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 |
| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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Excellent review, Ross. We have been seeing a bunch of these devices flooding into the market, but they seem to be of questionable quality (and legality, as seen with Augen’s latest devices). The iPad gives them quite a target to beat, but the devices that are out now can’t measure up. It will be interesting to see how the Dell Streak measures up.
Apparently this device provides full, WiFi web-surfing capability ???
What other retail E-Book Readers provide normal WiFi web access ?
Thanks for the objective review. I’ve had a Novel for a few weeks now (updated to the latest firmware) and am generally somewhat more positive in my view of the device and its use. I find that it makes a much better ereader than I expected. Page turns are reasonably quick, the night mode is useful, going to a specific page is easy, and changing font sizes works well. It’s certainly no iPad but for $150 minus 20% coupon and the $20 rebate from Bed Bath & Beyond, I believe the Novel represents a bargain in the color ereader field.
By the way, my Novel has no difficulty whatsoever in detecting my SD card upon boot-up. I also upgraded the internal microSD card from 1 GB to 4 GB quite easily, as you suggested.
Very fair review. I have tried out several of these gadgets – Jetbook, The Book, Nook – while looking for a reasonably priced and functional product. I am very happy with the Novel!! The only issue I have is that it doesn’t handle near as many file formats as Jetbook and The Book, particularly, in my case, txt and rtf.
I bought it last week. The Customer Service people were very friendly and helpful – only a couple of minutes wait. I had several questions about SD cards and some pdf functionality. I loaded a new update using the Update function on the device – Wi-Fi connectivity was very good – with no problems and it cured a pdf issue – I wasn’t seeing a drop down menu for changing fonts. I coud not change fonts for some pdf’s that I downloaded from Google and Gutenburg, but I believe it’s a pdf issue specific to the file, since I can change fonts for most pdf’s. I am a happy camper since I got it for less than $110 after all the discounts and rebates.
I got mine two weeks ago. There is a way to break it out, and get away from that interface. you can also hack the volume buttons to give them different/more functionality.
I also inquired last week about the source code, and Pandigital customer service said they will be releasing it, possibly by the end of this month. When that happens, full rooting will follow, and this becomes an even better deal for the money.
It’s a little slow, it’s a little clunky, but it’s $120 after the rebate and coupon…
Ross
What kind of processor and how many Mhz is it running? How much RAM does it have? What version of Android OS?
Thanks!
I purchased a novel about a week ago. I was generally pleased with it, but initially had some issues with it getting confused (bump a button or push too many in sequence too fast and it would freeze briefly). Today, however, I turned it on, and the book I had been reading opened, when I opened the home menu the darn thing froze. It would not allow turning off, resetting, or power/volume reboot. I had to let the battery run out to get the thing to work. Any thoughts? Definitely thinking of returning it at this point.
Does it really take too long to install the downloaded firmware into the novel? Please help! I’m worried that I ruined my novel by updating it with the latest firmware.
mariz: Although I ended up returning my novel, after reading through all of the pandigital info, it seems that if you bought your novel AFTER the initial recall when they were restocked it should already have the most up to date firmware. The firmware on their website is really meant for those who bought the original botched units – although they don’t clearly say this on the download website page, it’s elsewhere in the site. Also, downloading the firmware shouldn’t affect anything if you’ve got the newer model – it essentially just doesn’t change the firmware on the unit since it’s more up to date than the current online version. Hope this helps.
mariz: if you get the exclamation point on the update, it means the update is failed. Do a reset (paperclip in the hole) and try again. Try downloading the zip file on your computer, and copy to a SD card. Do not unzip the zip file.
Whitney: I bought one after the restock and the firmware has been updated twice since then. 7/24 and 8/6
Hi folks,
Could any body just tell how to use that mail-in $20 rebate coupon. Do I have to submit a completed coupon and they give me the discount on the purchase price in the store while checking-out or I submit the coupon and wait till I get the $20 cheque by post on the address I have provided in the coupon.
Anybody please post the answer, as the offer is available till 15th of August and I am going to have to make a quick decision.
