Jun

Pandigital E-Reader is bugged with problems

The Novel e-reader from Pandigital does look promising so that many even tagged it as the poor man’s iPad. The other good thing with the Pandigital Novel is that there is no waiting to be done for the e-reader to show up in stores near you, it’s already there to be picked up at the Kohl’s. But its not all smooth sailing for the Novel and as per the latest e-reader news, things aren’t working out the way it should be for the reading device.

So what exactly it is that is playing spoilsport. Well, those who have already bought the device are complaining of its slow response times and the lack of a consistent WiFi connection. Flexibility is another thing that is painfully lacking in the Novel.

Touching the 7-inch LCD touchscreen won’t evoke the response as promptly as you would like and if you thought calibrating the e-reader would set things right, you are in for a surprise as this turns things for the worse. WiFi won’t connect at all. The e-reader takes its own sweet time to turn pages and the same applies when it comes to navigating e-books. And a recent firmware update notwithstanding, things like the margins, line spacing or fonts still can be adjusted.

Another thing that is surprisingly missing from the Novel is the accelerometer which its makers had claimed is built into the device. So there is only the portrait orientation that one has to be contended with as of now. Build quality too is nothing to cry home about and leaves a lot to be desired.

So if you are one of many who were willing to fork out the $260 that the Novel costs, it would be better to put that on hold for a while. Instead a Kindle or a Nook would make for a far sensible choice as things stand now though both these lack color display and a touch sensitive screen.

We will be following on this to see how things pan out. So keep watching along with other e-reader news.

Also, you can now have the brand new issue of the Good E-Reader Magazine delivered right in your inbox if you have subscribed to the color mag that deals exclusively with Slate/Tablet devices and e-readers.

Sovan Mandal (1916 Posts)

Sovan Mandal is the senior tablet and tech corespondent for goodereader.com. He brings a international approach to news that is not just applicable to the North American market, but also Asia, India, Europe and others. Sovy brings his own writing flavor to the website and is interested in Science Fiction, Technology and Writing. Any questions, send an email

