Pandigital Novel e-reader hacked, now works as a tablet

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Looking for an inexpensive readily-available Android tablet? Let me introduce to you the Pandigital Novel e-reader... erm... tablet. Pandigital made the wise choice to use Android as its system base, which was a pleasant surprise to the hacking community. And although originally intended to be an e-reader, the Novel has now been rooted/hacked to be a standard Android tablet. Specifically, the Novel can run "Vanilla-style" Android and third-party apps!

What do I mean by vanilla-style? Well, simply put, this is accomplished by running a home replacement (original one used for the demo was Panda, but I presume you can use any home replacement now). What's running isn't pure "vanilla" Android, because this would require a custom recovery and custom ROM to be installed on the Novel. Although rooting has been achieved, the community is having a hard time getting past that pesky bootloader, and as such, custom recoveries and custom ROMs are currently unavailable. On the other hand, the good news is that the Novel's Android base is 2.0 (original Motorola Droid users may remember this), so you're not stuck with archaic software, like 1.5 or 1.6.

And what about the technical specs? The Novel sports an ARM11 processor, 7" LCD Resistive screen, 800x600 resolution, WiFi connectivity, 1GB storage, SD/MMC slot (up to 32gb storage), and up to six hours battery life. Not too shabby for a tablet. So what about the price? The Novel retails for $199, but you'll be able to snag one of these as low as $129.99. However, from a quick Google search, the cheapest available now is from Bed, Bath and Beyond (for $169.99).

Hacking the Novel is not for the faint at heart, but those of you with Android/ADB/Linux background should have no trouble. Here's a nice walkthrough (w/ video) on how to root and hack your Novel: Hacking the Pandigital Novel (video) | The Digital Reader

Also, helpful to check out SlateDroid.com for access to the strongest Novel community out there. They need as many hands as they can get to fully hack this tablet!

 

I wonder if this will be better that getting one of the new 2.1 tablets. What do you guys recommend.

 

If you can get it for less than $150 or so, then i would go with this one. it depends what you're looking to do. also, there really aren't any other mainstream Android tablets available, aside from the Archos 7. You may be waiting awhile before you see a true Android 2.1 tablet.

 

Bed Bath & Beyond sells it for $169.99 but you can get a 20% off coupon from their website by signing up, and there is a $20 mail in rebate until Aug 1st... Seems most stores have a bunch in stock.

Also, can we get a Pandigital Novel section, since it is one of the few REAL Android tablets you can actually buy in a store

CPG

 

They do not have 3G. I wish the bloggers would stop saying this already. It has WiFi only.

 

I stop by the local stored in Cary, NC and they had a bunch of Novel, I was tempted to buy one $149 after rebate and I could also get 20% off with a coupon but I waiting to see what dell will have with their Dell Streak.

 

The Dell Streak is only a 5" diag screen. Too small to be useful as an eReader or comfortable movie viewing.

 

You might want to check on that spec. I'm pretty sure the Novel does not have AT&T 3G capabilities.

I've done the hack and it is very nice because you get a dual boot experience with a choice of your replacement home screen or the Pandigital home screen at every boot. Aldiko and Kindle apps run very well. No luck with the beta Audible app yet, but I am hoping for success with future versions.

Chris

 

Last week I've returned this one after using it for 2 weeks. It might be ok for the e-reader but very unstable for the android tablet that maybe I was not so lucky to have a defect one which I can't tell. I better wait for a stable one from reliable manufacturers as hp, cisco, dell, samsung, and lg plan to go into this android tablet market.

 

Went to Kohls and they are now running 249.99 so I went ahead and bought the 10.2inch screen 1ghz Android 2.1 tablet for the same price.
merimobiles has them with 1 year warranty's.

 

Well, its still $169 at Bed Bath & Beyond.. With 20% coupon, and $20 mail in rebate, you get it around $120.00..

Which 10 in device did you order?

 

removed 3G from original post. thanks for the heads up!

also, what 10in tablet did you buy, Laharl?

 

Looks nice though! Different than all the black ones we see.

 

anyone know what the base ram is on this device? sites like fatwallet and slickdeals have ways to get this tablet as low as 65 bucks!

 

Oh if only somehow, the universe would find it in it's infinite wisdom to make the black Pandigital Novel in a a tablet as well. Running Android 1.5 is tough for modding. BUt good work to all who have contributed on getting the white one tp a newer and higher level!