This review is from: Pandigital Multimedia Novel 7 Android Multimedia eReader & Color Tablet – OPEN BOX (Electronics)
PLEASE SEE MY UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF REVIEW!
I received this an Xmas gift and I couldn’t be happier with it. Great for surfing and as an ereader. Also ‘customizable’ or ‘unlockable’ by googling to find out how. To me it isn’t slow like other people have complained. It has Samsung 800 Mhz ARM processor. Browses very nice. Wifi also not a problem for me. I have two story townhouse and it works great upstairs. A wireless network is only as good as it’s access point. I use a D-link 625 which is the best router that I have ever owned. If the signal isn’t good, this thing will crawl when browsing. Something not so noticeable with my netbook when just bringing up one page.
Pros: cheap, battery life is superb (lasts twice as long under usage than my netbook with 6 cell battery), light (weighs half as much as ipad), browses nice, runs Android, great book reader, screen is also pretty nice and responsive considering that it’s resistive, also plays video and audio but, not the greatest.
Cons: android 1.5 so not so many programs available, screen resolution not great, audio very tinny, resistive screen, screen rotation kinda slow, won’t sync with my yahoo account, will not acknowledge my phone’s mobile wifi router even though the encryption is supported.
All said and done, I love this thing and browse on it while I’m playing games or watching TV despite the fact that have an Asus UMPC laptop and an acer netbook. It is definitely worth the money in my book. I never bought one because of all the negative reviews. I’m glad that I got as a gift and had I known that it’s actually decent, I would’ve bought in a heartbeat.
UPDATE: It completely died on me after just 3 weeks. Although I liked it when it was living, I elected to just get refund. I then took the money and got a Nook Color and rooted it. Yes, it costs a lot more but; the nook color is a mustang where the novel is but a pinto. As a reader, this might be the better choice (lighter, better batt life, etc.) but, the nook is by far a better tablet. Check out my review on it as well.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Pandigital Multimedia Novel 7 Android Multimedia eReader & Color Tablet – OPEN BOX (Electronics)
I also got this for Christmas, and I am really enjoying it now that I’ve worked through a few issues. Not being familiar with it, I initially just thought it was just another ereader competing with the Nook and Kindle. Well its not. Not at all. Nor is it meant to be an Ipad as I have read others comparing it to. It’s a unique product that can’t be judged by any of those other devices. Once I discovered everything this little puppy could do I was really impressed, especially given its price.
Getting it up and running initially with my WiFi, email, and Barnes & Noble account was pretty simple and problem free. Using the SD slot it was also easy to add my music play lists and some photos. The screen looked great, loved that everything was in color, and the unit even came with a stylus built-in. Awesome! But here was the problem: when it came to actually reading books or surfing the web I found the touch screen to be a pain. It took several swipes to turn the pages while reading, and surfing the web was frustrating because I couldn’t avoid clicking on every link when trying to scroll. Adding to this, the unit was pretty slow.
At first I just accepted the quirks as being native to an inexpensive product trying to do way too much. However, once I did a little investigating I learned that I needed to download the firmware from Pandigital’s website. At first this didn’t work so well because the website apparently can’t handle a lot of traffic and was being overrun during Christmas – a very popular gift apparently. No matter what I did the firmware wouldn’t take. Then I started reading about the Android operating system, Android apps, and came across some videos showing how others, much more tech savvy than me, were using it. I went back to the Pandigital website and noticed they offered a download to unlock the Android operating system. I tried it. It worked. Afterwards, I tried the Pandigital firmware again, and that worked too now. However, I prefer using it with the Android download because it allows you to use better apps. Either way though, the system is incredibly faster and I have no problems at all with the touch screen.
As mentioned by another reviewer, version 1.5 has some limitations in terms of the apps that will work with it, but there are still plenty for my tastes. I can now watch YouTube videos, I have a choice of a couple of feature rich web browsers (such as Opera Mini), and I am also using multiple ereader programs and formats which provide easy access to tons of free ebooks and also allows me to purchase from vendors other than just Barnes & Noble. I love, love, love it! It works perfectly.
All that said, I do think it’s unfortunate for anyone to have to go through all the trouble in order to optimize this product. I was almost to the point of returning it. Yet, now that I know how it actually works it truly functions beyond my wildest expectations. You’d have to pry it from my cold dead hands to get it away from me. It’s that good, and frankly, there’s really nothing else on the market quite like, especially in terms of value.
If you want to listen to music on it, headphones are a must. I would also recommend a nice case for it. I actually bought a leather “flip case/stand” that was designed for the Nook. It doesn’t fit perfectly but still works very well. I like it much better than all the neoprene cases.
Lastly, I want to add that although their website says downloading the Android firmware will void your warranty, when I called the support line they insisted that it does not. In fact, they are going over to it completely due to customer demand. So, don’t be afraid to use it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Authors bio is coming up shortly. 
