Sallana
Member
- Oct 10, 2011
- 4
- 0
So I purchased my White Pandigital Novel about a week or so ago, maybe less. I am thus far thoroughly enjoying it.
I landed at SlateDroid first. But honestly, I really don't like the atmosphere over there. I did a google search for Pandigital Novel forums, really hoping to find a tight knit community of PDN users who would be slightly more welcoming. This place was one of the top results.
Before I ask questions I'd like to say that I've read the Wiki's SlateDroid offers for the novel, searched and search through numerous threads over there.. tried, and failed to get answers (I never actually received any sort of direct reply in 3 days of active posting.) and gave up.
I can understand asking new users to do a little research before asking a question. Threads and forums can get clogged. But really, I found that place to over enforce that rule. They seemed to get angered when someone asked a question that was mentioned somewhere else even once. Really, you have to allow for some repeated questions.. Not everyone has the time to scan and scan, and read and read to find a simple answer to a simple question that is buried in heaps and heaps of mostly useless information.
With that rant out of the way
On to my relatively simple, newbish questions:
1. I have this firmware installed currently, and I want to add this flash upgrade to my device. I know this is a stupid question. But after all the Wiki's and FAQ's I've seen which state in big red letters that THE SLIGHTEST MISTAKE CAN BRICK YOUR DEVICE... You understand why I am leaning more toward the cautious side. All I need to know, is if the GAPPS firmware .zip file needs to be removed before I flash the flash upgrade. On one hand, I imagine that trying to flash the device with two .zip files on the SD card could confuse the crap out of the thing.. On the other I wonder if it simply needs to be there, just because electronics are finicky.
Question 2. I have re-flashed my device 3 times so far during my learning curve. I have a new SD card on the way.. an upgrade to 32GB from my 2GB card. I need to know if I will be able to simply drag and drop the files from the 2GB card over to the 32GB card, or if I will have to flash the device again. In which case, I assume I just turn off the device, slap the new card with the GAPPS firmware on it in the slot, and flash it. Right?
Just checking.
Now, I'm not sure if the following information will be of use to anybody, but there's a couple little nuggets I've found that I'd like to share.
Wifi Fix:
There's a lot of people insisting that after they root the device, Wifi does not work, and that there is no patch or workaround to completely fix the issue... This is wrong. Simply get your device connected to the wifi and navigate to SlideME or the Market and download the Wifi Buddy app. This app seems to tie a lasso around the Wifi's neck and command it as it pleases. It is always able to re-connect to the Wifi after coming out of sleep mode, and there is a setting (That works great) to keep Wifi on all the time, even while the novel is sleeping. (Though it drains the everloving poop out of your battery).
Screen Brightness Fix:
When I first got my novel and flicked it on during the midnight hours, I was displeased to find that for some reason the brightness setting does not drop below "Ouch that hurts my eyes" level. I pretty much only read at night in the dark, before I go to sleep. And I've been doing it for so long that this was a HUGE issue for me. After some relentless searching, I found the Total Screen Control app. This app is wonderful. It works because it doesn't try to simply adjust the brightness of your screen. Instead, it applies a transparent black layer over all (or only selected) applications, making the screen appear darker and allowing you to set the brightness of the screen FAR below minimum value. It's not a free app, sadly.. it's about $2.00.. but worth every penny if you're a night reader.
Kindle Fix
I would like to take a moment to thank this forum (I forget the exact person who posted it) for helping me solve my Kindle issue. My kindle would load fine and read some books, but for the most part when I tried to retrieve my archived items it told me they were invalid, then crashed - horribly. The fix is simply downloading and installing an older version of the Kindle app. Search the forum "kindle download" or something and you'll find it.
Android Market Fix
I didn't stumble upon this one myself, I actually found it in a thread on SlateDroid, and it's probably the most and only useful information I got there. If you're having issues with android market, specifically having to uninstall updates every darn time you want to install a new application.. just (for the last time) uninstall market updates, then go to the market and download the Titanium Backup application. Then (quoting from SLD):
It worked beautifully and I now have a fully functioning, non-annoying market.