Thanks….
My Pandigital Novel also locked up on my while reading a book and I had to drain the battery to restart it. The firmware is easy to update. Connect USB cable to computer, cancel dialog that asks to install Android driver, open computer in windows and you will see pandigital device listed, drag abd drop compressed firmware package to Pandigital device icon in computer drive dialog, disonnect USB cable, slide power switch while holding volume + button for 3 seconds until a robot “android” graphic appears on the screen, firmware will uncompress and install in about 2 minutes.
To Pankaj Parasar: you need to fill out a short form supplied by the retailer and include a copy or duplicate of your purchase receipt and mail it in (post marked) before the specified deadline date. You may want to certify the letter at the post office to prove it was recieved by Pandigital but that will cost 2 or 3 dollars. I bought my Pandigital Novel at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and they gave me a second copy of the receipt to be used to mail in for the rebate. The extra receipt said “copy for rebate”. I hope this helps you.
Thanks for the heads up Chris, I was unaware of the August update. Also of note, a newer black version is being released on 8/18/10 (should be at BB&B), will have some hardware differences and different firmware. “The Digitial Reader” website is planning a review at the release date.
To Whitney: Do you happen to know if the new black Pandigital Novel will lighter in weight? The pictures and videos I have seen showing the black model at trade shows it appears to be a bit smaller and thinner, but that might be my imagination. The white model is 1 pound and that is very heavy to hold for extened periods of time to read.
frank – sorry I’m not sure, per the daily reader website, it weighs a little less, has a textured back, a stylus, a slightly raised frame/edge on the front surface, and is a little wide and long. No exact numbers were listed.
@Frank
Thanks Frank.
That was informative.
Thanks Everyone for the possible feedback. I was torn if I should include how to hack the Novel to make it more useful/functional in the review; but I figured it would be best to start with the basics.
The biggest pain I find is the notification bar is sleeping or off unless you put the unit in standby or near off. (when it asks to turn off or cancel) hopefully, when they reveal their source code; they can fix. But you really don’t use the notification bar with the Pandigital launcher… only when you start messing with it.
I have hacked and reapplied firmwares many times without issue.
After downloading the file at the support site at Pandigital, you save it to the external sd card. The toughest part is the “two fingered reset with holding the power switch on while pressing the volume up button for 5 seconds or more. (I forget how long)
But when it is working you have an Android onscreen with a suitcase and a progress bar on the unpacking….
The process is very easy to get going…
I learned how to hack the Novel by the creative coders at http://www.slatedroid.com,
where it was easy to slide-install apps via USB. The hackers there are very friendly, have many faqs on the unit and can talk
to those who are interested, but leary of wrecking it.
http://www.slatedroid.com/pandigital-novel-android-tablet-discussion/
And there are so many android reader programs out there (both free & paid) that make the Novel really useful.
Setcpu has the unit supposedly running at 800mhz
Android comic viewer is very good for viewing cbz (comic book zip files). http://www.goldenagecomics.co.uk is an excellent place for public domain classics. (You might have to convert them from rar-compression but still good)
vudroid is excellent for reading pdfs with a live zoom bar
The “major” ereading software is available for Android and work quite well (Kindle, Kobo & Barnes & Noble).
last.fm/pandora/i heart radio are excellent free apps to listen while you read…
The other goofy item is the rotation is very strange. The novel can handle portrait & landscape, put a one-sided landscape. When hacked it does not seem to like resting on the side where the power outlet is. You can rest it on the other and have the power plugged in and waving from the top. Minor issue, but a weird one.
All in all, a very slightly interesting thing when used normally, but a really cooler thing when using Android 2.1 fully. At the price, you could do worse.
A review on the black Pandigital Novel from Slatedroid…. with video.
http://www.slatedroid.com/pandigital-novel-android-tablet-discussion/3885-i-have-black-novel.html
The Pandigital DOES DEVELOP cracks around edges after 1 month of use. I have witnessed this on 2 Pandigital Novels. This is a definite design flaw, due to the light plastic frame around the glass display. The cracks only get larger it seems.
