Goodbye

This is the last post I will make here at Bobert's Tech, but I'm not leaving. I'm just moving to a new blog (which has not been created yet). The Notion Ink community has died, and I can't keep up on all of the tablet news, so I will be covering a very broad topic. Tech in general. I will write mostly columns and analysis on the latest there is to write about. If you would like to follow this young blogger's journey I will post the link to the new blog when it is up.

The Question of Eden on Honeycomb (Reposted)

(An opinion of how the Adam's future should look written in February. With Honeycomb coming in less than a month, I thought it could serve as somewhat of a prediction and possibly a guide of what we want to see for the Notion Ink devs.)     

     In Rohan's latest blog post he made a quick statement saying that the Eden apps have been ported to Honeycomb. We all know that the Adam is eventually getting an update to Honeycomb. It may be weeks or months before Notion Ink finalizes the update for us. The Adam will be absolutely awesome with Honeycomb on it, but the question is how much of the Eden UI will be thrown on top of Honeycomb?

     As you can see in the picture above, vanilla Honeycomb even looks good on the Adam. There's no telling how far into the core the Eden UI will dig, but this is most likely not what the final product will end up looking like. Unlike previous versions of Android, it is very hard to put a custom UI over the top of Honeycomb without completely destroying it. This is a good thing, because I generally hate the custom skins they throw on top on Android.
   
     Way back in December Android Police had an interview with sir Rohan of Notion Ink. When asked if Eden would be preserved with Honeycomb, he said yes. In that same interview Rohan also said he would bring the Android Market with the Honeycomb update. (I'm still crossing my fingers in hope on the Market.) A lot has changed since December and Notion Ink's design team could have very well changed their minds on the Eden thing.

     Honeycomb could definitely benefit from the panels concept of multitasking (see this column). They have made Froyo into something that is truly tablet worthy. That required a lot of work and deep digging into the source code. The problem could be that Eden is built totally around a smartphone OS, and cannot be reworked too well with a tablet OS. In Eden they have replaced the normal multitasking interface with a panel switcher that is completely useless with the multitude of apps that do not have panels. In Honeycomb, the app switching has been moved to a soft button in the status bar area. What I'm saying is that some things simply can't get carried over to Honeycomb.

     Honeycomb is very widget heavy, and if Eden completely annihilates the home screen like they do in the current version, it could be a very low point of Eden. The home screen needs to stay. They could possibly throw a dedicated panel button in the navigation bar at the bottom to bring up the panel view. That brings e to my next point. Notion Ink has managed to add a hiding feature to the Froyo status bar so it will be out of site unless it is truly necessary. Rohan said that tablets shouldn't always have a status bar to take up screen real-estate. This idea is going to go out of the windows if they want a feasible Honeycomb design. The always there navigation bar is another high point in Honeycomb, and to get rid of it would just not work.

     Coming back to the panels idea now. If they added an extra button in the navigation bar to open the panels, it would be absolutely fantastic. I'm not saying that it should replace the recent apps button, but it would do nicely in the adjacent space. It would be there at all times to quickly start your multitasking duties. The best part about having a dedicated panels button is that the home screen will remain intact. I can't stress enough how important it is to keep the home screen intact.

     There is no doubt that Honeycomb can get better with a sprinkling of Eden on top, but a smattering would be all too much. Honeycomb needs little improving as it is, so too much wouldn't jive very well with a lot of people (me included). I suppose if Eden angers you too much you could always get a different tablet or a custom ROM. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and the pool on the right.

Notion Ink Adam Eden 1.5 Review

     This is the review that I wanted to do when I first got my Adam. I was hoping that everyone was wrong and Eden was fantastic. I was proven very wrong, and had to write a bad review on a device that had a lot of potential. Four months have passed since then, and the tablet market has exploded since that time. Eden has improved a lot with this iteration. Is it enough? Find out after the break.

     A lot of emphasis has been put into managing tasks in this update. Everywhere you turn, there is an option to kill a process or clean something up. It may seem like overkill (get it?), but it really is useful. In the home button long press menu (HBLPM for short) you have a mini panel that shows how much RAM, CPU, memory, etc. you are using at the time. Also included in the HBLPM is the option to clear all panels or kill all processes.
     Let's talk about panels for a minute. They are finally worth using. There is very little lag in all of the animations and movements of the homescreen panels. There are a few more useful apps to utilize them now. They have made opening a full app or closing a panel much easier by putting both options at the top of each panel. Before those options were hidden in the menu key. Panels have been made much easier to manage as well. In the HBLPM you can scroll through all of your open panels and clear them as you please. If you so desire, you can also add apps into panel view from the HBLPM by dragging them from the bottom list of apps, or so I thought, as this action cause the process homescreen to force close nearly every time.