Categories : e-reader, e-Reader News

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eReaderFan
There are other reviews that would disagree with you. It resistive touch screen was expected and the screen DOES orient from portrait to landscape. Most people reviewing have been satisfied with the build quality and this is a MUCH better purchase over a kindle.
eski15
Just picked one of the readers up and while there are some minor issues, I think that with some firmware updates it is going to work really well. I have updated it twice now, very responsive support team, and the issue with WiFi seems to be fixed. Need to fix the orientation sensor next.
You need to remember what this is, a color e-reader at a great price. I got mine for $125. If your expecting an IPAD your not going to be happy. If you look at it compared to a NOOK it looks GREAT!
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snofly
I just bought one at Kohl’s and I can’t connect to the Barnes and Noble site to update my books. I keep getting a “server error” when I try. Also, says it is not connected to a network but when I go into settings it shows that it is connected to my secure wireless home network.
Iloveladybugs
Don’t feel like the lone ranger, mine is doing the same thing! It will drive you crazy! Why they can’t get the bugs worked out before they sell the units is beyond me! And I wish they would have left the color in the newest e-reader too. Black and white gets boring after a while!
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Nadia
OMG!! I recently purchased a nook from best buy and found it to work well for the most part, however, began to have problems shutting off. The wi-fi connected well and I was able to download books from barnes and noble without a problem. Because of the shut off problem, I decided to try the Pandigital Novel. Well, it may look nice, but it sure is a headache!! I have been attempting to set the time zones, download books and read the tutorial for 24hrs. and it still isn’t working. Because of the beauty of it’s color screen, I attempting to be patient to get it started. If I have no luck by tonight, I will return it for the simple black and white nook. They do have a nook that is 3G that will download books anywhere without wi-fi. I think that would be great. Think twice before buying this looker the PANDIGITAL NOVEL. It doesn’t work !!!
Vanessa
I’m also having difficulty login onto Barnes & Noble. I read the guide over and over and can’t seem to connect. It will just give me a message “Login Failed”. I’ve tried my password on my home PC, it works fine… for whatever reason I cannot log onto my BN account and download my books. Can anyone help??
Bsar4713
I brought mine on black friday from Kohls. I really liked it at first, though the log on was slow. However, yesterday morning, it just stopping working! I tried everything and could not get it to work! I took mine back to Kohls yesterday. In the future, I’ll just bite the bullet and buy an IPAD or a Nook. This was a waste of money!
Anonymous
Mine is a piece of junk. It wont connect to the server even though It says and shows I have an “excellent” WiFi connection. I’ve downloaded the firmware update, did a hard re-boot, manually entered my WEP SECURED WiFi address…… but still says all the web pages I’ve tried are Unavailable and to check my connection. So I give up. I bought this via QVC— their special 4gb 7″ Novel in black for $225. It’s goin back MONDAY. It’s USELESS if I cant connect to download books, get email or browse.
princesscut
i just ordered one also and it started up fine but as soon as i hooked it to the computer to download a book, the whole thing shut down. It’s been about three hours and it still wont cut back on. Its like its dead or something. Only had it for 2 days. I also bought mine from QVC. Its going back Monday also. Im so disappointed.
eve
My pandigital E-reader just stoped and froze i dont know what to do i tried to turn it off and every thing but it wont do anything
Mau
I purchased the Pandigital e-ereader and it has been the worst purchase of my life. The touchscreen is slow and very unresponsive to the touch. The wifi connection is horrendous for this unit, because you have to stay within a 10 foot range for the unit to keep a descent connection. The worst part of the entire experience with the Pandigital unit was wasting my time searching the internet for some helpful information on the Novel. I’ve yet to find a blog or comment recommending this horrible piece of equipment.
Phoebelion
Got one for Christmas. Have spent hours every day since then trying to get the darn thing to work. The website is always overloaded so can’t get on – spent 1 1/2 hours on phone yesterday and customer service never picked up. Tried returning last night – was told I was nuts. Exchanges only. After trying again for 4 hours last night, spoke to Manager. Was very upset – they are refunding all $ (wanted 15% restocking charge last night). Total waste of money unless you want an expensive brick to hold door open during the summer.
Izofblu
I got one for Christmas and immediately fell in love with it. This morning it just stopped working. My husband took it back to the store where he purchased it and the lady in customer service took it out of the box, pulled out a paper clip and pushed the reset button (which I didn’t know existed). Voilà, it works again! Maybe I should take the time and read all of the instructions. LOL
Karen