We received the Novel 9/21/10 and today 9/23/10 the screen locked. Couldn’t even turn it off by holding Power Button for 3 seconds. Nothing happened. I tried to call Pandigital, but they were closed.
I then held the Power On button for about 30 seconds and then it did shut off. I turned it on again and everything seemed to work. Does anyone know why it locked?
#1- Does anyone know if the Novel has automatic Power Off? I believe it goes in Standby when not in use after 5 minutes, but I wonder if it does shut down automatically after certain amount of time.
#2- I loaded a MP4, but when I played it, it did not play in full screen. It was playing in a small box in center of screen. Why?
Can’t we watch it in full screen?
#3-
Changed the firmware to the Android platform using Pandigital’s offering. No Barnes and Noble access, no Google market access. But after a few days digging I added lot and lots of very good apps, easy to add, try and uninstall, even Skype has a lite version for text. With Android 2.0 this little gem is better then a lot of the current offering, most are a lot higer priced then the Novel.
i have one but i dragged and dropped books on to it but i just unplugged book without doing it thru computer, and now it wont boot back up ? how do i get it to turn back on ???
Most problems can be solved by making sure your unit is charged, plus there’s a reset button. The rest of us old hands do formatting and file replacment to as purchased, or last firmware update.
THIS is a horribly SLOW product, and it’s impossible to add music or video. If you don’t ahve long fingernails or a stylus forget it. It tens to freeze up and then jump back to the hoem library when you’re just trying to turn the page. SUPER frustrating.
I purchase a pandigital novel ereader, and bought 4 book fron barnes & noble. They would not let me download one of the book and i can not find out why. I feel that i got rip off by pandigital and barnes & noble.
Is there anyway to download the nook app to the pandigital.
Has anyone figured out how to connect their Novel directly to their Android cell phone?
Lockup, rather then drain the battery, I slid the back off, since you have to do that to change the 1G card. Then unplug the battery wait a few seconds and plug back in. Had the same problems with early Nook’s, quick work around. Nook owners had major problems with last night’s 1.5 upgrade, took me at least 1/2 hour, gave up on Wi-Fi and ended doing a side-load!
hey
im having a problem with my pandigital
when i switch it on it freezes on the ” boot up ” page and wont open till its out of battery 
how can i remove the battery? i cant even shut it down or reset it
thnx
It takes a little bit of effort but is simple, lay the novel on its face on a soft cloth and gently slide the larger case part towards you, you will need to get your finger nails into the slot and provide a steady force to overcome the sticky tape. It will move about 3/16 and adds many new features”s of an inch then you can lift it off, remove the tape residue before you slide it back on. The best thing you can do is to go to the Pandigital website and download the new Android software pack, it will change you view of this device completely. The pack comes with a built in Apps installer and makes the Novel really a pleasure to use. I have downloaded several apps such as a newer keyboard, a radio tuner, better media player, You tube link, Ebay link, Opera , Realplayer to name a few. Here is the link: http://www.pandigital.net/android
The Android platform is neat, however without Goggle Market, or the ability to scan, there was no easy way to re-establish the B & L Library access back to my 2203 e-books, since B & N made no move to offer the app as a download. I re-installed the as purchased firmware. Of course I used & stored additional Micro SD and SD’s the return to the Android platform process would be easy.
Richard, How did you re-install the as purchased firmware? I have been unable to figure out how to make go back to how I purchased it. Please help…
After shut down the device comes back on after several minutes. Its as if it goes into sleep mode and does not fully turn off and will randomly wake up on its own. Anyone seen this happen?
I purchased this a few weeks ago and it was going well with the exception of how many times I have had to hit that reset button cuz the thing locks up or won’t turn on at all. I got an email yesterday saying that I had to install the updated firmware so right before it was done installing the novel shut off & at first I thought it may be a battery issue but I have since fully charged it and it will not turn on at all! I also tried to re-hook it to my computer and my computer wont even recognize it, like it has really just died, waiting for tech support and afraid to take back off in case I have to return it, don’t want to void the warranty. Otherwise its been pretty good.
