and Appinstaller will find it when you turn it on and click on Appinstaller to install them. Some file managers like Astro will let you install apps so you could have appinstaller install it and use Astro to install apps as well. What happens is when you flash with the appinstaller on the SD card with the Android OP, the Android OP installs the app that is on the SD card most of the time.
New Firmware for Black Pandigital (1-14-11) allows Android 1.5 applications (without an accompanying message that installing it voids the warranty like the Android Open Platform).
I have the Black Pandigital Novel and it was working fine but it had the firmware from 7-30-10 on it so I wanted to update it. Over the last month I had been trying to install the newer firmware and had different errors on it. Finally last week I received an email from Pandigital that there was a new firmware update that would solve my problems (I had both emailed and spoken to a tech regarding my update problems.) I was able to install the new firmware and it seems that they have now enabled Android applications to be installed on it (for android version 1.5) There was an app installer in the new firmware but it wouldn’t install a solitaire game I downloaded so I installed another app installer from freewarelovers.com and was able to install. The Barnes and Noble Library app was included in the firmware and seems to work fine. I was also able to install skyfire browser but I haven’t been able to view videos on it yet. I also installed Aldiko but the formatting isn’t quite right and I haven’t had time to see if I can fix it. I’m happy with the prospects of some new apps without having to hack it and voiding the warranty.
I installed the Android open platform on my white pandigital. I got this file manager -
http://www.freewarelovers.com/android/app/es-file-explorer
It works great. I was able to in stall Nook from B&N as well other apps. I also found some helpful apps at: slideme.com. I am very happy with this device now. Much more fun than in original state.
Mallory: I had trouble setting up my e-mail, so I called my cable company and they were wonderful. The problem was in the settings. Once they gave me their particular settings, I was up and running. I love it. Katee1302
Ingrid: After you order the book and download go to the top bar and hit get book. It will process and you should get the book. Kathy
Ingrid: Also, Call your cable company and make sure your settings are set up right in the reader. My company (armstrong) was great and helped me to put in the correct setting. So be sure that you have your e-mail set up properly. Katee1302
Is anyone having trouble with the memory game? Mine doesn’t change levels or keep the score.
We received a Pandigital Novel for Christmas. What a piece of junk. If you are considering this reader, I’d encourage you to run, not walk away. The initial one we received didn’t work at all so we exchanged it. This one, after hours of work, finally accepted our home Linksys.
We then ordered a book from B&N and that went well. Now we ordered another book but instead of arriving on the Reader, it came to my computer and we are unable to download it to the Reader from there.
Now, trying to get back on-line with the Reader, we have to log in to thru Linksys and it won’t accept our password so here we are again, back to square one with a Reader that is worthless to us at home. Maybe we can go to a public Wi-Fi site and order books but we shouldn’t have to do that.
Bottom line, we are not computer experts but we use the computer a lot so we are not novices, either. There is very little that is intuitive about this Reader. We’ve spent hours trying to make it work with very little success. If it weren’t an expensive Christmas present, I’d throw it out.
John – Very sorry to hear about your difficulties with the pandigital. You don’t say if you have the black or the white. I have the white, and I have a Linksys router, and I had no problem connecting with my pandigital. In its initial state, the pandigital was kind of sludgy, but once I upgraded to the android open platform (a free download), it was much more manageable. It is slow to boot up, but after that it is quick and responsive and the graphics are good. The pandigital will only save your books on an SD card, so you have to have that in when you get your books. You may already know that, just wanted to help if I could. Once upgraded you can get games and movies, too. Hope it improves for you. I got my help from this site and others on the web, or I would have been unhappy with this device as well.
How do you add music and games to the pandigital?
My huysband and I each received one for Christmas and BOTH have cracksin the glass already. Is is possible to have these fixed? We each have books on them already as well. WHAT CAN WE DO??? We were not rought with them and can’t figure out what happened with either one.
My dad has a white pandigital that I am setting up for him. I have the 9″ myself. I installed several hundred ebooks for him on Aldiko (I upgraded to the new open source firmware.) The problem is the download notifications remain at the top of the device. When I touch the menu – I see “settings” “add” “wallpaper” and “search” but NOT “notifications.” How can I remove these notifications?? Thanks!
Yeah, never mind! You have to “pull down” the notification bar very strongly!
Ok, so I’ve read all the coments and the wonderful review, but unfortunatly, I still have a problem and DESPARETLY would like some help. I updated to the new posted firmware on my white pandigital novel, turned on, reset, could read books, noticed the difference in with the updated, all in all, it worked fine… a couple days later I tried to turn on the unit and nothing… tried the reset, again nothing, pluged in, the little light in the upper corner is red for a couple min. then goes to green (which i’m assuming means it’s fully charged) tried to do the vol. + with the power at the same time for 5 sec., 10 sec., and …. you guessed it, NOTHING. I’ve tried everything except opening up the back to remove the battery…. which i wouldn’t even know how to do, and am a little scared i might break it permantley… if anyone has ANY suggestions or advice, I’d truly appreciate it… got it for Christmas, so it’s been a couple months, not sure if i can still return it at this point… Please HELP!! thanks
I have the 9″ model and can’t find how to access the free B + N books, mags, etc. Can anyone help me? Thank you.
I just purchased the 7″ White Novel reader. I went to the Pandigital website and downloaded the most recent Android system. Like Michelle, I could not get the B&N app to load. I was able to speak to someone in their support department (not a long wait) and they informed me I had to download it twice, which I did and now it works great. I really love the new screen and the Slideme app works perfectly and it has lots of different apps to choose from. If given the choice, I would purchase it again.
Turning the page on a book seems inconsistent. I don’t seem to have the “touch”. What am I doing wrong?
I recieved a Pandigital Novel for Christmas wanting to read books on it. I have not been able to download the book I bought from Barns & Noble, and I have downloaded the NOOK apps for PC and other devices. Im still unsure of how to get the book I bought so I can read it. Your help would be greatly apperciated!
THANKS!
I just bought this, and I do not have the dictionary app, the upgrade button to upgrade firmware, and a few other things that are off from the manual. How do I remedy this?
hello there.. i seem to be having an issue with just getting the thing to turn on.. i have the white e reader color.. it came on once.. then the battery went dead.. ive charged it to no avail.. the only thing that populates is the pandigital blue home front page.. can you help.. how do i even know that its charged to where i can at least get it to work .. there is a light in the upper left hand corner.. its red and blinking.. ive had this thing on the charger for quite some time.. is it me??
For all of you with questions about applications you need/want, etc. for your (white) Pandigital novel, there is a new firmware update dated 2/15/2011 that fixes all the bugs of the open android platform. Your B/N icon will be back on your home page, etc., and they all work now.
So, this little tablet, which I paid around $120 after all rebates at BB&B, does 99.9% of what the Motorola Xoom can do. I guess we all saved ourselves $700. A big pad on the back to everyone!
One last thing, even after the last update, the device is still running Android 2.0. So just with the Pandigital updates you cannot run flash player. Flash player needs Android 2.2.
PS: I was able to download Angry Birds, but I deleted it because it just ran way, way too slow, oh well!
Help! It shows I am listening to MLB audio game (I subscribe) on my novel but I can’t hear it! The volume is turned up, etc. Can I listen to the games on my novel? Thanks!
I recently bought a Barnes & Noble gift card, and just today, was able to start buying books with it. They went to “NOOK for PC”, but how exactly do I get them onto my Pandigital?
I tried to download different firmware to my pandigital white 7″ ereader… bad move, I know now! Big problem, it won’t shut down. I’ve tried letting the battery run out, but that doesn’t put it in “shut down” mode. In order for it to restart or start up, it needs to shut down right? In order to read the files it needs to start up as well. Now, it’s just a black screen with one word on it (I won’t say). Is there any help for my ereader? I’ve learned a big lesson!
Just purchase 9″ Novel a couple of days ago.
So far, so good, exept of the one thing: the keyboard is still English (e.g. keeping latin characters) regardless to the different (in my case – cyrillic) language settings what I choose in the “area language and keyboard” menu.
Does anybody have an idea how to fix this?
Thanks.