Gave to husband for Xmas. Have not been able to connect to wifi. Each time Customer Service has told me several different things. I have downloaded the Firmware upgrade to no avail. I have called my wifi provider. The last thing I was told a few minutes ago was that a Technical Support person would call me within 3-5 business days.THATS IT!!!! Back in the box with a nasty letter to Amazon for selling that piece of crap an a letter to the CEO of Pandigital. Tell your friends to RUN FROM THIS PRODUCT!
Fernnypie
Same here…bought myself a real headache for Xmas..no problem with downloading purchased books from BN…or acessing QVC..but email and everything else it promises..go fish! Snail slow..can’t even use it while pluged into my PC! Something about a missing Android driver! Contacted their support and I had to wait 20 minutes for them to tell me someone will get back to me in 5to6 days! THEY WILL GET BACK TO THE BOX!!
Droger444
this is the worst reader i have ever seem it say you can do video on web page mine it will not play even have hard time trying to get books from goggles is there something i am doing wrong r this just a joke for a reader
TexasTransplant
I too am trying to be patient but it is wearing very thin. I have reconfigured my router, downloaded upgrades, talked with India, California, Pandigital, Barnes & Nobles and I still cannot download the book that I purchased. I can hook it up to my PC and see that it is in the device memory but cannot get it to show up in my Library. I was able to download the three free novels from B & N so now can read Little Women, etc. but I would like to read the book that I purchased. I have devoted many hours at many locations. I think my next location is to take it back to Best Buy. I’ve now been on hold with BN for 35 minutes and no response but at least I’m not talking with “Peggy” with India, again. Talk about frustration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AHHHHHHHHH
Callieg316
I am so glad I found this page, I really wanted this ereader. Now I will look at something else. Thanks for your honesty.
Tblair
Mine was having trouble connecting, then I took it out to connect to wifi at McDonalds, came back home and it connected. I don’t know what happened, I didn’t do anything different, but it worked. It did everything right after that.
Erica
I have the same problem. I called b&n and they couldn’t help me, it’s so frustrating.
Wuchester
WORST EBOOK READER, SLOW AND NOT RESPONSIVE
babs
I got my pandigital reader 3 days ago and it said when i hooked up to my pc i needed a device driver. does one come with it or not.
Mirjamwoodburn
my pandigital is frozen in pandigital options with only 2 options silent mode sound on or off and power off I am unable to shut it down completely!
Kristincrussell
I actually like minie. But I didn’t realize that BN charges monthly fees for the books!!
Kristincrussell
I do like mine. I love it in fact. What I didn’t realize and am going to call about today is BN seems to charge monthly fees for books. I haven’t bought anything recently and I have new charges as of yesterday!!! So what’s up with that???
bronzeart
Download the new firmware, and that will fix most everything. I got one for Christmas, and if I had the receipt I would have returned it… no wifi, sloooow, etc. The new patch off the pandigital website solved everything for me. It also has instructions on how to hack the OS into a fully functional android platform for those that want to turn their ebook into a tablet…. Slatedroid.com has more detailed instructions, but they are too technical for me.
RO
The only reason B&N should charge a monthly fee is for a electronic magazine subscription that you requested (whether on purpose or by accidental “button pushing” – still it should have taken several steps).
eBooks are sold for a one-time charge – you have to make the e-payment with a credit card you register with B&N for your account with them. Then you are allowed to download it to any capable ereader that you set up to have access to your B&N account such as the PDN, Nook, or any other Android device with the Nook app.
You better find out what those charges are.
Michelle Menzies
I just purchased my e-reader and I’ve not had any problems connecting to Wifi at all. The response time may be a half second slower than I’d like it, but that really doesn’t bother me. I only paid $130 for mine and I think it was a great bargain.
Logan1944
I got my Pandigital for Christmas. It started out wonderful. I was able to order a book from B & N and actually read it. Yesterday I turned the reader on and it warmed up until it gave me a message “Updating library contents, please wait”. Then it turns off and a second later in turns back on and goes through the same thing over and over again. I tried the reset button but nothing changed. I can’t turn it off so it continues to do the same thing over and over again. Sometime during the night it stopped repeating and this morning I did get the “Power Off” window and turned it off. Unfortunately tonight I turned it on thinking it was going to be ok and the same thing happened. I have my receipt and the original box and it’s going back to the store tomorrow. Makes me mad to buy something that needs a lot of perfection. Good idea, Bad workmanship.
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Nobody
I bought mine from a private seller on Craigslist. First thing, I went to the Pandigital website and installed the latest firmware. I was expecting an e-reader, ended up with an Android 2.0 tablet. The folks who are having problems with them remind me of the old story about tech support:
“Hello. Tech support. May I help you?”
“Hi, my computer isn’t working.”
“What seems to be the problem?”
“When I type, nothing shows up on the screen.”
“OK, let’s try a few things. Can you move the mouse and see the pointer on the screen?”
“No.”
“Alright, can you see ANYTHING on the screen?”
“No.”