Okay.. I think I covered all my questions and all the things I wanted to share. I hope I helped somebody and I hope somebody can help me.
Also, hi.
I landed at SlateDroid first. But honestly, I really don't like the atmosphere over there. I did a google search for Pandigital Novel forums, really hoping to find a tight knit community of PDN users who would be slightly more welcoming. This place was one of the top results.
Before I ask questions I'd like to say that I've read the Wiki's SlateDroid offers for the novel, searched and search through numerous threads over there.. tried, and failed to get answers (I never actually received any sort of direct reply in 3 days of active posting.) and gave up.
I can understand asking new users to do a little research before asking a question. Threads and forums can get clogged. But really, I found that place to over enforce that rule. They seemed to get angered when someone asked a question that was mentioned somewhere else even once. Really, you have to allow for some repeated questions.. Not everyone has the time to scan and scan, and read and read to find a simple answer to a simple question that is buried in heaps and heaps of mostly useless information.
With that rant out of the way
On to my relatively simple, newbish questions:1. I have this firmware installed currently, and I want to add this flash upgrade to my device. I know this is a stupid question. But after all the Wiki's and FAQ's I've seen which state in big red letters that THE SLIGHTEST MISTAKE CAN BRICK YOUR DEVICE... You understand why I am leaning more toward the cautious side. All I need to know, is if the GAPPS firmware .zip file needs to be removed before I flash the flash upgrade. On one hand, I imagine that trying to flash the device with two .zip files on the SD card could confuse the crap out of the thing.. On the other I wonder if it simply needs to be there, just because electronics are finicky.
Question 2. I have re-flashed my device 3 times so far during my learning curve. I have a new SD card on the way.. an upgrade to 32GB from my 2GB card. I need to know if I will be able to simply drag and drop the files from the 2GB card over to the 32GB card, or if I will have to flash the device again. In which case, I assume I just turn off the device, slap the new card with the GAPPS firmware on it in the slot, and flash it. Right?
Just checking.
Now, I'm not sure if the following information will be of use to anybody, but there's a couple little nuggets I've found that I'd like to share.
Wifi Fix:
There's a lot of people insisting that after they root the device, Wifi does not work, and that there is no patch or workaround to completely fix the issue... This is wrong. Simply get your device connected to the wifi and navigate to SlideME or the Market and download the Wifi Buddy app. This app seems to tie a lasso around the Wifi's neck and command it as it pleases. It is always able to re-connect to the Wifi after coming out of sleep mode, and there is a setting (That works great) to keep Wifi on all the time, even while the novel is sleeping. (Though it drains the everloving poop out of your battery).
Screen Brightness Fix:
When I first got my novel and flicked it on during the midnight hours, I was displeased to find that for some reason the brightness setting does not drop below "Ouch that hurts my eyes" level. I pretty much only read at night in the dark, before I go to sleep. And I've been doing it for so long that this was a HUGE issue for me. After some relentless searching, I found the Total Screen Control app. This app is wonderful. It works because it doesn't try to simply adjust the brightness of your screen. Instead, it applies a transparent black layer over all (or only selected) applications, making the screen appear darker and allowing you to set the brightness of the screen FAR below minimum value. It's not a free app, sadly.. it's about $2.00.. but worth every penny if you're a night reader.
Kindle Fix
I would like to take a moment to thank this forum (I forget the exact person who posted it) for helping me solve my Kindle issue. My kindle would load fine and read some books, but for the most part when I tried to retrieve my archived items it told me they were invalid, then crashed - horribly. The fix is simply downloading and installing an older version of the Kindle app. Search the forum "kindle download" or something and you'll find it.
Android Market Fix
I didn't stumble upon this one myself, I actually found it in a thread on SlateDroid, and it's probably the most and only useful information I got there. If you're having issues with android market, specifically having to uninstall updates every darn time you want to install a new application.. just (for the last time) uninstall market updates, then go to the market and download the Titanium Backup application. Then (quoting from SLD):
It worked beautifully and I now have a fully functioning, non-annoying market.
Okay.. I think I covered all my questions and all the things I wanted to share. I hope I helped somebody and I hope somebody can help me.
Also, hi.
Last edited:
