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The Notion Ink Adam was by far one of the most compelling devices to emerge from CES this year. It is the only tablet I have seen at present that has a chance to really steal market share away from the iPad. Its release is scheduled for June and it would seem that Notion Ink will actually manage to meet their stated deadline. The hardware you will see in the exclusive hands-on video from Technoholik is nearly finalized and the software is on schedule to be completed by May.
Technoholik prepared a quick chart pitting the Adam against the iPad (which you can find just beneath the video). The Adam holds its own in most categories, but it is a bit disappointing to see the resolution at 1024 x 600 versus the iPad’s 1024 x 768. In almost every other metric the Adam manages to eclipse its competition.
The rotating camera and the trackpad on the back of the device are particularly interesting touches.
It is not mentioned in the chart, but it is presently running on Android 2.1.
The question mark hanging over the Adam’s head (until some meaningful hands-on time is had) will be can Android deliver a solid tablet experience. On Notion Ink’s site they refer to an “improved Android UI for 10 inch devices” and expressly state that we are not just talking about expanded screens.
They have delivered what looks to be an excellent piece of hardware – now we just need to see that software unlock its potential.
Notion Ink specs.
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Not that it matters (or does it), but the Notion Ink company website is a fail.
I’m choosing to believe that they are pouring all of their efforts into the product and didn’t want to spend resources on web design.
Wow I sure gonna save for this one…
Wow they did everything right, the Notion Ink is phenomenal…
The thing that sucks, unless they have a big advertising budget the iPad will likely prevail. Which sucks.
I must say the camera for presentation is brilliant…
I cant wait to see the final UI….
Chromium and Android? Awesome!
I’ll have two tablets for developing now Notion Ink and HP Slate.
The 1024×600 is sort of odd. It’s not quite 16:9, which would be 1024×576. It’s a 128:75 aspect ratio.
Makes a lot more sense after I found out it’s a common size and resolution for netbook screens. All the 900, 901, and 1000 series Eee PCs use it, as does the MSI Wind and the HP Mini.
Anyway, I think this thing is awesome, but I still kinda want one with a full version of Windows on it.
It’s a common size and resolution for the last gen netbooks though, the current gen is trending towards 1366 x 768 which would have been nice to see here.
wow, I would actually buy this. I’m not a big tablet fan, never really wanted one but this has changed my mind. Hopefully it’s not the higher end up the price range posted.
This looks close to what I’d like. However, I’d guess the Apple will still win (even though I don’t like it that much). My reasons:
1) Look at that paint program near the end. The finger lags just a bit and tends to smooth the gesture instead of following it accurately.
2) Add in Apple’s mylife (?) apps (word processing, etc) versus Adam’s reliance on the app store. I suspect that the core set of apps on the ipad will be smoother and just work.
The ipad may do less (remember the black & white 9 inch screens on the original Mac), but it will just work.
I’d love to get the Adam hardware with Apple’s software.
1. Keep in mind that Notion Ink is still months away from finalizing the software for the device, if you take a look at the progress from CES to the video yesterday they have come a long way already.
2. While I’m sure it won’t manage the polish of Apple’s software, Notion Ink will have their own software on the device and they are hosting their own million dollar app competition so they are not totally reliant on the app store.
Now this is a tablet worth buying. With VoIP apps, it could even work as a phone and do video calls. It has a lot of power too. It’s a shame that Apple’s marketing power will probably push the iPad out ahead of everybody else but I hope this thing sells really well anyway. A touchscreen tablet like this would look pretty sweet attached to my wheelchair. Now if only my chair could hover lol.
Pass!
I’d love to see a worthy competitor to the iPad prevail, and on the surface, Notion Ink’s Adam looks like it could do it. However, without a simple, integrated way to get content (music, video, books, subscription content) onto the device like the iPad will have with iTunes, I get the sinking feeling that challengers to the iPad will all die slow deaths.
music: groovrshark app
Video: youtube
Book: it would be strange if google books didn’t make something here. Remember that google has plans to sell books in the future.
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I see no reason why this device do not kick the iPads ass
I am really excited about this product. It does everything that the Ipad fails to do. I don’t think we need to worry about getting content onto the device – while it probably won’t sell as well as the Ipad, it will have its own fanbase.
The Adam has bumped the Ipad out of contention in my mind. I’m excited to see what other companies and tablets are going to become available this summer. It is certainly a fun year to be computer shopping!
WOW, I only found out about this today and already I WANT IT. With regards to apps some of the more practical apps may be lacking but it can run Flash which the iPad does not. That is a major collection of software that can be accessed straight away.
1080p, that is one feature that most of the new tablets have that the iPad didn’t (i was really rather shocked by that, no full HD that was said for the iPad) and the HDMI and USB ports are big things, I can see this and an external hard drive become some people’s multimedia centers very easily.
Although the biggest sell point for me is the one button switch between classic LCD and eInk. It is sooooo much better to read on eInk but everything else is better with the LCD the switch is fantastic.
It this stays at the lower end of the price range (assuming a reasonable memory size of course) and gets an international release (stupid Australia) sign me up.
I heard about this Adam pad from a Apple rep. while I was checking out the new iPhone. He was so stoked I had to check it out. From what I see I’m very interested. I love to read and write and am in the marketing field, I would like to put the Adam through it’s paces and see if it fits all my needs. With a good “Applications Ad Campaign” it will likely surpass my expectations and give me the creative edge! Keep up the quality work!
Drawback: This is a first gen device. That could be a problem. ipad was a first gen product with HUGE failures.
Notion Ink seems to have addressed ALL of the ipad’s drawbacks. Which actually wasn’t all that difficult. Why Apple didn’t put in USB is completely beyond me. Flash isn’t that big of a concern. Connectivity is. If you want to connect a simple camera to an ipad you have to spring for the 30 dollar proprietary connecting dongle. Why? Every camera comes with a USB cable to connect. The upper end 64GB ipad costs 800 bucks. Pocket USB drives are cheap and plentiful…but completely useless to a ipad owner.
HDMI port…now this is truly a forward thinking item. I can carry around a massive collection of movies on a USB hard drive and play them on my big screen. This is a GREAT idea. It could lead to the end of DVDs altogether. I’ve yet to buy a blu ray player because I knew the total digital age for movies was here before blu-ray became the standard format. This IS a portable movie entertainment machine.
Chrome, Ubuntu…this is a big selling point too. Apps will become plentiful, from many sources.
There are a couple of tablets hitting the market…but they too have some sort of hardware restriction, limitation or connectivity issue that screams DO NOT BUY.
I haven’t seen one on the Adam yet….lets pray we never do.