Bottom Line at the top: Probably skip this one, but it’s a decent effort…
When I first anticipating writing this review I was anticipating a glowing review of how I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond with my 20% coupon in hand, picked up this $220 e-reader for $180 with a $20 rebate, making it overall about the same price as a Nook or Kindle, but being able to do both, and more than a Nook Color.
But then I started using it, and after a few days I noticed that I… wasn’t using it. But we’ll get to that.
Pandigital has a few ‘Novel’ e-readers out there, the most popular of which are their 7” ‘white’ models, which have a screen more like the format of a tablet (or iPad, if your thinking is that limited), but smaller. The problem is that it is running Android as it’s OS, which was created for phones displaying 480×800, so a community of ‘hackers’ has cropped up, as well as, in a surprising move, Pandigital releasing an ‘unlocked’ firmware for the device (firmware on a device is the operating system, much like Windows or MacOS is on your PC).
The Pandigital 9”, however, has two advantages right out of the gate- it’s at the native 480×800 resolution, and is essentially unlocked. For someone like me, that’s great- but for most people this isn’t going to make any difference because trying to figure out how to ‘side-load’ an application isn’t practical. Again, this is mostly fine because this is sold as an e-Reader. The front-of-the-box feature is that this unit has a ‘bookshelf’ application that logs into the Barnes and Noble store, allowing you to read your ‘Nook’ collection on this device. I was very excited to find that unlike the Nook for Android application (at the time of this writing), this storefront also allowed the sync, reading and organization of periodicals- which for me is probably the primary reason I want an e-reader. [NOTE- Barnes and Noble needs to do a much better job with their periodicals, because a good majority of them are only compatible with the Nook Color but the site will allow you to subscribe without a confirmation. You’ll only get a cryptic error and that vein bulging on your head. But that brings me to a second issue (one likely to be solved with software updates down the road) with the Adobe Reader software that is actually used to view these periodicals (and books). For reasons that escape me, images show up looking more like an airport scanner image than the actual picture. It’s disorienting to say the least, and when the article references a picture- you’re going to be lost. As I found later, this is a software problem- as the same articles showed up fine in the aftermarket Alikdo Reader.]
My elation quickly turned southward, however as on my very first usage of the unit (on the train to downtown Chicago, about an hour ride), I found I was having trouble holding the unit comfortably. Though there are forward and back buttons on the bottom of the device for advancing pages, I found myself more often using my thumbs to touch the screen to advance. This caused my second observation, that indeed I got what I pad for with the screen; it’s absolutely not smudge proof and light from above shines like a prism thru your fingerprints. Sigh. I suppose with the right screen protector this could be avoided, and because it’s passive touch you have much more choices than the typical capacitive touch screen. And there’s always the built-in stylus. But I digress- the bigger problem was the comfort. After about 20 minutes I ended up propping up a leg so I could hold it up- much as iPad users have complained. Another likely complaint about a passive-touch screen is that you will not have the multi-touch ability such as two-finger zooming, etc.
The unit sat in my backpack the rest of the trip for the most part, and I finally took it back out about a week ago- only to find that I could no longer synchronize my library to get periodical updates. A cryptic error was frustrating, but the fact that at this time I have still not heard from support is even more frustrating. Granted this could have been an issue with Barnes and Noble but not hearing anything back is unacceptable. Pandigital is, according to their website, training an additional 150 call center staff to handle this overload but it’s still a ding. The unit sat untouched for several more days.
Yesterday I decided it was time to really put this thing thru it’s paces. Since it’s running Android and I know just enough to be dangerous, I ‘rooted’ the phone (which I found I didn’t need to do) and used a nice little trick to load applications: If you have an Android phone already, good backup programs or utilities like Astro File Manager will allow you to backup your programs to an SD card. So, I backed up 10 or so apps to the card, put it in the Novel and voila! About 8 of the 10 worked perfectly- including the most important three- Nook for Android, Kindle for Android and the Aldiko Reader. Other apps I would use on the couch such as the NFL Mobile, TV Guide, Facebook and Mint worked fine. I loaded the Citrix Receiver but did not actually get a chance to test it- my guess is it’d have worked just fine; making this a solid possibility for working from the couch. I’ve also seen it’s possible with even more hackery to get the Android Marketplace to run, though I can’t say I recommend that. Pandigital will support loading .apk files (setup files for the Android OS) but not a market.