Got the book in the mail Friday and as of today, Dec. 8th, had to return it to get a new one. Last night after downloading books from the PC it turned off and won’t turn back on. Tried reset, drained battery, recharged. Nothing. Hopefully the new one will work better.
I’ve had the eReader since August. Recently, I am having issues shutting down the eReader. It seems to go into sleep mode and wake up after a few minutes instead of shutting down.
Listen, I came here to read Ruined: A Novel by Paula Morris and it talkes me here? i dont wanna watse maii money on this!!!!!!!!!!!no where can i read ruined!!!!!!!!!1111
My mother bought one of these for my father for Christmas, and asked me to get it ready for him with the books he wants. She went out and bought a Lexar 16GB SDHC to use with it, but the eReader says that the disk is “damaged” even though it is a brand new card. I tried one of my own SDHCs (4GB Kingston) that I have been using in my digital camera, and the eReader said the same thing about it: “damaged SD card.” Any suggestions?
Bekah, I had the same problem with a Lexar 16gb too. What finally worked for me was to turn it off, take the SD card out, turn it back on and let the micro SD card inside read and then go to whatever you want to download, such as photos, go to photos, then put in the Lexar SD card, then it will read and when the box comes up to read the SD, it should work. If not, let me know. It is fussy for some reason if the card is in it when you boot on. I have no idea why.
Also if that doesn’t work, what will work is to go to your Windows Explorer, if you use the PC, and put your files, such as photos, and transfer it over to the ereader which will show up as a drive named pd_novel. Make sure the ereader is hooked up to the PC! Put the files in the appropriate files on your ereader such as photos, put your photos, videos, put your videos, ebooks, put your ebooks. Problem is it is limited to 1gb with the internal micro SD but you can put a higher one in it. Make sure it is the little micro, the regular SD won’t work in it internally. If you aren’t a techie than have someone do it for you. It isn’t very hard but you have to be careful and not break anything. Hope that helps.
Now my question to anyone who knows the answer is the
Pandigital website isn’t very informative on how to use their app installer. How do I download and install apps with their installer or do I need to use a program to push the apps onto it and what do you recommend I use? Will it work with the Pandigital’s Android?
I am hoping Pandigital will upgrade their installer to allow us to download Android apps. I hate that most Android websites want you to use the barcode to install their apps, yeah right! Why can’t they allow downloads to our PCs/Macs and then to the SD card or directly to the SD card? It wouldn’t be hard for them to do that. Thanks for any help!
Where can I find games to download? I bought this for my daughter for Christmas, and would like to have a few games on it before I wrap it, I have searched and searched, can anyone help me? Thanks
Received a new Pandigital for christmas this year. Worked fine and was happy with it for a few days then yesterday (4 days after opening the package) it shut off and will not turn back on. Any suggestions before I return it?
Sharon, I think most likely you will have to flash it with an Android based Open Platform mod to be able to download games. You really have to have some techie skills to get it done otherwise you should probably take it back. It is primarily an ereader that does some basic stuff in its original setting such as a calender, surfing the web (wi-fi), reading books and viewing photos. It wasn’t really designed for many games. It does have solitaire and another game on it. If you know how to flash, you can go over to the http://www.slatedroid.com website and change it to be able to download more games. If she like to read, then it is fantastic for that.
Shannon, Try plugging it into the AC, let it charge and then turn it on. If nothing, try flipping the switch then flip it again and wait and see if it does anything. Also if you have a PC, plug the USB into your PC and go to Windows Explorer and see if you see the drive PD_NOVEL, usually. See if you can see if the micro SD has files on it. If so, chances are it isn’t the card. If not, the card might not be working. You can reset it pushing in the reset button – a very tiny little hole, with a straight pin or something sharp and tiny. This resets it and may get it going if something got messed up on it. Good Luck!
When I hold the off button for 3 sec dont goes off but after a few mins seems to go off. is this the way goes off after a few mins?