“Ok, tell me if the power light on the monitor is on.”
“Nope.”
“Let’s check the cables. Look in the back of the monitor and tell me if the thick cable, the power cord, is loose.”
“I can’t see it.”
“Ummm… There are 2 cables in the back of the monitor. One is the power cable, and the other is the video cable. The power cable is usually the thicker one.”
“I really mean I CAN’T SEE IT!”
“That’s odd. Why can’t you see it?”
“We had a power failure in the office. The room’s dark.”
“OK. Do you still have the boxes that your computer and monitor came in?”
“Yes.”
“Can you go get them?”
“I think they’re in storage.”
“That’s OK. I’ll wait.”
“Why do you want to know if I still have the boxes?”
“Because I want you to pack up the computer and monitor, hand write a note, and send everything back to the folks you bought them from.”
“What should I write on the note?”
“Be sure to write it with a permanent marker, and tape it on the outside of the biggest box. Write this: ‘I’m sending my system back to you, because I’m TOO FRICKIN’ STUPID TO OWN A COMPUTER!!!!!!”
That’s pretty much the problem with the folks who complained about their Novel.
Barbara Mackenzie
can,t find a wifi network or wifi ssid number
Jennie
So I am about to go crazy with my pandigital…I am having horrible problems trying to log in to my B&N account. I go to the B&N icon and go to sign in, but when I sign in it keeps saying it is having problems with my wifi connection, and try again later, but yet I can browse on the internet and do anything else with it. I have been back and forth with both pandigital and with b&n and I am at my wits end. Weird thing is, I can anywhere online, but B&N website will not load…anyways, I have updated the pandigital, I have tried turning the wifi off and on, I have tried several other locations with wifi, with the same problem. I got it to work once, when I changed the time and date, but then I accidentally signed out and when I tried to sign back into my account, it started giving me the same message. Does anyone have any advice?? I have rebooted it, I have cleared data on the B&N under the manage applications field…I just don’t know what to do any more. Any ideas would be appreciated….I am about to return it and get another e-reader, but I would prefer to get this fixed…
buttons369
I am having the same problem where did you download the firmware at the pandigital site.
Wrinkles521
It’s been driving me nuts too but I think when you changed the time and date, it deleted your b&n user ID and password. those have to be saved into your pdn in order to download books. Go back into settings (where you changed the date and time) and save your b&n user ID and password into the device and then try to “get books”. It should connect…
Csbyoung
I had purchased books from KoBo and after I did the firmware update, KoBo was gone and B&N was in it’s place, but it does not recognize the books. It said I had to download Adobe Digital Edtition as a converter. I did that, but I can get it to work. Any ideas?
goldnuggets
Poor mans ipad? ROFL! Apple is an over rated company. Most of the complaints for this reader come from snobby, insecure ipad owners. I have this and the wifi works great. Also it’s true it’s not the fastest, but it’s fast enough. First off, the What most people don’t understand is that there are a couple of tricks to using it. Once you get used to it, the pages turn just fine for reading ebooks. However if you are a dope and want to spend $500 instead $160, be my guest. I’m not claiming it’s perfect, and it takes a little patience, but after that initial getting used to period, I can read my books just fine. It also plays music and videos I put on my 8GB removable card. Try that on an ipad. Nope, Apple doesn’t have that from what I’ve heard. They restrict you. You apple users who buy imacs are aslo just as dumb. Thank goodness you are outnumbered. I can render video or produce music in my studio far faster than on a slow, outdated imac. I got an i7 based system over a year before apple brought that out for $2000. Mine cost $730, and no complaints. So, do you have a brain? Can think for your self? Are patient and can put up with it not being 100% perfect, but pretty good? Maybe the pan digital is for you. If you are not any of these, get an ipad. apple will love you for throwing your hard earned cash their way.
goldnuggets
you must be fully connected to wifi first. And that could be a problem with your router or it’s settings. Once you get that, it should work. If you can’t get it to work, buy a new router, perhaps a linksys.
goldnuggets
Well if you can’t figure that out, an ipad won’t help you either. IT means you don’t know what you’re doing. If your house has a wifi network, set up the password and you are good to go.
goldennuggets
There is no such thing as a wifi provider! Usually you pay an ISP for
internet service. Then you put a wireless router in your home to
connect to your ISP (about $79 for the box). Once that works, set up a
password. Then when you are sure you have wifi, your pan digital will
connect wireless. It can’t do it in thin air without a wireless router.
MizzCathe
My GrandDaughter got this pandigital e reader for her B-Day and I loved hers so much I had to have one too.I’ve had it exactly a month and half and it all the sudden just stopped working.Won’t power on.No green/red light.Nothing.And I bought mine @ToysR Us so who knows if they’ll exchange after 30 days.Perhaps you could enlighten me on what might be wrong with a month and half reader owned by an adult.Hasn’t been dropped or misused in any way!
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Pandigital E-Reader is bugged with problems

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