HBLPM

          In both of the app drawers (on the home screen and in the HBLPM) the apps the have an active process have a box around them to let you know that they are indeed working. Something that I found a little alarming is that the RAM meter you can see above is almost always full. This could be because it's limiting the amount of usable RAM, or it could be because Eden is a memory hog.
     Performance got a huge leap in this update. The quadrant score is about the same as before, but everything is so smooth now. It's amazing the amount of difference this makes in the user experience. There are also far less random crashes. They still occur, and since I've only been using this today, they could be more frequent than I know about. Still it's nice that I can actually do a little work on the tablet without fear of losing it all the next second.

   
     The browser is a little bit of a different story, but don't worry because it's a good one. What the browser gain in functionality, it lost in aesthetics. The side bar has been enlarged and given and odd blue and gray color scheme. It's almost like you are using some sort of accessibility magnification. The address bar has been moved to the bottom and much improved. It works like it should now. Tab switching doesn't cause the the browser to force close anymore (Thank Goodness!). I didn't have the chance to test flash, which is something I should point out. Flash was supposed to come bundled with this update, and it simply didn't.

          Chords is excellent (yes, that is proper grammar). There really isn't much more to say than that. I did have a not responding problem with it once, but a quick process kill took care of it. For some reason they left the stock android music app for you to gripe at. At least you can see how good you have it now.

     The alpha panel has received a few more options to control your Adam. Added is the new ToDO list app. With that they removed some space for the recent apps. The space is more than made for in the HBLPM. You know the HBLPM? It's practically like another home screen, or mission control if you prefer. A tap on the clock no longer show you a list of all of your apps, and unless I'm missing something, that option is gone entirely. A long press on the launcher button brings down the list of apps. Each app that has an active process is boxed here as well.

Wrap-up
      This is what the Adam should have been back in January. Is it perfect? No. It is still missing one crucial feature. The Android Market isn't there. It isn't Honeycomb. It is more of a place filler; a drink of water to calm the hunger pangs if you will. Is it better? Much. This is a vast improvement over the old broken Eden. Most importantly, it is now usable. It may be great, but it isn't enough to keep me away from other Honeycomb tablets. We'll have to see what the June 27th slated Honeycomb update brings.
 

Notion Ink Adam Eden Update Landing Monday, Gingerbread Wednesday

     Adam owners will finally be able to taste sweet Gingerbread on Monday Wednesday with the release of Eden 1.5. Aside from Gingerbread, the update is suppose to bring several UI enhancements that hopefully make the interface a little bit more user friendly. Also onboard are many news apps such as the long-awaited weather app and Dolphin Browser HD. Another update is slotted for Wednesday with an unspecified changelog. Keep hitting those update buttons people!
     I apologize for misinforming the lucky people that read this article. The Gingerbread update is landing Wednesday, and the Major update to Eden 1.5 is landing Monday. The new Eden will bring many new features including a new look, supposedly enhanced usability (I'm skeptical), and many new apps. Let's hope for the best, and keep hitting those update buttons tomorrow. I'll post a review for you as soon as I can.

Why I Kept My Adam

     The sound of crickets has been floating around here as of late. Everyone involved has gone silent. Many people have just up and left in the order of selling their Adams. I don't blame them. I'm getting tired of waiting for that fabled usability approving Gingerbread update too. That doesn't mean I'm going to sell my Adam to some unsuspecting patron. I have many good reasons to stay.

     The Adam is a great device when it comes to the hardware. The only things that bring it down are the thickness and the terrible screen. The camera could be considered a downfall as well, but I'll leave it be. The problem is in the software. It's terrible. Notion Ink hasn't update it to the (supposedly) more user friendly version yet. Many people have ditched the Adam because they got sick of waiting.
     
     I know the user experience can be good because mine runs Honeycomb. The alpha version isn't as smooth as I would like it to be, but it gives me hope. Hope that one day Google will release the source code on something to give power to the Adam. If I have to wait for Ice Cream Sandwich I will. I trust Notion Ink to give us the updates we deserve.

     Even if they completely ruin Honeycomb with the Eden overlay, I have ROMs to fall back on. Why do I still have my Adam? Software can be fixed. It was cheap. Tegra II. Trust in Notion Ink.

We Aren't in Hiding. There Isn't Anything New to Report.

