Pandigital "Novel" eReader

From Twice:

[Pandigital] said it has reached a deal with national book retailer Barnes & Noble to supply e-books and other electronically published content for a full-color, multimedia e-reader called the Pandigital Novel, model PRD07T10WWH7. It is set to ship in June at a $199 suggested retail, through retailers including Kohl's; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Macy's; and other leading retail accounts, the company said. Panadigital expects to reach 33,000 storefronts with the product by the fall.

The Novel shares many of the characteristics of Apple's iPad, which recently launched to great acclaim, including a full-color touchscreen LCD (800 by 600 resolution), the ability to use multiple apps for a variety of applications, and such multimedia capabilities as playing digital photos, music and some video content (at launch the device will not support Flash-based video).

Unlike the Apple product, however, the first iteration of the Novel features a smaller 7-inch screen and runs on Google's Android software platform, which will run some of that system's non-cellphone-specific apps.

Recognizing that access to content was paramount to a successful launch, the company reached an agreement with the Barnes & Noble eBook Store to provide purchasers access to e-book content. The Novel will support a variety of e-book file formats, including EPUB, HTML and PDF. A majority of the titles from Barnes & Noble are expected to be offered in EPUB.

The Novel includes Wi-Fi connectivity to access content online directly through the device. ...