Engadget Reviews the Notion Ink Adam

[kjk]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/27/n...k-adam-review/

We did manage to make it through a full 24-hour day with very mild use and found it just about ready to die when we woke up the next morn, but in our standard battery rundown test (which loops the same video, with WiFi turned on, and the screen at roughly 65 percent brightness) the Adam managed only 8 hours, 38 minutes with the backlight off. Using the Pixel Qi's full color LCD, we managed only 5 hours, 52 minutes before that 24Wh battery died. Mind you, that's comparable to the original Galaxy Tab, but decidedly weak for a 10-incher.

That ratio seems a bit odd (backlight off/on) I thought it would be a lot wider...but perhaps in the Adam's case it is a lot more than the display eating the battery?

[RockdaMan]

The wrap-up is much more pertinent:

Notion Ink truly did come up with a number of fantastic ideas for the Adam tablet. They do show. But so little of their light shines through the muck of buggy software and touchy hardware that we're afraid even the best of them will be completely dismissed and ignored...

...Features like USB host functionality, a desktop-class web browser, a sunlight-readable screen and a multitask-friendly interface aren't just value-add bullet points that justify a higher price -- they're the difference between a tablet that can augment an existing computer, and one that can replace it altogether and thrust users into a new paradigm. We're sad to see the Adam couldn't make it happen, but there's still an opportunity for other manufacturers to take up the torch.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

The wrap-up is much more pertinent:

Well, personally I am more interested in the PixelQ screen-I think it is pretty cool technology and hope Jepsen keeps improving it and gets it in more mainstream devices. But, sure, the whole review is worth a read.

[kennyc]

Interesting. Thanks!

[grumpy3b]

what would be interesting is to read how the non-PixelQi panel Adam compared to the PixelQi Adam in terms of battery performance.

kjk:

Maybe that uneven battery performance could be attributed to poorly optimized system/OS software. All the reviews I've read on the Adam mention a less than stable device. That tells me it's currently half-baked and not ready to come out of the oven. I hope they get it right because I think it's a very compelling device in concept. Too bad the seem to have badly dropped the ball long before reaching the end zone. Right now Adam is the Leon Lett of the computer world. Standing there with no ball, no touchdown and everyone laughing at them as they made asses of themselves in front of the whole world. Lots of enthusiasm but, I hate to say it, but exactly the type of quality many in the US expect to see from tech products, including software, from India. They make great drugs but can't seem to deliver solid tech.

So a round of Bhang for the folks at Notion Ink and maybe that will "free their minds" to fix their products.

[tompe]

There are probably a lot of bugs related to battery performance. There seems to be a problem with Android in units without a sim card for example.

[Rand Brittain]

The Adam is running a skinned version of Froyo. I wonder if it'll have better battery life on plain Honeycomb when someone inevitably hacks it to run that?

[ZombieEatsYou]

Originally Posted by grumpy3b

what would be interesting is to read how the non-PixelQi panel Adam compared to the PixelQi Adam in terms of battery performance.

kjk:

Maybe that uneven battery performance could be attributed to poorly optimized system/OS software. All the reviews I've read on the Adam mention a less than stable device. That tells me it's currently half-baked and not ready to come out of the oven. I hope they get it right because I think it's a very compelling device in concept. Too bad the seem to have badly dropped the ball long before reaching the end zone. Right now Adam is the Leon Lett of the computer world. Standing there with no ball, no touchdown and everyone laughing at them as they made asses of themselves in front of the whole world. Lots of enthusiasm but, I hate to say it, but exactly the type of quality many in the US expect to see from tech products, including software, from India. They make great drugs but can't seem to deliver solid tech.

So a round of Bhang for the folks at Notion Ink and maybe that will "free their minds" to fix their products.

Excellent reference to Thanksgiving '93 Dolphins/Cowboys game.
Well played Sir.

[Barty]

I think they were both too late and too early.

They were too late to take advantage of the iPad / tablet buzz. By the time they started shipping people were already seeing previews of Android Honeycomb tablets from better known companies.

They were too early because Honeycomb wasn't ready for tablet yet, so they used an older Android that Google itself did not recommend for tablet, and ambitiously tried to customize it themselves. They have some interesting ideas, but really they ended up delaying release too many times.

Likewise, the pixelqi tech is very interesting but not quite there yet; it ends up being not particularly great in either backlit or reflective mode.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by Barty

I think they were both too late and too early.

It's much worse than this if their battery lasts three hours less than an iPad while using their *non-backlit* PixelQi screen.

[Sonist]

It's the screen, stupid!

And, unfortunately, it's lame. Basically, it's the worst of both worlds.

It would have been amazing if it was real, but it's not.

[grumpy3b]

Originally Posted by ZombieEatsYou

Excellent reference to Thanksgiving '93 Dolphins/Cowboys game.
Well played Sir.

hahaha...thanks and glad someone remembers poor old Leon Lett. One of my all time fav "characters of the game". But what a Thanksgiving to remember!!

[ZombieEatsYou]

Originally Posted by grumpy3b

hahaha...thanks and glad someone remembers poor old Leon Lett. One of my all time fav "characters of the game". But what a Thanksgiving to remember!!

Dolphin fan, how could I forget?!

[leebase]

Can I say I told you so now? There was just no way a garage startup in India was going to be able to compete with the iPad. Anyone can create a spec list, but we are nowhere close to tablets being able to be thrown together with commodity parts ala the PC world. Anyone who thought differently was deluded

Lee

[RockdaMan]

Notion Ink has announced a major update for the Eden software that runs on the company’s Adam tablet. The softare includes a new kernel, the ability to overclock the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

The update also includes a new web browser, a new eBook app, a new music and video player, and other improvements including a new system for switching between running applications. Adobe Flash Player will also come preinstalled.

Overall it sounds like a pretty big update which could make the Eden UI a lot easier to use.

http://liliputing.com/2011/04/notion...read-more.html