     There is a big update coming to the Adam in the coming week or two. Rohan specified the third week of May for the update. My best guess is an announcement dropping tomorrow morning. What do we do until then? We wait. Waiting is hard. Lot's of people out there expect us Notion Ink bloggers to give you an update every day. We can't do that when there is nothing new to report on. I , for one, am not going to make a post just to take up space. A few disgruntle commenters have been trolling Notion Ink Fan for being silent as of late. We are not gone. We just have nothing to report. If there is something to report, we will. Thank You

Notion Ink Adam ROM Review: Honeycomb Alpha (v. 11)

     This is, without a doubt, the best ROM available. I don't need to tell you about Honeycomb. If you must see the details about Honeycomb, here is a guide. How well does it run on the Adam? Pretty darn good. What makes it so good? Find out after the break.

     This is a very stable build for being an alpha version. You still get the small amount of force closes that you would expect from anything running android, but nothing major has happened yet. This is to be expected since this is actually a fully baked build on Honeycomb ripped from the Asus Eeepad Transformer. The devs have done a nice job of pulling out all signs of Asus. What you are left with is completely stock Honeycomb, and all of its goodness.

     On any and all 2.2 based ROMs, the touch screen felt a little unresponsive, which generally ruined the user experience for me. It wasn't terrible, but it was certainly worse than the XOOM or iPad. It may be the beautification of the UI, the tablet specific sizes, or a complete placebo, but the user experience shot through the roof with this ROM. Everything is perfectly snappy. It isn't quite as snappy as the XOOM, with a little snag here and there. You won't be disappointed.

     Eden notifications leave a lot to be desired with that tiny exclamation point up in the corner. The status bar hiding trick that Notion Ink employed worked to make status bar visible in all apps, but it is still out of the way. Notifications are on the right of the always present status/navbar. A click on the clock brings up quick settings and your notifications. On a side note, the dark glow that accompanies the clock pop-up is offset two inches to the left. Aside from the small glitch, it is really handy.

     Two shining features of Honeycomb over the Eden UI are the keyboard and the browser. The browser feels like you are using a small version of Chrome. Zooming and scrolling are both smooth. Bookmarks sync without worry. The only complaint I have (a common complaint across the web) is the rendering of webpages to the mobile versions. I'm not using a smartphone, and I don't wanted to be treated as such. Luckily you can just go into the debug setting to change the user agent string to desktop, or iPad, or whatever the heck you want.

     The Notion Ink keyboard is great isn't? I'm never going back to it after using the 3.0 offering. It's just better.

    This is now the ROM, and it will stay that way until Notion Ink gets their hands on some source code. With Honeycomb, the Adam can actually complete with other tablets. I finally like Adam over the iPad. Honeycomb bridges the gap between glossy, functional, and open. The best of all three, and it's now available for your enjoyment on the Notion Ink Adam.

Honeycomb 3.1 is Coming

     Today is day one at Google I/O, the announcements are in full swing. Of course, some of the pertain to the Adam. What would that be? Honeycomb 3.1 was announced  that brings widget resizing, USB support galore, and much improved multitasking/task management. What is the biggest takeaway from this? It will be open-sourced for Notion Ink to get their hands on. Honey from the garden of eden tastes even better.

Dolphin Browser HD to Come Bundled with Adam

     Notion Ink is getting its fingers into many pies lately. They have announced today that they have made a deal with the makers of Dolphin Browser to include their phenomenal web browser in the upcoming update. Oddly, Dolphin Browser HD is completly incompatible with the Adam right now. It is even blocked on the Market (using Edenx). Better yet, the update has a timeline set for release in the "third week of this month". Around the same time, the Adam will be available for general sale.

Kindle on Adam!

     No, I haven't gone crazy with the exclamation points today. Rohan announced late last night (sometime around noon in India) that Notion Ink is collaborating with Amazon to bring the Kindle Books app on the Adam. This is likely to come in the next update. This is very exciting especially considering their isn't a pre-installed book app to enjoy your Pixel Qi with. The next question is the possible future inclusion of the Amazon Appstore on the Adam.

Breaking: Honeycomb on Adam (Update)

     I have great news for you folks! Mr. Guy, the same guy to bring you the Pixel Qi toggle app, has now booted Honeycomb on the Adam. It is in very early stages, but it is booted, and that we can build upon. Now it's your turn devs. Take this pice of work to make an awesome ROM complete with NI apps. We are waiting.
     As you can see in the video below, it is still pre-alpha, but it is on its way. This particular ROM appears to be from the EeePad Transformer. The original post can be found here. The devs at TabletROMs.com re doing good!
(Update)
Help make the ROM stable to get a piece of the bounty. You will be rewarded for your dev efforts. How can you lose? See: http://tabletroms.com/forums/content.php?4-Stabilize-the-HC-Rom

Completly Updated Eden Coming to Adam

     We have had light shed upon us this morning in the the latest Notion Ink blog post. The major update that was barely mentioned in the last post got a list of details to go with the images today. The details show that this really is a major update instead of a design change.

