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This month a new electronic book reader reaches the market – Pandigital Novel. This 7 in colour touchscreen device is positioned as a e-book reader combined with Internet tablet. Such interesting all-purpose gadget will cost $160 – $200 that makes it one of the most awaited products in this category.

Pandigital aimed to create a functional but affordable e-book reader with access to Internet, so that user would be able to do both reading and web browsing using one single device. Moreover, it runs on Android OS, features powerful processor and big TFT touch screen. Isn’t this too much for a budget of $160? Let’s see what Pandigital Novel hides inside.

First Glance

The design of this tablet-reader leaves nice impressions, having no hardware buttons on the front panel. Thanks to this it has very modern look, featuring big touchscreen that occupies the whole front panel. The frame around the screen is not wide, it seems that the designers filled all gadget size with functionality, leaving no free, unnecessary space as it often happens with e-readers. The body is made of plastic. As for a portable e-reader it looks rather big. It is not comfortable to hold it in one hand for a long time due to big size and rather heavy weight (about 450 grams). It is much better to hold it on the knees or some other surface, like it usually done with Internet tablets.

The attempt to combine two devices in one always implies sacrifices in ergonomics, especially in budget product category. Pandigital designers tried to minimize this inconvenience, but it is still noticeable. Reading books on 7 in display is very comfortable, but it is impossible to make such device lightweight without applying high-end technologies that cost a lot. So a big weight is a shortcoming that is fully justified by a big screen in this case.

Hardware

Being positioned as a e-book reader, Pandigital Novel is still a tablet. Therefore, its body construction is not optimised for one-hand carriage and fixation. It is big and weighty for one hand, so user will need to use both hands for working on it. Mention that touch control require using fingers for managing device features. As a variant, it is convenient to hold it with one hand and operate on the screen by another hand. Within little practice it is possible to get used to it.

It is unclear why Pandigital engineers didn’t locate hardware buttons and connection ports on different side edges. All hardware buttons and slots are located on the bottom edge. They include audio jack, volume controls, power button and memory card slot. There was no micro USB port found there, while it is announced in tech specs, according to numerous sources. The lack of USB port can be a problem for some users, who do not have Wi-Fi spots around but still want to fill in the reader with new books. The built-in Wi-Fi module works instable, connection to the network is interrupted, sometimes the gadget just sees no network at all, while other Android devices easily connect to available Wi-Fi network.

When testing the touchscreen, there were some problems with touchscreen response. Sometimes we needed to wait for seconds before it responses on finger touches. It happens from time to time. In general a device seems to be slow in response, so you will need to get used to this. When working with screen keyboard, there were a lot of mistaken touches, when pressing on one key was recognized as pressing on the neighbour key. Screen calibration didn’t help to fix this problem. Pandigital promises that these problems will be fixed only by new firmware update that will come soon after product release. Indeed, this idea seems to be true, as technically the device can work faster, featuring 533 MHz processor. So the problem is in firmware that is a little raw.

The device is rather heavy, and it is not convenient to turn pages using sensor keys. However, if this will be your first e-reader, most likely you will easily get used to it. The difference is noticeable only if to compare Pandigital Novel with other modern e-readers. When reviewing it, it is necessary to remember that this is a budget touchscreen device.

Software

The main screen is divided into three areas. There are icons for working with Barnes & Noble online-library on the top, 10 icons with book covers in the center, and applications icons on the bottom. Installing new applications cause problems. In the current firmware version it is impossible to find the distribution kit for installing it on the tablet.

The personal library is designed in iBook style. There are 20 book covers available on the display. You can sort them by date or title. However, it is impossible to view all available books on the screen in one single list. From one hand, user is able to create his own library, but from the other hand he will be limited in its functionality.

As for the reading, Pandigital Novel uses old Nook application. It is unclear why the manufacturer didn’t equip the reader with newer reading app like Archos that provides better functionality and more supported formats. In the current Nook it is impossible to adjust the font size and type, line spacing, character intervals, etc. All user can do is making notes and bookmarks in the book. The pages are turned too slowly as for the TFT screen. There is no hardware button for turning pages.

General Impressions

From the one hand, Pandigital Novel is one of the cheapest touchscreen e-readers on the market. Its price is comparable with Chinese gadgets of this class. From the other hand, its software side needs serious improvements for solving the problems with sensor response and speeding up the performance. This is a good choice for those who are looking for a budget touch e-book reader with ability to access Internet via Wi-Fi. If you are limited in money, it is a good e-reader to start with, taking into account that Pandigital promises regular firmware updates with fixed bugs. In the nearest future Novel e-reader will come to stores.