How to Add Google Play to the 9″ Pandigital Novel
Update: The link to the firmware no longer works, sorry, and I have not found a replacement.
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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