The biggest bullet of the list is the core OS. The Adam will get Gingerbread after all. The delay on Honeycomb made them change their minds most likely. Eden needed a lot of improvement and Honeycomb isn't available as grounds for such improvement. The kernel is also getting a nice revamp for you developers out there. To give you ROM developers a nod, the link for the kernel source was thrown up on the blog post at the very top.

Another amazing bullet point is the addition of an overclocked Tegra processor. This could be taken many ways as it is listed as "optimally overclocked". That could just mean that it isn't downclocked by Eden anymore.

Many software additions and changes will take place. Many such additions include chords for music, the weather app, books, and flash pre-installed (sorry, no genesis). Rohan makes mentioned of a completly different browser, which would be nice considering the Eden browser that I'm typing this post on is very half-baked. Take a gander at the full post here .

Notion Ink Adam ROM Review: Cyanogen Mod 7 (Beta1)

     Cyanogen Mod is probably the most popular Android ROM of all time, and it is now making its way to the Adam. Also included is the Honeycomb mimicking Tablet Tweaks plugin (also beta). I say making its way because it is still in beta. I had a minimal amount of problems with stability, but I recommend waiting as this won't be your daily donut. Find out how the popular ROM runs on a not-so-standard tablet.

     If you hate everything about Eden, even the apps, then this is definitely the ROM for you. All traces of Notion Ink have been wiped clean. This could be a good thing for some users, but not this guy. Couldn't they at least give us the NI keyboard? The purpose of CM7 is to give a vanilla Gingerbread experience, but oddly the stock Android launcher is MIA, instead giving you ADW and VTL to pick from.

     As with a few other ROMs, you are given toggles for things like switching the SD cards or turning off cell standby. To do so, you are given the horrible  not very intuitive Adam toggles app. All the app is is a screen with four buttons for the four toggles. No visual indication that the toggle worked, no prompting to restart, just four buttons.

     Tablet Tweaks was suppose to give a Honeycomb-like feel to the overall experience. It doesn't. All you really get is a fat status bar with three navigation buttons that hardly ever goes away. Oh, and you can move it to the bottom of the screen if so desired. It's a nice idea, but it doesn't really add anything to the user experience.

     There you have it. A brief review of a very popular ROM that almost doesn't need a review. For a complete list of features that CM will give you, go to their website. Right now, it isn't ready for the Adam. One major problem I had was the lack of a lockscreen which would probably be fixed by a simple data wipe. This ROM gets a 3/10 in its current form. The reason? A complete lack of anything Notion Ink.

Engadget Reviews Notion Ink Adam

     All I can say is finally! We (or I at least) have been waiting for a professional review of the Adam since it came out. Since all orders were shipped a while back, it's hard to tell what took them so long. They had some interesting things to say about the tablet. Most of them were bad, but they were also true. They main target of the negativity was, of course, the software and the screen. What else did they say? Read on.

     The Adam only did good enough to deserve a lousy 3 out of 10 rating from the big shots. The software was called upon repeatedly for being slow and buggy. They even went as far as calling it "beta at best". Not a goos sign. They seemed particularly proud of their discovery of a way to make the browser crash on command (multiple taps on the tab wheel). The panels got a nice little overview as to how they worked and such. A small item they touched on was the lack of responsiveness from the capacitive digitizer. It was blamed on the screen protector, but as I found out the screen protector has nothing to do with the lack of touch sensitivity, it is just another one of the tablet's quirks. Oddly, no mention was made about the low wifi signal.

     Engadget did have a couple of good thing to say about Notion Ink's baby. The ports... lots and lots of ports to fill your nerdy heart with joy. It use a "unique" design and an awesome sun-readable display. That was about it on the good side.

     Like everyone that has an Adam knows, the viewing angles are awful, the camera is funky at best, and the software is just bad out of the box. Engadget just reaffirmed what we already knew, but it's nice to hear from the pros. You know Notion Ink didn't do terribly great with their first product when Engadget calls it a prototype running beta software. Get the full review here: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/27/notion-ink-adam-review/

Silence is Golden - Gold Holds No Value in the Notion Ink Community

    It's been a long time since we last spoke. Does that sound familiar? It should. That is how Rohan started a few of his blog posts back when the official Notion Ink blog started to show signs of dying. Now he needs to start off every post with that little phrase. What has happened to the "family"? Where has the constant knowledge gone?