Re some comments about the service, I called in, VERY short wait time. The techie was super helpful and answered everything I wanted to ask about. I was pleased and impressed with the tech service so not sure why some users are having problems. Or maybe that was an earlier problem that is ‘fixed’ now. I recently bought mine on sale for $139, a real-deal IMO, so even if it has some limitations I figure it was more than worth it. Besides, everything electronic is disposable (i.e., obsolete) so fast these days that by the time I figure out things that I don’t currently know, a new model or new e-reader will be leading the pack and I, like everyone else, will be shopping again. LOL.
So I am about to go crazy with my pandigital…I am having horrible problems trying to log in to my B&N account. I go to the B&N icon and go to sign in, but when I sign in it keeps saying it is having problems with my wifi connection, and try again later, but yet I can browse on the internet and do anything else with it. I have been back and forth with both pandigital and with b&n and I am at my wits end. Weird thing is, I can anywhere online, but B&N website will not load…anyways, I have updated the pandigital, I have tried turning the wifi off and on, I have tried several other locations with wifi, with the same problem. I got it to work once, when I changed the time and date, but then I accidentally signed out and when I tried to sign back into my account, it started giving me the same message. Does anyone have any advice?? I have rebooted it, I have cleared data on the B&N under the manage applications field…I just don’t know what to do any more. Any ideas would be appreciated….I am about to return it and get another e-reader, but I would prefer to get this fixed…
Hi, my mother was using her Pandigital WH 7″ today when it froze.. She removed the back and attempted to pull out the battery plug and plug it back in:( sadly both red wires were pulled from the connector.. Can this be fixed easily? Are there replacement batteries that can be purchased? Please Help
I installed the new update with android on my pandigital ereader and now it says that Barnes and Noble app. is not installed. How do I install it so i can get my books back. Please help.
I have the Same question as Jason (above). How do you reinstall the B&N app as well as the OfficeSuite app and Slide App? Please advise.
I received the novel for Christmas and was fairly pleased. It is sometimes slow but otherwise a good little device. Last week I picked it up to resume reading and the screen cracked where I grasped the frame. Of course pandigital says that the crack is not faulty workmanship but my fault. They will not stand behind there product. It should withstand being picked up!!!! DO NOT BUY!
I’ve bought this pandigital ereader last christmas and I wondering whether to hack it or to leave it as it is now. Any suggestion?
I brought a pandigital reader for my daugther and there is now a crack in the screen in exactly the same place as mentioned in these posts I have had the response from pandigital stating that it is not covered so just replace it and will see what response I get from future shop in the next couple of days.
I just tried updating my wifes pandigital 7 inch white ereader to make it a tablet, it all went wrong and half the apps would not work including, slideme, B&N reader, plus several more. I e-mailed pandigital yesterday and got a reply today. They told me what to do and it worked so here are the instructions for anyone else with a similar problem.
1. Plug your reader into your computer using the USB cable.
2. Locate the “My Computer” icon on your desktop or just “Computer”. This can also be found by clicking on the “start” button in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.
3. Locate the drive listed as “Removable disk”.
4. This file should have Adobe Digital Editions as the first icon. Delete everything in this file except for Adobe Digital Editions.
Re-run the firmware update. I have included specific instructions on how to update your Novel:
If you should have any questions after following these directions, please do not hesitate to call our customer service phone number at: (800) 715-5354.
1. Please visit our website on your home computer at http://www.pandigital.net
2. This will bring you to our home page, on the right-hand side of the screen you will see a box with the words “Firmware Updates Click here”, please click on this box.
3.This will bring you to the next webpage asking you to select your region. For your specific Pandigital Novel please click on the [American/Canadian] flag.
4.You have now reached our information page. On this page, please locate the blue lettering that states: “Click here to learn more and to update your Pandigital Novel.”
5.This will bring you to the actual update page. Please read over the information on what the latest firmware update can do for you. The additional features that come with this update are something to be excited about and we’re sure you will be too!
6. Please locate the blue text at the bottom of this screen that states: “Click here to run PC Updater Application.”
7. At this point if you have a pop-up blocker in use, you may get a yellow/gold bar that appears at the top of your screen asking if you would like to allow this pop up. Click on “temporarily allow pop-ups” and refresh the page by hitting the F5 key on your keyboard. If you do not have a pop-up blocker in use, ignore this step.
