The Digital Reader

Here’s the big news: B&N just announced a new version of their eReader Android app. (The Pandigital Novel runs Android.)

All I have at the moment is the press release and product page. I’m also at the whim of a bad Web connection, so I can’t go look for more detail. The upside is that I’m in New York for BEA and I should be able to put my hands on the e-reader. Here’s what I know so far.

It’s a 7″ Android tablet with a touchscreen, Wifi, and a SDHC card slot.  The retail is $199. The good news is that it’s not your average tablet. Most of the generic tablets have a screen resolution of 800×480, and the Novel has a screen resolution of 800×600. This bodes well for the hardware quality. Pandigital is reporting a 6 hour battery life, and that number is quite reasonable for an LCD screen (based on my experiences). The product page boasts that you can browse the web and watch videos. Hopefully this means that the tablet is open to installing third party apps.

If I get my hands on this e-reader, I will post more details.