     The journey started way back in April (last year) when the blog was officially opened. The promise of the ultimate Android tablet kept people flocking. The teasing and constant flow of information kept the people coming back for more. The Adam would have been a beast if it were released last summer. No competition could match it on the specs. And then came the delays.

   Delay one with some investor issues. It was suppose to arrive sometime around Thanksgiving. In the weeks counting up to Thanksgiving we got post after post describing one bit of information at a time about the Adam. Weekend Specials he called them. It gave would be buyers a particular date to look forward to for more information. We knew everything about the Adam aside from a few crucial details.

     Would the Adam come with the Android Market? Nobody knew. It took an interview with Android Police to find out, and that was after the pre-order had started. Another piece of the puzzle that was completely missing was a demonstration of the actual device. We had screenshots, renders, photos, prototype photos, but no videos or photos of the actual production Adam. We were expected to buy out of trust, and many of us did.

     After the backlash of concern about a pre-order for an unknown product Rohan took charge of the situation by giving the videos we wanted. We didn't just get a video of the Adam doing its thing, we got a video demonstration every day. Now we knew everything about the Adam and how to use it once it arrived. This device still hadn't shipped to anyone.

     In January, the videos stopped because it was the time of year for CES 2011. That was a disappointment. Notion Ink didn't have a booth for whatever reason, and nobody knew they were their. Slashgear and Engadget seemed to be the only media folks that gave them any type of coverage. Maybe because they were looking for Rohan? From Engadget and Slashgear the Adam got excellent "reviews". Strangely, we have yet to receive an actual review on the Adam from either blog even though they said it was coming.

    CES marked the beginning of the end for Notion Ink's blogging record. Shipping delays and bricked Adam's destroyed the company's reputation overnight. Many people were angry; many people cancelled their order. Some people didn't even get an Adam until March. The customers that had their orders pushed backed several months didn't like silence on the blog very much either. Emails to support didn't bring back anything either.

     We know Rohan has something to blog about. The last post gave a hint of the next major software update for the Adam. Can't he give us a little teaser every weekend about the update like he's done before? Is he afraid of making promises he can't keep? Just put a little disclaimer at the bottom saying details may vary. We don't like being kept in the dark.

The Future Looks Bright!

     Many moons ago Rohan mentioned a major update coming in the future for our beloved Adams. Today we see the first signs of the upgrade. While he doesn't into much detail about the software itself, he does provide four lovely screen shots of a completely revamped Eden UI. Along with a completely different style, the status bar seems to be making a come back. All of those apps we have been missing such as Weather, Books, and Eden (appears to be called chords in the preview) will be making an appearance as well.

The full post, found here, is entitled "Closer to the Blue". One can only guess that blue means Honeycomb. Major updates to Eden like this are enough to keep most of us happy until the big blue drops. We'll see if function lives up to form when the update drops "soon". We will be waiting eagerly.

Notion Ink Adam Bug Report: Apple Headhones

     Most people probably haven't noticed this and probably don't even care. The somewhat mediocre headphones that come bundled with iPhones, you know, the ones with the button for music controls? Well, they have a wierd side effect when paired with the Adam. The middle button has to be held down in order to hear music properly. Without the button being held, the music sounds garbled like a bad youtube video. This isn't a major issue by any stretch, but it is most likely hardware related. I don't know what causes the problem, but I do know a solution. A clothespin. Yes, a nice string clothespin to keep that button good and smashed.

VTL.Launcher Review - A Launcher For Tablets

     Most Adam owners like their home screen replacement apps. Whether it be Launcher Pro, ADW, or Helix, we all have our favorites. VTL.Launcher is different in that it is made for the big screen. Currently in beta, VTL is strongly based off of ADW source code, and is designed for main use in landscape mode. While it does have the ability to go into portrait mode, it doesn't do it very well. Full thoughts after the break.

 

The default configuration is having not one, but three docks all swallowing you into a window framed by apps. Also default is to have a shadowy black dock background. This configuration is not for the claustrophobic. Thankfully, you can change the docks around to suit you needs any way you prefer. I may never find a use for all of that dock space. 