8.You will now have a download box appear on your screen asking you if you wish to run or save this program. If you are using Windows XP with IE you will choose the “Run” option. If you are using Windows Vista, please “Save” this file to your desktop.
9.Windows XP: At this point you may have an information box appear that will inform you that the publisher of this program could not be verified and ask if you are sure you would like to run this program—Click “Run” again. The Updater Application will start automatically. Windows Vista: Please double-click the download icon on your desktop to being running the Updater Application.
10.The Updater Application should now be on your screen. It lists the steps that you will go through to update your Pandigital Novel. Click on the blue text that states “Click here to start the process”.
11. At this point, the program will list some steps you will need to do before updating your novel. These steps are:
1.Unplugging any other USB mass storage devices from your computer. These kinds of devices include flash drives, cameras, photo frames etc. Keyboards and mice are not considered storage devices so if you have any of those plugged into your USB ports, they are ok to leave plugged in.
2.Powering your Pandigital Novel with the supplied AC adapter (please ignore this step and just be sure that your Pandigital Novel is fully charged before you attempt the upgrade process).
3. Connect your Pandigital Novel to your computer using the USB cable that was supplied with your device.
4. Power your Pandigital Novel on (your Novel will go into “PC Mode”- this means that your Novel will be inoperable while connected to your computer).
12. Once you have completed these steps, please click on “Ok” to advance to the next step.
13. The Updater Application will then display a screen and ask you to confirm the details of your device (serial number, model number, etc.). Confirm these details by clicking on the “Confirm” button.
14. You will now begin the download process. (This process can take some time depending on your computer and your internet speed).
15.Once you have finished the download the screen will display that you have successfully downloaded the firmware update. At this point you will see another text box on appear on your screen giving you more instruction. These instructions will include:
1.Removing your Pandigital Novel device from your computer
2.Informing you that your Novel may or may not turn itself off, if it does not turn itself off, please power the Novel completely off by pressing the power button and choosing the “power off” option.
3. Now it will ask you to power your Novel back on in a very specific way. Please press the power and volume up button (located on the top of your device and is the + key) at the same time (not one and then the other, they must be pressed at the same time) for 10 seconds. Please do these steps until you see two lines of white text appear at the top of your screen that states the boot count and firmware version. As soon as you see these lines of text, let go of the power and volume + buttons. This should begin the update process in the form of a blue progress bar appearing at the bottom of the screen that will state things like “verifying update.” If you have reached this screen your Novel is now updating properly. If you do not see this screen, please power your device off once more and try the activation process of holding the power and volume + buttons again. Do not be discouraged if this takes a few tries, and be sure you are holding the edge of the power + button; holding it too close to the middle will not activate the update.
4.Once the update is complete, please power off your Pandigital Novel completely, then reconnect the device to your computer using the USB cable and power it on after it is plugged in.
5. Click on “Ok”. This will then run a process called a “restore”. Once this has finished please disconnect your novel and once more perform the activation process of holding down the power and volume + buttons. You will again get another blue progress bar at the bottom of your screen when done correctly.
16. Congratulations! You have now updated your Pandigital Novel successfully!
Help! I reset my pandigital and now it wont turn on…. Can any one help?
actually you do have the option of viewing facebook without the mobile site.. you have to click on more i believe and when the list comes down simply click desktop site..it will pull up the regular thing..
@Phil D-
Phil, can you clarify more what happened for you at Step 5 of this process?
I am in the same situation as you. Updated the firmware andf it looked like i worked but all of the applications said “Application not installed”
I followed the instructions you gave above, but at step 5., after you install the update, you are supposed to sshut down the unit, connect it to USB and “Click OK” to run a restore.
If you plug the unit back in then turn it on, the only thing that happens is that you get the usual pop-up in windows that you’ve connected a USB device and it wants you to Click “OK” to select what to do with the device (Open as a folder in Windows Explorer, ect.) This can’t possibly have anything to do with a restore operation. Likewise, the Novel simply boots up to the Android desktop. Is the OK I’m looking for on the desktop? Or on the novel? What did your screen look like? Is it really supposed to be doing something for me at this point?