It’s no Ipad but, it’s a LOT cheaper. very nice for the $.,
PLEASE SEE MY UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF REVIEW!
I received this an Xmas gift and I couldn’t be happier with it. Great for surfing and as an ereader. Also ‘customizable’ or ‘unlockable’ by googling to find out how. To me it isn’t slow like other people have complained. It has Samsung 800 Mhz ARM processor. Browses very nice. Wifi also not a problem for me. I have two story townhouse and it works great upstairs. A wireless network is only as good as it’s access point. I use a D-link 625 which is the best router that I have ever owned. If the signal isn’t good, this thing will crawl when browsing. Something not so noticeable with my netbook when just bringing up one page.
Pros:
cheap, battery life is superb (lasts twice as long under usage than my netbook with 6 cell battery), light (weighs half as much as ipad), browses nice, runs Android, great book reader, screen is also pretty nice and responsive considering that it’s resistive, also plays video and audio but, not the greatest.
Cons:
android 1.5 so not so many programs available, screen resolution not great, audio very tinny, resistive screen, screen rotation kinda slow, won’t sync with my yahoo account, will not acknowledge my phone’s mobile wifi router even though the encryption is supported.
All said and done, I love this thing and browse on it while I’m playing games or watching TV despite the fact that have an Asus UMPC laptop and an acer netbook. It is definitely worth the money in my book. I never bought one because of all the negative reviews. I’m glad that I got as a gift and had I known that it’s actually decent, I would’ve bought in a heartbeat.
UPDATE: It completely died on me after just 3 weeks. Although I liked it when it was living, I elected to just get refund. I then took the money and got a Nook Color and rooted it. Yes, it costs a lot more but; the nook color is a mustang where the novel is but a pinto. As a reader, this might be the better choice (lighter, better batt life, etc.) but, the nook is by far a better tablet. Check out my review on it as well.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Nothing else quite like it!,
I also got this for Christmas, and I am really enjoying it now that I’ve worked through a few issues. Not being familiar with it, I initially just thought it was just another ereader competing with the Nook and Kindle. Well its not. Not at all. Nor is it meant to be an Ipad as I have read others comparing it to. It’s a unique product that can’t be judged by any of those other devices. Once I discovered everything this little puppy could do I was really impressed, especially given its price.
Getting it up and running initially with my WiFi, email, and Barnes & Noble account was pretty simple and problem free. Using the SD slot it was also easy to add my music play lists and some photos. The screen looked great, loved that everything was in color, and the unit even came with a stylus built-in. Awesome! But here was the problem: when it came to actually reading books or surfing the web I found the touch screen to be a pain. It took several swipes to turn the pages while reading, and surfing the web was frustrating because I couldn’t avoid clicking on every link when trying to scroll. Adding to this, the unit was pretty slow.
At first I just accepted the quirks as being native to an inexpensive product trying to do way too much. However, once I did a little investigating I learned that I needed to download the firmware from Pandigital’s website. At first this didn’t work so well because the website apparently can’t handle a lot of traffic and was being overrun during Christmas – a very popular gift apparently. No matter what I did the firmware wouldn’t take. Then I started reading about the Android operating system, Android apps, and came across some videos showing how others, much more tech savvy than me, were using it. I went back to the Pandigital website and noticed they offered a download to unlock the Android operating system. I tried it. It worked. Afterwards, I tried the Pandigital firmware again, and that worked too now. However, I prefer using it with the Android download because it allows you to use better apps. Either way though, the system is incredibly faster and I have no problems at all with the touch screen.
As mentioned by another reviewer, version 1.5 has some limitations in terms of the apps that will work with it, but there are still plenty for my tastes. I can now watch YouTube videos, I have a choice of a couple of feature rich web browsers (such as Opera Mini), and I am also using multiple ereader programs and formats which provide easy access to tons of free ebooks and also allows me to purchase from vendors other than just Barnes & Noble. I love, love, love it! It works perfectly.
All that said, I do think it’s unfortunate for anyone to have to go through all the trouble in order to optimize this product. I was almost to the point of returning it. Yet, now that I know how it actually works it truly functions beyond my wildest expectations. You’d have to pry it from my cold dead hands to get it away from me. It’s that good, and frankly, there’s really nothing else on the market quite like, especially in terms of value.
If you want to listen to music on it, headphones are a must. I would also recommend a nice case for it. I actually bought a leather “flip case/stand” that was designed for the Nook. It doesn’t fit perfectly but still works very well. I like it much better than all the neoprene cases.
Lastly, I want to add that although their website says downloading the Android firmware will void your warranty, when I called the support line they insisted that it does not. In fact, they are going over to it completely due to customer demand. So, don’t be afraid to use it.
Was this review helpful to you?
|