A long press on an app brings up a little menu to remove, edit, get info, or show in Market. Unlike ADW there isn't an option to uninstall the app from this menu. Even though VTL is made for the large screen, the menu still fills the width of the screen just to give it an unfinished look. General scrolling speed throughout felt a little rough. It may be due to the beta tag, but it is fairly unpleasant considering the dual-core guts of the Adam. One downfall of VTL is the the poor transition it makes when in portrait mode. The widgets all look smashed. The dock on the bottom doesn't re-size, but rather the apps just get shoved off screen.  I would like to see some more customization options such as home screen transition effects. Overall the experience is great and very well suited for the Adam. The Adam was made for landscape, so why not have a home screen to match. 

The Wait For Honeycomb on Adam is Getting Ridiculous

     Full faith was resting on Notion Ink to give us an update to Honeycomb for our Adams. After the Adam was released many speculated that Honeycomb may never see the light of day from behind a Pixel Qi screen. Rohan has assured us multiple times that Notion Ink will do everything in their power to bring us the fabled Android for tablets. Now it looks as if the issue may be out of their hands.

     Google has decided to hold off on releasing the source code because it wasn't made for use on phones. This is old news, and can be fixed if Notion Ink becomes best friends with Google. There is a very slim chance of this happening, but one can hope. Now it appears that Nvidia won't be supporting the Adam's Harmony based internals for future updates. This is only rumor, but it is very worrisome. Will the Adam ever get Honeycomb? The world may never know for sure.

Top Three Web Browser For Your Notion Ink Adam

     The Eden Browser is one of the many sore points that hinders that overall experience. The zooming and scrolling are incredibly slow to use. There isn't an easy way to search. There are a lot of alternative browsers readily available on the Android Market, so what's the problem? They're all made for phones. Below I will give you a rundown of browsers that will suit your tablet browsing experience.

Stock Android Browser (on Beast ROM)

 1. Opera Mobile 11
      This gets the top of the list for the simple reason that it is designed for use on tablets. All the controls line the top  to make everything in easy access. Flash works great. Tab switching looks nice, but it's a little slower than having your tabs always visible at the top. The settings, bookmarks, etc. all appear in a window instead of time wasting full screen. You have the option to hide the status bar if your prefer, but on Eden, the status bar is always hidden. This seems to mess with Opera making a white space appear above where the status bar should be.

2. Dolphin Browser HD
     While it is still made for a phone, it has a set of features that make it awesome for use on tablets. The interface is fairly barren on visible controls. Without hitting the menu kay you only have home, URL bar, and tabs visible. The tabs are fantastic for the large screen. Instead of having always present navigation button like Opera, Dolphin Browser has them hidden under the menu button.

     The Dolphin Browser has one feature that makes it perfectly suited for tablet use. You can change the user agent to have webpages view your device differently. As you can see in the picture below, the internet views the Adam as an iPad to make the webpages perfect for the screen size. Gmail's specialized iPad view is unlocked. Also available are the option to change the user agent to iPhone or default Android. Coming soon is the Dolphin Browser Pad that should combine custom user agents with a tablet suited UI.

3. Skyfire
     The key selling point of Skyfire is the ability to convert flash videos to HTML5 for easy mobile view-ability. This feature is all together unnecessary since the Adam has flash. Converting to HTML5 may be beneficial if you want to conserve bandwidth (or so it tells me). The UI doen't look terrible on the big screen, but it doesn't look good either.

     A lot of the buttons that are always visible are rarely used. The fifth button on the top is a quick switch for toggling between mobile and desktop view. While not as full-featured as the Dolphin Browser user agent equivalent, it is handier. Tab switching is another story. Hitting the tab switcher toggle brings up the tabs that blocks out the entire screen. Otherwise, the browsing experience isn't all that bad.

Skyfire Tab Switching

4. Firefox
     Firefox deserves a mention because it is a very good browser... on phones. On a tablet screen it just doesn't work. It looks as good blown up as the stock android browser. One advantage you would have is the ability to sync bookmarks with the desktop version.

5. Wrap-up
     What it all boils down to is the wait for Honeycomb on the Adam. Until the Eden browser improves or Honeycomb becomes available we'll just have to suffer or find alternatives.

Week Two: No Weekend Special

     I thought there was new technology that needed to be talked about. Where are the promised updates Rohan? The people want answers. For those of you that may not know, Rohan (Notion Ink CEO) promised upcoming weekend special updates starting last Saturday. This is the kind of thing that causes distrust in the community.

Notion Ink Adam ROM Review: The Beast (Update: Rant)

     Isn't it amazing how many ROM's are available for product that is seemingly unpopular? Could it be because the stock software is just that bad, or is it due to the lack of the Android Market? Maybe Adam owners are just born modders. Whatever the reason is, developers have created some brilliant ROM's to hold us over until Honeycomb gets released from Google's mighty grip. Is The Beast another shining star in the galaxy of ROM's, or is it another flop? So many questions. Find the answers after the break.