Cheryl, no. It should turn a blur after a few seconds and then let the power off slider go. It should then bring up the power off box in the window. Push the power off and off it goes. So hold it until it is a blur and then let go. If not, something is wrong. You shouldn’t have to hold it a few minutes.
i was wonder how to connect the wifi to my internet if my computer dosent show.
Just got this from Santa, good build quality, love that it’s color, and the size is just right. Music, photo slideshow, FB access, all useful perks along with being a fine eREADER. First issue, not sure how to HIGHLIGHT passages, or NOTATE. Enclosed User Guide does not address this (or much of anything for that matter).
Second issue: I’m very pleased with the email feature, though basic, it does everything I need… EXCEPT LOG OUT. Every email account is always logged in, there is simply no option to log out. Or is there, and I have missed it?? It certainly is unsettling knowing that right now, anyone who takes a look at my Novel can skim through my private mail as well! THANKS TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP.
Why cant i watch videos online?everytime i try to, it sends me to a page that says load error or sumthn like that..help? I would really appreciate it
Just got this reader for Christmas. I seem to need to update my firmware, but when I go to Pandigital’s site, and try to update, my computer cannot download the driver, (neither my laptop or desktop – I am running Vista), therefore, I cannot update this. Question is, it was just purchased at Kohls within the last 2 weeks. I would think that all the readers that were recalled would have been returned, and since this was just purchased, it would have the lastest firmware already on it. When I try to do the update, it just says an error has occured with novel.upgrade. I have been trying to use my local library to borrow a book. It downloads it to the reader, but after that I can’t seem to open anything. Also, when I go to Barnes and Noble’s site, I get a choice between 5 different books, and that’s it. Is this an operator error, or do I need to return this?
Thanks!
I just got my pandigital novel. And my grandmother bought a book for me on the barns and nobel site, and it said that the download was successful,but when I went to read it, it said “can’t read. File may be damaged” please, I don’t want my grandma to have wasted her money. What should I do?
I got the e-reader for christmas. I downloaded some of my favorite books, and knda fell asleep with it on. It died on me. I was like ‘No big deal, I’ll just charge it’. Two hours later it still won’t turn on. So I look online and other peope are haveing problems with this too. Unfortunatly, none of them have any solutions. Do you know whats wrong with it?
I just got 2 of these from QVC for Christmas gifts.. One works flawlessly and the other.. we charged it up.. turned it on, set the time/date/etc. and it turned off and now wont turn back on at all?!? My daughter is so upset.. any suggestions other than sending it back?
Brat, for highlights or to use the dictionary as well as taking notes, just go to a book and on any page press your finger onto the page and shortly a box will pop up and give you the option to highlight or take a note. To use the dictionary, press the word on the page you want to look up and shortly the dictionary will pop up. I don’t know about the email since I don’t use it for that.
Until someone lets you know, after you are totally done with email, just go online via your laptop and log out after you are done. I know a hassle but until then at least it will keep prying eyes out. Hopefully someone will chime in soon and give you the answer for that.
Mariela, the videos are probably in another format it won’t recognize. It only recognizes mp4 right now but they update it quite a bit so hopefully soon a new update will add to watching more video formats. You can flash your unit to an open Android platform using Pandigital’s Android open platform download and then download apps that you can then view videos like YouTube, BUT you have to have some techie skills to do it ad it voids your warranty. I don’t recommend a novice doing it. If you have a techie friend, they could do it, or you may be one, but just know it isn’t for any novice to do. Otherwise wait for future updates and even write Pandigital and let them know what you want. Hopefully they will listen to their customers.
I have a Lookbook and I can tell you Pandigital’s Novel is already lightyears ahead of it because Pandigital was smart in using an Android platform and it is just a matter of time before it becomes a really nice unit via updates.