I’m basically still at the same point after going through those instructions. I realize you probbably have nbo clue… just wondering what you saw and if step 5 really made sense to yoou. Cause it absolutely doesn’t to me.
Okay the stage you are at the updater has run the install and asks you to disconnect the unit and power it off. Then you reconnect it to the computer and turn it back on. All this time the installer should have a menu still on your computer screen waiting for a restore, (I think you have to click “OK” on it) this is to put back in to it any files that were backed up on to your computer before the update began (although at the start of this we know we deleted them all) after this you just go through the power down bit where you holds the power button and volume + button at the same time and it will reboot with a progress indication again and that should be it.
Now the secret to all of this is if you had problems on any of this a lot, go back to the beginning and use a newly downloaded version of the installer update program. It seems to be that if you have trouble its due to a corrupted version of the updater, possibly site troubles or just occurred during the download.
Hope this helps
Thank you so much PhilD for posting the instructions on how to upgrade it. It worked! I really didn’t want to have to email them and wait two days for them to email me back. Thank you so much for helping me out. =]
I’m trying to download the android firmware update. But when the update screen pops up it just closes and turn the ereader on without doing any thing. I have the novel 7inch black version and this is my second one because the last one got steped on. But my first on had no problems but this one won’t even update what do I do, can it be fixed.
Hi If someone could please help, I downloaded & installed “Pandigital Novel Android Open Platform Kit” followed instruction online at Pandigital, removed internal sdcard. After installation, Pandigital is not recognizing my internal sdcard.
Anything I can do to fix this? Thank you Doreen
For the people who have installed the update to make the reader a tablet if it says the B&N app is not installed and others this means the installation went wrong.
Read my addition to this site on May 7th and follow the instructions as listed. Basically you have to delete everything and start again with a new download of the update.
For dylan who is having problems I do not believe the update is for the black ones only the white ones but confirm that with pandigital.
I have the white model and I just noticed cracks all along both sides and along the top just above the joint. I am very meticulous with it and it has never been dropped or abused. Anybody else have this same problem. BTW, the screen is not cracked, just the case itself.
The on/off button on my ereader is loose and I cant turn it on. I have researched it and found nothing on the subject of how to fix it. Help would be appreiciated.
mine just wont tun on sometimes.its fully charged and in good change but its just complicated.
This is the worst thing I ever received….It only works while plugged in, the font changes constantly, it goes from up and down to sideways while you are reading, etc…I could go on and on…I complained twice to the company and never received a reply!!!
I’m a newbie of sorts. I bought a WPDN this month used. It had an added 8GB internal micro sd card. It was slow and had few apps. I used PhilD’s info from May7th. It took a lot of patience but it worked. Previously I had no books in the BN Library but when completed I had 6 free books plus the latest Pandigital’s User Guide. The tablet is now quick for the most part but no IPad but then I only paid under $100 with a faux leather case. I have since went to Amazon and have loaded a number of free apps which work great with one exception. If the file loaded is larger in size then it will be slow functioning such as Angry Birds which worked but most feature boxes were blank so I deleted it. It also works with a ‘paid’ Yahoo email just fine. One of the things you need to do is be sure you press the volumne + button and the off/on at the same time. Not always easy and often the source of my problems. When it did work I got a white file with and orange arrow and the android symbol showing it updating. The load bar would show about one inch then reboot but it worked. The WI-FI took a few repeats but once it was setup it connects quickly now but the range is not limited but I have a cheap wireless router. In the end I am impressed with this tablet. I loaded Kindle and free books are great. I added some games, Huffington Post for news and all apps work with ease and quick. As indicated Slatedroid has some amazing information and worth the visit. Initially my tablet had about 15 apps or so from the Android update. Now I have 45 apps all free and mostly from Amazon Android apps including YouTube. I loaded a lot of apps, music & video’s to my sd card and they all work great. Many tunes/video’s were from Apple that I paid for and converted to MP3′s or MP4. Everyone’s basic app need is different but for me I got what I want and they work quick. I also have had good email reponse from Pandigital within 24 hours. I wanted Flash but they said it had to be Android 2.2. Mine is currently Android 2.1 as I understand it. I have been tempted to experiment with updating to 2.2 as some user suggest from Slatedroid but currently mine works without problems so why change a good thing. I also use a new pencil’s rubber end as a stylus to move pages and it works just fine. I hope this helps others haviing problems.
