Sure, Pandigital's Novel may be delayed until next month because of some firmware issues -- and we haven't heard the most positive things about the 7-inch LCD based e-reader / tablet -- but we had to check it out for ourselves. At $149, the all-plastic reader isn't going to win any build quality awards (it's also rather heavy for what it is), but the Android 2.1-powered gadget does have a pretty attractive user interface. In use, however, the resistive screen had to be pressed quite firmly to make selections and the software was noticeably sluggish. Surprisingly, the device did play a standard definition video smoothly and it has an accelerometer -- which is more than the Archos 7 Home Tablet can brag. Barnes & Noble's Android app will be preloaded, and it also has a skinned Android browser of some sort. ... you've got the picture here: the Novel isn't what we'd call novel, you just get what you pay for.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Bottom Line: Pandigital's "Novel" Will Be - In Fact, Already IS - Dead on Arrival
Endgadget's Joanna Stern seems not impressed at all. To this I'll add the simple fact that for the same money readers can get the Nook WiFi. Stern:
