Views
- PDN Wiki Index
- Introduction to the Pandigital Novel
- Beginners Guide
- Pandigital Novel Hacking
- Pandigital Novel Software
- Backup apps
- PDN Useful Utilities
- eReader Software Tips
- Pandigital Novel Hardware Modification
- Pandigital Novel Version
Contents |
eReader Software Tips
This section describes the various eReader apps that work on the Novel, and provides some basic info to get you started using them.
This is a new section in the Wiki, and is a work in progress.
This section will also describe the process of checking out an electronic library book from your local library, and how to move the book to your Novel so you can read it.
Think what you may about the Novel, but when some of the available modified-firmwares are installed in it, it is one of the few eReaders that does it all!
This is a good thread about the ereader capabilities of the novel, although it is a little dated now because many of the apps have been updated and do not require some of the fixes quoted, but it is still worth reading through.
Terminology
- ACSM - Adobe Content Server Message, an authorization to download DRM-protected content
- DRM - digital rights management, a method to control and protect published content
- EPUB - file format for eReaders that may or may not contain DRM-protected content
Adobe eBooks
- Adobe eBooks is Pandigital's implementation of Adobe Digital Editions (ADE), which is a PC app
- that supports reading DRM-protected content.
- The Novel's Adobe eBooks app works with the ADE application that is installed on a PC. It
- cannot download content on it's own, and must be synced via USB cable with the ADE installed
- on a PC.
Checking Out Free Library Books
- Then you authorize your desktop computer by using the down-arrow menu on ADE, by logging in to
- your account.
- The next step is to find your local library's eBook site. Some areas have formed consortiums
- of serveral local libraries on the same web site. You find a book on the library's web site,
- and check it out (usually by adding it to the "cart") and you generally will be asked for your
- library card number when you check out the books. Books can usually be checked out for 7 or
- 14 days.
- The library's web site will then down load an .acsm file (see terminology above) and you want
- to open this file. This file proviced you the electronic authorization and license to
- download the content. Once you open the .acsm file, it will download the .epub file to your
- PC, and the book will show up in ADE. The book will be readable for 7 or 14 days, or whatever
- period your library allows.
- To transfer the file to the Novel, plug it into the USB port on your PC, and with ADE running,
- you should see PD_Novel (the internal sdcard) appear in your bookshelf view on ADE. Simply
- drag the book to PD_Novel and it will transfer the book and the DRM license to the Novel,
- and you will be able to read it with the Adobe eBook app on the Novel.
Authorizing and de-authorizing the Novel with ADE
- ADE is not very intuitave to use, and there are some hidden keys you need to know about.
- The two most important ones are SHFT-CNTL-D and SHFT-CNTL-E, and these keys do not seem to
- be in the documentation anywhere. When you first plug in your Novel, it will authorize it
- with your ADE account.
- SHIFT-CTRL-D deauthorizes the computer from you ADE account.
- SHIFT-CTRL-E deauthorizes an eReader from your ADE account.
- These keys are important, espcially SHIFT-CTRL-E, because if you re-flash your Novel, you
- will LOSE your ADE authroization unless you de-authorize it with your desktop ADE before
- you re-flash it. It has been reported that only six devices can be authorized per ADE
- account, so if you plan on re-flashing a Novel that is authorized on your desktop ADE
- application, make sure you connect the Novel and do a SHIFT-CTRL-E to deauthorize it
- before you flash, in order not to loose one of your six lives.
- NOTE: It appears that even though you may de-authorize your device with ADE using SHIFT-CTRL-E,
- it may not actually de-authorize it in thier activation server. If this happens, click on the
- Adobe help and support links, open up a chat session and they can reset your activation count for you.
- ADE stores it's data on the Novel in the PD_Novel/.adobe-digital-editions folder. You will
- see your device.xml and activation.xml files there. Once you de-authorize, the
- activations.xml file is removed.
PD Reader App
The PDReader app, generally only available in original firmware or modified firmware that keeps the original apps (roebeet or mac), appears to be a semi-universal reader that can read different forms of content. It will read EPUB and PDF content. (DRM-protected content must be launched from the Adobe eBooks app, but it appears to use this same reader once the Adobe software has verified the digital rights.)
It will find content in the external sdcard /eBooks folder, or in the internal sdcard /PD_Novel/eBooks folder.
Clicking the My Library icon on the top menu, and then clicking the Get Books icon will take you to your Barnes & Noble login where you can purchase content. This is the same as clicking the My Library icon on the original PD Home screen.
This app will read .pdf files from other sources that you put into the eBooks folder on the sdcard, but you will not have the cover graphics for files you put there yourself.
To change pages, an exaggerated swipe left or swipe right is needed to get the page to flip. Touching the top portion of the screen briefly will bring up the app's menu.
B&N Reader App
This is the reader app that Pandigital is currently providing in their OP firmware, as a replacement for the above PD Reader App and it's corresponding bookshelf. The B&N Reader app can read both DRM-protected content (epub) and pdf content. It is very similar to the original reader app, and combines the B&N bookstore, your bookshelf, and the reader functions all within the same app. It also provide the same functions as the Nook app, without the page redraw tablet issue, so there is really little need to use the actual Nook app for Android.
Kindle App
The Kindle app is one of the better running of the ereader "apps" out there. There have been very few issues with this app on Novel's running modified firmware, which is needed to load any external app.
There are reports that DVM optimization with JIT breaks the ability of this app to read certain books, however newer versions of Kindle may not have this issue. As of this writing, the latest market version of the Kindle app is 2.0.2.102300153.
Kindle Whispersync allows the Novel access to any books you have purchased on a real Kindle (or on the Novel) via it's wifi connection. In fact, it will sync to the currently read page on a Kindle if you sync that book with the Novel.
The Kindle app will only read content obtained from amazon.com's book store. Most ebooks are in the $7-$10 range, and there are a number of free books available that are in the public domain, mostly old classics.
Further information on how to use Kindle for Android is available here from the amazon.com web site.
Nook App
(this section under construction)
Adilko App
(this section under construction)
Laputa App
(this section under construction)