i like my reader, however one problem persisits…..if I quit reading and turn it off, when I go back to read again, the battery has drained. It seems to ignore the shut down and comes on
at random; thus the battery depletion. Wish I could get a solution.
to “pat”. Just askin’, are you sure you’re turning it off? or are you just putting it in sleep mode? When you move the power button to the left, you need to hold it for a couple seconds, until the screen shows the choice to “shut down pandigital” you tap on that on your screen, and then you are actually turning it off instead of just putting it in sleep mode. Hope this helps.
I recently downloaded and upgraded my White Pandigital 7″ eReader of the pandigital.com/ANDROID website. Is there anyway to go back to the original version? If not, how do i get the B&N app to work so that I can open my libary to read my books?, because when clicked on it tells me that the app has not been installed on your phone.
Thanks, Tianna.
I bought my panditigal a month ago and was very happy with it until last week when I tried to load some music on it from my pc. It wiped out the music library including the demo music and then froze. It never shut off on it’s own so I reset the system using a paper clip. The unit unfroze but I lost my access to my barns and noble account although I could still go on line.
I contacted both Barns and Nobles and Panditigal and I recieved the instructions to reset the unit listed above. However when I pushed the power button, reset and +volume button simutaneously I got a triangle with a ! inside it and was frozen for three hours without powering off. I hit the reset button and it turned off, but I am unable to get it to turn back on. Please help!!! I am not a computer wizard at all, and at this point I am pressing reset, and power button and volume button in every combination and nothing is working!!!
Please help!!!!
I have no issues with my novel except that I put in a memory card containing photos. I was able to set one photo as wallpaper, but I had 14 pictures on the card out of over 100. I cannot find the photos anywhere on the novel. I cannot even find the wallpaper photo! Any suggestions on where the photos may be? I’m so upset about losing them, but am holding onto hope they may somehow be retrieved. Any suggestions?
Hi,
I have two problems with mine. It won’t hold on the portrait or landscape display. I lock it in the settings, and lock on the book shelf icon as well. It just malfunctions, goes back and forth. Anyone have this problem, is it fixable?
Also, blue light at top has not worked from day one. Any thoughts?
Tania.
I purchased this 7″ White Pandigital for my grandaughter.
We downloaded the updated firmware but still can’t download books, music or games. Seriously considering taking it back. However, I’m going to follow your instructions and see if this corrects all my problems. Thanks for sharing.
Ok so i have had my novel for almost a year and it has decided that it does not want to update.. the wifi is on and connected and if you click on the web browser it works just fine.. if i go into settings and hook up my b&n account it says wifi unavailable and it will not update my library.. any suggestions??? i have factory reset it. i let it die and rebooted it after it was completely charged. i erased the wifi and re did the address for it and nothing works??
Firstly, let me thank all of you for your comments and suggestions. They have been most helpful.
My son in law gave me a white Pandigital Novel a couple of weeks ago, and although I was starting to become frustrated with it, after reading the information posted here, I upgraded to the open platform version and have been very pleased with its performance.
Perhaps someone could clarify this situation for me. Whenever I try to download programs from ‘appbrain’, I always receive the message that I have not synced to a device yet, and it wants to connect with my telephone, (which I am not using). Every program I try to download from them is the same, yet when I go to freewarelovers.com there is no problem. I can download whatever I want. Any suggestions? Thanks.
If anyone updates to the new tablet version of firmware and it states the B&N reader or anything is not installed when the shortcut is there for you it means the upgrade failed, you have to go back to my original posting telling you what to do to reinstall. Its a pain but it works.
