I’ve just learned of an update for one of the better budget tablets that came out last year.
Pandigital is one of the more successful budget tablet makers, and they’ve been releasing tablets since July 2010. Late last fall they released the 9″ Novel, and at the time it was one of the better budget Android tablets. It’s getting a little long in the tooth now, given that it has a single core CPU, resistive touchscreen, and runs Android v2.0.
But I’m still seeing readers show up and ask questions about this tablet. Given that in the past week someone came looking for a way to update this tablet, I thought it worth a post.
Now, Pandigital never released any firmware updates for this device, but someone else did. It’s a hacked update, and it actually came out in March. I only found it today. I just finished with the update, and I’ve confirmed that the Android market does work, and so does the Kindle app and the Amazon Appstore. The process went without a hitch, and I think it’s safe for the average user.
This firmware is based on the one that originally shipped with the 9″ Novel. It was copied off of one and then modified. It comes with a number of apps, including:
- Android Market
- Kobo
- B&N
- Kindle
- Android Appstore
- File Manager
- Spare Parts
- Task manager
It’s still running an old version of Android, and you can get most of the apps online. But I would still get this update just because it adds the official Marketplace.
How To
The process is pretty simple. You’ll need an SD card and you should charge your tablet first.
- Download this ZIP file.
- Copy the DAT inside that ZIP file to the SD card in your 9″ Novel.
- Turn off your Novel.
- Start the update cycle by pressing the up volume button and the power button at the same time.
I found the update via SlateDroid. The developer had a 9″ Novel back in March and April, but he returned. He’s not supporting it anymore, but there are a number of tablet owners over at SlateDroid who probably already have this update installed.
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I think I’ll dig mine out, blow off the dust and give this a try. Thanks, Nate.
That’s awesome! I tried it too and it works! What a great performer for the money!
were you able to get the android market and kobo? .. all i have witht he update is samslide and b&N
Yes, it’s all there.
I tried doing this and now my tablet wont turn back on….what should I do next?
I’d head over to SlateDroid and ask for help there. Sorry, but that’s more tech support than I know how to provide.
I have done the update but it looks exactly the same as before .. i still have sam slide, b&N, etc.. but no android market … help??.. please:)
very cool. I just down loaded and it works great. Thank you.
i got it on here ..android market isnt coming up with no results on anything i type in android market anyone know how to get it going?
..
Wondered why this works for some and not others. Are they not doing the reset right?
Mine works and I loaded KOBO from freewarelovers.com maybe I should leave it alone. With this update will it play videos mine will not the way it is. Any help appreciated.
Also is there a way to download kobo books so they stay there and do not have to refresh through wifi everytime? New at this ereader stuff thanks
I downloaded this file and I see it in ES Explorer. But I dont know how to copy to the SD card. How do I know if is is already copied to the card? I think not cause I booted up with the volumn up and power at the same time but nothing has changed. Thanks if you can help