The best way to update is to make sure you have the latest firmware by going to Pandigital’s website and click the download for the latest update and download it to your PC then copy that update to a SD card and make sure nothing else is on the card, just the update which is in a zip format. Do NOT unzip it. Leave it as is and just copy it to your SD card. Make sure your Novel is powered off and put the SD card into the slot. Turn the Novel on by pressing in the Volume + button and the power on slider and hold for a few seconds, like around 5 to 10 seconds and it should then go to a screen with an Android robot and a bar showing the update progression. After the update it will restart and you now have the latest update. If it needs another update after that one, it will update when you go online via wi-fi, otherwise you got the lastest update and are good to go. Hope this helps.
I just got One of these ebooks for christmas,and I tried to download when music on it but it wont let me it says that it took up room on my laptop but when Iil tried to find it on here i couldnt same with pictures?
Just got one of these for Christmas and seems good so far with everything except the ability to actually READ the book I purchased. Managed to download it and its sitting in my libraray but when i tap on the book an error message pops up that says “unable to open this book” Anyone know why???
I am having exactly the same problem. Been on hold for 45 mins waiting for solution with B&N tech support. Please help
The problem resolved itself after another cycle of complete charging.. Oh and the latest ones DO NOT have a reset button. It seems to be working as it should now, but I’m glad it has a 1 year warranty on it. Oh and to the person who wants to watch video, it won’t do streaming media, your video needs to be saved to an SD card.
same problem here, cant read the book i bought from B&N. sounds like its due to this unit not having the B&N Nook app, and there doesnt appear to be any way to download it. ive been tryin to figure it out since christmas morning, and ive gotten nowhere. cant get through to tech support @ B&N either.
just got my first book unlocked. went to the B&N app, my account, and signed out. signed back in and the book opened. wierd
For those having problems this might help as I was having problems. Bought from qvc, spent several days setting up music, photos, facebook, email, etc. Today, 12/26 paid for and downloaded one book from B&N. Downloaded ok but when trying to read would say this is copyrighted material & to contact B&N. Was on hold for 45 min. Customer service says they are getting a lot of calls about this reader, especially the purple one. Don’t really know what difference this makes, but after going over a few things, she had me to go into settings and reset to factory settings. After this everything works fine, book is readable now. Only downside is you lose all photos, videos, settings for facebook and mail. So the reader is working fine now but have to reload everything I had before. Bought for wife and she loves it, hope I don’t have to go thru the reset thing again. It’s my understanding that firmware updates delete everything also. Kinda dumb if you ask me, get the latest updates and lose stuff you’ve worked hard to put on. If any of you do reset, it will take 5 min or more for unit to boot back up afterwards. After that will be normal boot time.
Now I have ANOTHER problem. I went to go try learjet’s idea, but the book isn’t even there! I have no idea where it is. What happened?
Ok, found it. I had put it in my archives for some reason. And learjet, your idea worked! Thank you. Where can you get an SD card?
Correction from earlier post. After resetting I did not lose pictures, music. I did lose email settings and facebook, but no big deal. The way customer service stated it I would lose everything, or I missunderstood. I do have a problem setting up wifes email account which is thru roadrunner, says can’t connect to server. Anyone know fix for this? Gmail, yahoo email work fine.
When I download books from B&N it does not load teh book cover with it. They are just plain blue with the title printed on it. When I did one the first time, it worked. Ever since then, it has not. I know it might be silly but I like the covers to show.
Thanks to anyone that can help.
try the sign out, and sign back in trick kelly
Thanks learjet.
I can open the book but the covers for the books still don’t show up. I didn’t know if anyone else had that problem or not. I did a factory reset but it didn’t change anything. If you know the answer to that one, that would be wonderful.
Thanks,
Kelly
I just got the Pandigital for Christmas and can not download anything.
Those of you having problems and questions may be able to find some help in the forums at MobileRead. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/
I believe the Pandigital reader is discussed in the Alternative Devices and the More eBook Readers sections of the forums.
Hi, I got my pandigital for Christmas and i bought a book on Christmas and it took a while for me to get the book in my library but i guess it finally popped up. But now i bought another book and it says i bought it on my account but it wont show up anywhere. Not im my library or nothing. I have shut it down and then turned it back on but nothing seems to be working. My book will NOT show up. All i want to do is read my book.
Somebody help me please!
ohh and the other book i bought, i bought it todayy.
I had bought the pandigital novel just a few days ago and i was wondering if there was anyway to lock the novel so no one would be able to access the pandigital novel unless they had known the passcode?
thanks:)
I love the pandigital novel, the only two problems I’ve had with it is that:
1. When I shut it down a few minutes later it will turn back on like I never shut it down.
2. It won’t charge when it’s on which is a problem because it won’t stay shut off….
Lexx
Press and hold power button, confirmation will come on screen that it’s turning off. Not supposed to charge with it on, turn it off then charge. If you’re doing all this anyway, then sounds like bad unit.
Nightfox,
I hold the power button until the confirmation box pops up and then I select the “shut down” option and then it shuts down, but it’ll still turn back on.
and I know I’m not supposed to charge with it on…
what I’m saying is that it won’t stay off, it turns on even when charging which makes it hard to charge.
I’m so annoyed with it, blah.
Lexx,
I would call customer service. I called today and was only on hold maybe 5 min. Fellow I talked to was very friendly, helpful. Here is number if you don’t have it. I would do a factory reset to see if that helps.
Phone: (800) 715-5354
Hours Of Operation
Monday – Friday: 10:00am – 7:00pm Eastern Standard Time
Saturday: 10:00am – 4:00pm Eastern Standard Time
My mom got one for Christmas and i had her leave the unit plugged in while she was using it. Are you telling me that you can’t have the unit plugged in at all when you are using it?
Secondly, is there a way to re-arrange the icons on the home page so, for example, the games icon can be on the first page of the launcher? thanks
i got my e-reader but i cant connect the WIFI i went to networks and it showed me other computers but out of all of them i cant find mine i been trying for a while now. does anybody knoe how to connect it.
if so
-thank you
I’m just wondering, is there a forum or website to help with the purple pandigital? I want to play games and other stuff on it. From what I’ve read, the black and white ones have a game icon. Do I have to download something in order to play games?
Pam, sure you can leave it plugged in with the AC while you use it.
Lauren, I wasn’t aware the Novel came in purple. I thought it only came in black or white. Are you sure you don’t have a skin over it? If it is purple, that is the first I heard of it.
No, its purple. And I can’t find any info on them…
lauren
My wife also has the purple and as far as I know there are no games on it and really no info. Rep at company says main difference is purple has search area at top of screen.
Koko– The color pandigital comes in black, white, purple and red
grrrrrr, how weird is this, i read all these posts last night and was saying i have no problems with the one I got my 83 yr. old mom for Christmas at HHgregg (white one). Welllllll, today she tried to turn it off and it wouldn’t go off. So i had to reset it to get it to turn off. If they don’t fix this problem they are going to have a lot of mad people returning these. The sad thing is she really likes it and was disappointed if I have to return it.
has anyone played the game link up and it stay at level one and stay there even if you win
Wow. I am glad to know they come in other colors. I can only find white or black at my Bed Bath and Beyond and would have liked a red one. The white one is rather generic, but I got it since the tekkies say the white one is the one to buy. Anyway, nice to know they have gone beyond the black and white.
Hi, I have been trying to complete the firmware update, get to the point where I have to hold the + and power button at the same time – but it does not boot back up – or show the progress of the upgrade..can anyone help
I got a pandigital reader for christmas and also just ordered a wireless router. I am trying to download a book that I checked out from my library that I loaded onto adobe ebook program on to my reader from my computer. Is this possible? I know that it must be but I need simple steps to do this? Do I need wi fi enabled also? I was wondering if I need to transfer to a card first? Customer service was not helpful at all and most the time I get a call back messege.
Thanks
Kim Hooper
Yes, I played the game “link up” and it stays at level one and the score goes back to 0. I tried to find the game online but no luck! Any ideas out there or is it just not working.
Di, are you making sure the Novel is shut totally off first then hold the power + and power on at the same time for about 5 to 10 seconds and let go and it should take you to the little robot and progress bar.
