Jul

Pandigital Novel e-reader hacked

With the rapid rise in popularity of e-books along with the gadgets to make the best use of these e-books, it comes as no surprise that some people with an enterprising bend of mind – read hackers – come out with ideas that are completely out of the box and aims to draws on the full potential that the device has to offer. Pandigital has given us one such device named Novel that is selling at $179, making it one of the more affordable Android running tablets PC though it definitely can’t be said a cheap e-reader at that price.

And as per news coming in, the Novel has caught on the fancy of the hackers community, who have been successful in transforming the Novel into a smart tablet device. The Novel already has a 7 inch color touchscreen and was never known for its e-reader credentials. It came pre-installed with the Android operating system with a custom software built on top of it that enabled one to read e-books. What the hackers have been able to achieve is that they have devised a way of bypassing this custom software and reach out directly to the Android OS. By doing so, they have been able to open up innumerable possibilities with the Novel as in this guise, the Novel is as good as any other Android tablet. The Novel has never excelled as an e-reader and the device in its hacked state is further proof that its better off as a Tablet device.

Moreover, with Android now becoming the default OS, it is therefore possible to install any of the vast plethora of Android apps now available including the Amazon Kindle App along with any other e-reader app. So those who were ruing the loss of the e-reader status for Novel, this should come as a relief. You’ll still be able read books off its 7 inch display. Its even possible to install apps such as the Google Calendar, Contacts, Maps, Voice, and Gmail apps. In fact, all Android compatible software can be installed on this gadget.

However, on the flip side, the Google Android Market can’t be accessed via this device while one will need to download the apk installer files for each of the app that you wish to install. Also required will be to install a third party home screen which will provide you access to the program launcher. The software will also have to be tweaked so that you get to use the volume buttons in a manner similar to the Menu and Back buttons. This since the Novel lacks button designed specifically for these Android functions that are required often and on.

Another drawback of the Novel and a major one at that is the device has never been conceived as a tablet and hence the processing might that would let it be counted as a credible Android Tablet. It is this that has to be kept in mind before one gets into a downloading spree.

The Novel never scored as an e-reader and continues to be lousy even after several software upgrades. Many have even decided to get rid of it, returning it back to the company though after the latest hack, there sure would be many who would lament their decision.

Sovan Mandal (1924 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