Perhaps someone could clarify this situation for me. Whenever I try to download programs from ‘appbrain’, I always receive the message that I have not synced to a device yet, and it wants to connect with my telephone, (which I am not using). Every program I try to download from them is the same, yet when I go to freewarelovers.com there is no problem. I can download whatever I want. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Hi,
My comment on August 23rd has not been answered so I’m going to assume no one else has these problems. My pandigital is now not booting up at all – tried charging it with the recharger cord, charged it with the PC; nothing is working and I’ve about had it with this thing. Turning it on was hit and miss but now it just won’t turn on at all. – maybe mine is just a lemon??
Hi,
Can you download and install Abode Flash Player to Pandigital 7. I couldn’t find any thing… if anyone knows, please send me the link for it. thanks.
I did the Android 2.2 update from http://www.slatedroid.com and latter got the Barns & Noble working below.
These apps with work B&N-eReader-2.1.apk, Yahoo Mail v1.0.4.apk, Youtube 1.0.apk
yxplayer v1.6.1.apk for playing almost any video format except flv and mkv formats.
Google-Maps-v411.apk in Wifi mode.
FlashLitePlugin.apk will work and latter install the DroidEmuLite.apk is an emulator enable you to play Nintendo & Sega games by downloading ROMs or games for it.
Skyfire2.0 browser supports flash playing like Youtube videos but not online games.
Hope this will help you all.
My question is , my pan digital does not start over by the power button. Tried un plug and replug, holding down buttons same time as start time still no power start up. I transferded some photo’s to the internal sd card. I left it for an and then that was it..Is there another way to start it up than the usual start up button..
I have the same power issue as Ian on Nov 5. Almost as frustrating as the lack of response from Pandigital. And now there is an error when updating firmware.
What’s with slateroid.com? When I go there all I can do is search and then nothing comes up.
I had that issue once before with mine Ian. I just reset it using the little pin hole button and it worked fine afterwards…hope that helps
After I reset mine I was having problems connecting with almost everything. Then I noticed I had the date wrong. After I set the date correctly it worked just fine.
I just bought the black Pandigital Novel for my son. I upgraded to the Android platform and went ot Amazon apps for Andoid to download some game apps for him. After about 5 games, it says the memory is full. We haven’t downloaded any books, magazines or anything else, just these few games. Is there a way I can increase the memory or something. I bought an SD card thinking I could save some of the apps on it, but couldn’t find a way to do it. Obviously I’m not very tech savy. Can anyone help with this?
Season’s Greetings:
I just opened my new white Pandigital sent by mail from Wal-Mart.ca. After I powered on, the PanReader icon is nowhere to be found. According to my undertanding of the included instructions, that’s pretty much the main icon to download books, which is my main purpose with this device.
Can somebody please help me with this issue? I basically would like to know how to proceed before I screw this up trying by myself. I am novice to the tablet world although I know how to use computers. So, good instructions will get me going in the right direction.
Thanks a lot in advance and Happy Holidays to all of you!
Mac.
First thing you should do is go to Pandigital website and upgrade your firmware according to which model you have ie:(US or Canada). If you are US model when the firmware is done you will have Barnes and Nobel icon wear you would buy your books and a default reader when you click on the book you’ve purchased. You can download a manual from Pandigital site, I would recommend you do this first and foremost. Good luck on your new E-reader.
Wasn’t there a recall on these?
And i have one. Do i need to register it to download apps?
And when try to load something on the app store sometimes it says “error on 505″ can you help?
i got the pandigital for christmas, and it has been a real disapointment. all of the music that i have transferred from my computer(mp3) to my pandigital shows up but will not play. i have called geeksquad but they arent much help. it seems like anything i do with this tablet is in vein! any suggestions?
@megan. I suggest if you can, take it back and upgrade to something better. If this is a Pandigital Novel, the longer you have it, the more dissapointed you will be.
Well my son opened the black Novel on Christmas, and just 4 days later, the screen cracked whie on the charger. I had read some reviews that others had cracked but hoped ours wouldn’t be one of them. Guess I was wrong. Very dissapointing!
im having a hard time with this thing i got this because im very computer savy and i cant do anything with it i want to download some games and things for me and my 2 year old but it wont let me i cant figure it out im ready to return it please help
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