     The Beast is a vanilla Android ROM for the Adam based off of Utopia, but built for speed. While it is a Froyo build, many elements such as the keyboard and animations from Gingerbread can be found within. Many apps from Notion Ink are pre-installed as well, including the keyboard, Mail'd (removed in latest version of Beast), Sniffer, etc. Being vanilla Android, Eden is nowhere to be found, but who used it anyway? It comes pre-loaded with ADW and Launcher Pro, but the stock Android launcher is oddly missing.

     The Beast is one of the most stable ROM's I have tried on the Adam. On the forums they claim a Quadrant score of ~2900. I got a maximum score in the ballpark of 2400. That isn't to say it isn't fast. The speed improvement isn't extremely noticeable when compared to the stock. Josh4Trunks posted a handy guide for the various toggles available so you can do things like change the mapping of the physical button or swap the SD cards.

      Music was a bit of a pain. All of my music is on my SD card, otherwise known as SDcard2. In the stock ROM, the media finder app is written to detect media on the SDcard (internal memory) and the SDcard2 (actual SD card). One of the toggles provided is to swap the number on the SD cards so that your removable card becomes the default. It gets confusing in Sniffer when the tablet memory is actually your SD card.

     All and all it is a fantastic ROM. Until something amazing happens in Eden, this will be my ROM. If you are looking for a vanilla build of Android for your Adam look no further.

(Update) In the most recent update (2.1.4) the developer has decided to remove Mail'd in favor of the stock email app. Why? Mail'd, Sniffer, and Canvas are the best Notion Ink apps to have, and you removed one? Mail'd's replacement app isn't even tablet ready. It is a blown up phone app that has no business being on a tablet or replacing Mail'd. Thank you for your time.

Notion Ink Adam ROM Review: VEGAn-Tab (Update)

     We have seen ROM's for the Gtab that are based on Eden, and now it's time to turn the tables. Yes, the VEGAn-Tab is a Gtablet based ROM for the Adam. It is a particularly wierd idea since the UI from Viewsonic isn't exactly something people look for in a tablet. If you are looking for something different, this is most likely the ROM for you. Full thoughts after the break.

     The UI enhancements of this ROM don't go very far beyond what vanilla android will bring you. A few elements,such as the status bar, are enlarged for better accuracy. In the status bar, you will find the three navigation buttons as if Viewsonic is trying to ape Honeycomb. The biggest UI enhancements to be found are the fantastic animations all around. They may be useless, but they make it look a lot better. For apps, it comes bundles with the NI apps you would expect except one. The NI keyboard is MIA here. In it's place, you have the Gingerbread keyboard and the Tap n' Tap Western keyboard to choose from. I almost prefer the Tap n' Tap keyboard over the NI keyboard for its split and thumb oriented layout.

     I will warn you that this is a beta build. I had quite a few instances of force close happening to me. A re-install of the particular usually resolves the issue at hand, but that gets old fast. A large problem I found, and the reason I'm not keeping this ROM, is a problem with the way it handles the SD card. Sniffer acts like the card isn't even there have of the time. The standard music app and tunewiki refuse to find any music most liely because they aren't seeing the card. I need my music. With this ROM the sleep/wake bug reappears.

    If you don't want Eden, but you want something a little better looking than vanilla froyo/gingerbread, this is the ROM for you. If you are looking for a speed demon, look elsewhere. The speed is equivalent to that of Edenx with a Quadrant score of ~1900. I will recommend that you wait until it comes out of beta. I'll give it a 3/5 rating, but your tastes will vary.

(Update) It has been called to my attention that this ROM is based off of the Advent Vega, not the Viewsonic G-Tablet. Please ignore all references to the G-Tablet above.

Where Is Our Week-End Special From Rohan?

     It is 8:00 PM on Saturday, and I have yet to see anything from Notion Ink. This is just a simple blog post, but it is also one more promise not kept. This isn't good business. Sometimes, it's the small things that count. Now is one of those times. As far as I know, Rohan isn't in India at the moment. If you can't create a post don't keep silent.

Roebeet is Stepping Down

     It just seems like the fledgling Notion Ink community is falling apart these days. Albert Wertz (Notion Ink Hacks Official) has put his Adam up for sale, and now Roebeet is handing off the Edenx project to anyone worthy of taking over. Anyone that would like to be considered for the duty should drop a post here: http://www.notioninkhacks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2049. Edenx is one of the best ROM's available for the Adam, and Roebeet will be missed. He isn't going anywhere, but he won't be in charge of Edenx anymore.

