Of all the tablets out there, the only one that really interests me is the Notion Ink Adam, largely because, on specs, it represents a better picture of where this form factor is going. This week, Notion’s website went up, and a countdown to ordering began. I doubt it is going to make it to Christmas for most of us, but to me, on paper, it is a better iPad alternative than anything currently out there. It could cause people to hold off buying anything else, even if it doesn’t sell, and you may want to look at it and decide whether you should wait or not.
Let’s talk about that today.
First-generation tablets
The iPad has, so far, easily set the bar with regard to first-generation tablets, with the Samsung Galaxy Tablet jumping to second place with a reported 600,000 sold. But both products are constrained by laptop display technology, which limits their usefulness. What I’m talking about are the TFT screens, which tend to glare out if used in bright direct light. In addition, the biggest power hog in this current generation is generally the screen, giving the class a double whammy of issues. E-Ink, which is what the Kindle and e-book readers use, sucks for Web browsing and has frame rates measured in single digits per second. This means E-Ink won’t work for anything that has to move, and doesn’t yet do color in a production product.
The one thing that is likely to be fixed before we call this product mature is that screen. The Notion Ink Adam, which uses a unique Pixel Qi screen, may be the first product that represents the next generation of tablets. And it has a number of other next-gen features, too.
Is Notion Ink’s Adam the first second-generation tablet?
As we’ve learned from the iPad, tablets are consumption devices, which means they need an unusually strong graphics engine. The Adam uses the Nvidia Tegra 250, which currently excels at this and should outperform most current-generation products.
The Adam also has a 3.2-megapixel swivel camera, which anticipates the second-generation iPad getting either a swivel, or two fixed cameras. On a device like this, a swivel camera should be better if you are video conferencing and want to switch views easily. Even if the second-generation iPad doesn’t go this route, I expect following versions will, as Sony, when it created a similar product a few years back, found swivel to be more user friendly.
MicroSD card support should be in most tablets, with the possible exception of the iPad (because Apple likes to upsell higher capacity products, which have higher margins). This is how users will increase capacity, and retailers will reduce the number of SKUs they have to shelve holding down inventory cost.
Because tablets are used for media consumption, and because they will likely be connected to TVs at least some of the time, an HDMI port would seem to be an obvious addition as people don’t like to carry docking stations or dongles.
The Notion Ink has all of these, or will have when and if it ships, and on top, the keystone hybrid indoor-outdoor Pixel Qui screen. The whole assembly argues for a second generation product.
3G or 4G? A crinkle in connectivity
What isn’t yet clear is whether second-generation tablets will be 3G or 4G offerings. These devices are data hungry, and will want as much bandwidth as they likely can get. Initially, the Adam is 3G only. However, my general advice with tablets and notebooks is to use them on Wi-Fi networks and pick up a 3G or 4G access point like the Sprint Overdrive mobile hotspot, so you can use one plan for the laptop and tablet. I don’t think this is a major issue, but for those who want this built in, it could be a problem.
A hardware heavyweight
About 50 percent of what makes the iPad great are the services that stand behind it, and I’m only talking about hardware with the Notion Ink Adam. What will make or break this product is what stands behind it, and we know very little about that yet. However, I do think this product will be closer to what the second- or third-generation tablets will look like, and you may want to hold off on the current generation if you find something compelling, and are willing to wait. In any case, it is always great to see companies that don’t just copy the leaders, but attempt to go out and create something different. That is how Apple has generally been successful itself, and it often amazes me how many firms attempt to copy Apple’s products poorly, rather than copying Apple’s creative approach to the problem.
For those of you in the States, here is hoping you have a wonderful holiday weekend and that whichever tablet you buy, you find it amazing.
They don't have any demo videos on their website. Why is that?
lets be honest here. anyone who buys a tab without waiting for honeycomb is shooting themselves in the foot. These tabs coming out will almost surely not be upgraded when it comes out, and will not get access to the market. look at the Motorola tab Andy Rubin had on Monday. That is what you should be waiting for.
I read part of the article..then thought "…I'd rather get an iPad." (2.0)
lol… That is the biggest problem with a lot of Apple fans…
You read part of the article, got lazy and went back to something 'familiar' regardless of how foolish that decision may be. No further research to make yourself an educated consumer at all. You just saw something shiny and cosmetically appealing to the eye regardless of function or value.
@JeffwithDT : I read all of your posting and thought, "What a dork!".
Keep on waiting for iPad 10xxx.0.
Nice comments. I can't Waite to buy an Adam.
Rob,
Good write up. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these!
omg greg. u r everywhere.
Where do you not write??? I think I have seen you on every blog where the Adam shows it self.
pixel-qui = pixel-who? (the screen is a Pixel Qi, pronounced "Piksel Chee" because a Q is pronounced CH in Chinese, or would be if they used the Roman alphabet, but they don't, oh never mind)
The unibomber was right. Technology rules us…not the other way around.
Everyone should kill themselves now.
Very nice writeup but sadly one huge mistake in fact checking here.
I am extremely sorry to see the picture called Notion-Ink-Adam-5.jpg because it is NOT a good representation of how the interface is going to be at ALL.
That picture is a very very early mockup where some graphic artist stole a picture from a custom skin (the skin is called Enigma) which was made by an artist on DeviantArt for the windows skinning program Rainmeter and pasted it on the Adam enclosure.
Check the skin picture here: http://kaelri.deviantart.com/art/Enigma-103823591
Please remove that pictures. Accurate interface pictures can be had by going to the fanforum or the original notionink.com site.
Agree with E. de Klerk. A more up to date picture is needed.
nice to hear innovations springing up again from india…after a milennium of decline!!
Not to fight, but really, a billion voters in a working democracy with growth rates outpacing China? An expulsion of a colonial power without slaughtering half the people? The development of a social change model that every activist, organization, social group, religion and political party in the world seeks to understand and emulate?
A multiethnic culture creating common goals among multiple religions, languages, cultures and education? The extension of middleclass life to a hundred million while the west shrinks their own middle class?
The creation of the modern Indian democracy is 60 years old, and they have been aiming economic growth at import substitution and creaing local demand, not export. An export led growth policy would have made more people outside India aware of its potential long ago, but the policy they used avoiding an export lead growth plan, benefited and benefits Indians. Good for them. And now, good for us all.