Happy, synced and ready to do some reading, I laid in bed to compare the three readers before bed. As an aside the Aldiko reader was the best, IMHO, though I did find the Kindle to perform best on this unit. The Nook reader was flashy but the lower-end processor in the Novel didn’t look as natural as it does on my Droid.
I soon became quite unhappy, unfortunately, as my hands began to cramp and my eyes began to strain against the harsh light of the screen (brightness adjusts automatically, but even at the lowest setting with black background, white text it was too much for reading in the dark). I very quickly found myself concentrating more on how to get a comfortable position then on the story I was reading. As a point of comparison I even turned back to my Droid and continued reading there (oh- by the way, Kindle whispersync did NOT work, even though the Nook picked up on the very sentence I’d left), to find again that holding a device that is too small is equally uncomfortable.
So, after I finish this review, I’ll be returning to Bed Bath and Beyond to inquire about a refund- my needs were of a reader more than a tablet- and this unit, though flexible and very affordable- is just too heavy.
Ovearall there was a lot about it I liked- the familiar Android interface, screen orientation changes, etc- but no bluetooth, camera and of course only Wi-Fi as a connection option. Until later this year when Google releases the new Android Tablet OS, Android has several references to phone features that can be a tad confusing to the non-technical.
Bottom line at the middle:
If you’re looking for a cheap tablet to keep by the couch or in a backpack for occasional use- this is a great option, provided you’re willing to learn a bit about how to load applications and such. If you’re looking for a strict reader, it seems to me the Nook is still your best option, though Nook Color is also based on Android- though considerably more locked down than the Novel. As a lightweight and capable tablet alternative to the iPad… forget it. Wait a few weeks; with CES happening in a few days and the tablet market set to explode this year, I’m confident we’ll see full-featured tablets being much more competitive than what is currently available.
Mostly this unit was purchased as a gift, not surprising given it’s primary markets of BB&B, QVC, Kohl’s and Radio Shack. That is why their support is overwhelmed- as this device is not ready for the non-technical public. It’s manual and website are not very well put together (in fact the first instruction is to load new firmware from their website, but even I almost loaded firmware that would have made this a 20.5 oz paperweight. I can virtually guarantee it’s the bulk of their issue right now). For the price, however- it’s very capable and probably appropriate for the hobbyist looking for a tablet okay to break.
When these issues are resolved, however- this will be a good affordable option for getting books from the library- a trend that is increasing and, I might add, not possible with the Kindle (everything else is fine, just not the Kindle). In fact the OverDrive application most commonly used has a link to the .apk file, making it very easy to install the application to this device without having to use the ‘market’ for the app.
Pros:
Cheap (mostly I mean affordable, but also cheap), Android Eclair OS is very ‘hackable’, passive touch is a plus for women with long nails or people wearing gloves. Built-in Barnes and Noble storefront. Much more flexible options that readers at this pricepoint.
Cons:
Cheap-feeling plastic construction, slow, screen easily marks with fingerprints and very poor on reflections. Heavy at 20.5 ounces- bedtime reading limited to about 10 min comfortably. Support is virtually non-existent. No Android Marketplace. Touchscreen is less accurate than others, no multi-touch, lighting is inconsistent. No built-in Amazon storefront, Acrobat e-reader performs horribly. Non-replaceable battery is sure to plague anyone using this unit daily.
Vital Stats: (http://www.pandigital.net/search.asp?Mode=Product&TypeID=43&ProductID=440)
General
Screen Size 9”
Panel Digital TFT LCD
Resolution 480 x 800 pixels
Operating System Android
Dimensions 5.75 x 9.5 x .05 inches
Weight 20.5 oz
Supported Formats
eBooks EPUB, PDF
Audio MP3, AAC, WAV
Images JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
Video MPEG4
Storage
Internal Memory 2GB
Card Reader 2-in-1
Expandable Memory SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC+ up to 32GB
User Interface
Virtual Full touchscreen / Virtual Keyboard
Tactile Volume Up/Down, Power On/Off, Back/Home/Menu/Forward
Connections
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
USB Port 1x mini-USB 2.0
Headphone Jack stereo mini headphone connector
Power
Battery Built-in rechargeable Li-ion (AC adapter included)
Compatibility
Menu Languages English, French, Spanish
Operating System Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X
Compliance and Warranty
Certifications FCC, CE, UL
Compliance RoHS, WEEE, CARB
Warranty 1-year