Kim, I do think you have to have wifi enabled to get it to download and make sure your PC is broadcasting the SSID. Also an account with Adobe is a must but I am sure you already know that, but for those who don’t, you have to have an Adobe account to download library books. Here is a link for more on setting up wifi. Also any tekkie questions are best answered at that website I have given since these guys know a lot about computers so you stand a better shot at getting a right answer. Hope that helps!
http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php?topic=12947.0
For info on the Novel with a library set up, this is a good answer:
http://www.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101225152955AA8LRW7
Make sure the long link above for the library question is copied and pasted in the address bar since it is all one link including the long alpha-numbers.
I meant to say Volume + and not power + on the answer about pressing the Volume + and power buttons at the same time.
I bought Pandigital for my daughter and she tried to download from Nook. I tried to download it and it said Nook was downloaded. How to I bring it up now that it’s downloaded. Can’t find it.
Please help…..
I rec the Pandigital 7″ color Multimedia Reader (Black model) for my birthday; I was so excited! Attempted to update Firmware as indicated, auto detect Serial Number was coming up with completely different number compared to packaging so I double checked SN on unit which matched packaging SN. I attempted to call Tech Sup they had a recorded msg – “we are experiencing high volume of calls and are unable to assist you now” I went to website sent email to tech support on 12/29, I received auto response back immediately that indicated I would get response within 3 business days – still waiting. The response on this unit was super sluggish – had to swipe numerous times for recognition. Unable to setup any emails – unsuccessful for comcast, live & MS exchange accounts. I actually returned the unit & purchased the Nook Color – thrilled with my new purchase!
Kim – I also borrowed an ebook from my library. You need to download the Adobe interface onto your home computer or laptop. Your library should have the instructions about installing the Adobe software (different than the Adobe PDF software we all have on our computers for reading PDF files). Then you plug your PanDigital with the USB into your computer and the Adobe software on your computer will “read” the e-reader like another device and you can just drag your book right onto to device icon and it will be in your PanDigital Novel. Worked like a charm for me.
How do you download e-books?! I tried and everything seemed to go ok but I can’t find it in my library. Is their a NOOK Library?
Please Help!
Rachel, do you mean e-books you buy from B&N, or the public library, or e-books you already have on your computer? It depends on which ones you are wanting to download. The manual explains it really well. Go on the Pandigital website and download their latest manual. It shows how to download library books, B&N books and for your e-books on your computer, just use Windows Explorer and copy and paste your ebooks to your SD card on your Novel via the USB cable. When you are in your reader just import the ebooks using the import button. Click on books and it will download your ebooks to your Novel from your SD card. But you can also just put your e-books on your SD card and when it reads the SD card, your books should show up and you can just read them via the SD card. So either way works. It might be a little quicker when you import the books to your Novel but that is about it.
Hello,
My Pandigital Novel does not include games in the menu bar as well as a few others. Also it is very irritating that when you go to webpages it is not fullscreen and I don’t know if you can fix this. It is very difficult to turn pages and go to a specific page. And when I try to purchase a book in B&N on the pandigital, the actual buttons aren’t visible so you have to take a guess at where they are and click all over the screen searching for the “purchase” and “confirm purchase” buttons! How annoying! Is anyone else having these troubles or is mine defective?
Michelle, you can convert it to an open platform Android tablet by downloading the Android Open Platform on Pandigital’s website and putting it on an SD card then follow the instructions from the website. It will turn it into an Android tablet where you can download games, apps and put whatever reader you want on it like Kobo or Google readers as well as others so you aren’t stuck with the limited apps and menu of the Novel you have now.
What does the white upright rectangular box with an exclamation next to it – in the upper left corner of the Pandigital indicate?
My pandigital restarts after a few minutes, all by itself it’s been shut down. Is this a common problem? or is it how this reader works?
I downloaded the android platform and installed it, but now I can’t figure out how to install apps. I failed to realize that this doesn’t come with the Android Market APP, so even Appbrain does me no good. Is there a simple way to find and download apps to the tablet? Oh, and I have the white novel.
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