A Thank You to Notion Ink Hacks

     A couple of days ago, while browsing the NIH forums, I ran across the banner running atop their home page. It said something about a link exchange program. That turned out to be the best discovery I have made in a while. The link to my this site was posted on the NIH landing page and BOOM! I have gone from ~70 per day to nearly 200. Thank You Notion Ink Hacks.

Help an Adam Demographic

     A recent study says that only 20% of Adam owners have hacked their Adam's. Notion Ink Hack's Andy thinks otherwise, and has compiled a survey to prove it. This survey won't be at all fair since the majority of Notion Ink Hack readers have hacked their Adam's. Regardless of the fairness, here is the survey: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDZpbGxNR01wZV9yTEtfbzUwSkJ4eUE6MQ

Notion Ink (Rohan) Finally Updates the Public

      It has been nearly a month since the last post from the mysterious company. Most of our needy questions have been answered this time along with a few exciting things to keep the fun going. Rohan is going to start the weekend specials again for the few and far between blog posts to stop. More good news after the break.

     First and foremost, you can stop posting your infinite questions to the Notion Ink blog. THe official Notion Ink forum is coming in the next few days. Coming with the forums will be the ability to live chat with the support team. Let's hope the support team can take the strain that the anxious fans will undoubtedly put on the system.
     Rohan gave full details on the delays put on Adam deliveries, and assured us that every Adam has been shipped. The sleep/wake bug that has plagued so many Adam's was the fault of the manufacturer according to Rohan. To solve this issue, they will be using a different manufacturer from here on out.
     One of the more interesting points that was touched on was the Honeycomb issue. He addressed the issue of Honeycomb being closed by sending a special request to Google for the source. I would give it to them if I were Google, but sadly I am not. Let's hope they do get some kind of agreement with Google not just for Honeycomb, but for the Android Market as well.
The full blog post is here:http://notionink.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/breaking-the-silence/

Opera Mobile 11 on Notion Ink Adam (Video)

    The Eden browser left much to be desired, but until now there haven't been any alternatives that were suited to the tablet. Opera does that and much more. Actions are all fast, and menus appear in a window instead of the full page. Also included as a bonus is the Honeycomb boot animation. Have a look for yourself.

No Honeycomb Source Code! What It Means to an Adam Owner.

     Google is getting a little more strict on their open sourcing as of recent. They will be holding off on the release of the Honeycomb source until further refinements are made. The refinements in question are to make Honeycomb more phone friendly to developers and hackers. The pot isn't all sour as large manufacturers will  get access to the code.

     Now the big question here is will Notion Ink qualify as a "large" company in order to receive the rights to the hive. Probably not, but we can hope. The update will probably take a lot longer than many had hoped. What we know for sure is that the small developers that give us ROMs won't be able to so for a while. This is really a bad ordeal for Adam owners.

How To Reduce Lag On Your Adam

     My initial reaction to the Adam's stock software was, "This is slow; really slow; like original Droid slow." The overall lag on the system floored me mainly because of the Tegra II that lies within. It has the capability of being a lightning tablet, but Eden holds it back. Part of the reason behind this is Eden's utilization of the cores. Only one  core is active until more than 500 MHz is needed. Eden itself is also over complicated which drags down everything. While this may save battery life to an extent, it mainly destroys the user experience. Today I will show you various ways to reduce the lag and drag on your Adam to make life easier.

Replace The Home Screen
      Unless you absolutely love the Eden home screen in all of its paneled glory, you will most likely want to replace it. The panels are not at all smooth. When dragging the panels across it can feel like watching a slideshow at times. There are many replacement options like ADW EX or Launcher Pro, and none of them require root. If you would like to go back to Eden every once and a while, the Edenx ROM comes with a built in home switcher to jump back and forth.

Replace The Eden Browser
     The default browser has a lot of potential, but the scrolling/zooming isn't smooth, it has a tendency to crash, and there isn't an easy way to search for something. Getting another browser isn't as easy as it might sound, because most of the alternative browsers are built for phones. There is, however, one browser that is tablet ready and that browser is Opera. As you might already know, it comes in a mini and a mobile version. The mini is much faster because it renders in Opera's servers and lacks flash, so I use the mobile version. A demonstration is coming soon.

ROM it With The Beast
     If Eden isn't your cup o' tea, and you just want vanilla frozen yogurt, I would definitely recommend the Beast ROM. The Beast ROM is a vanilla ROM that has a quadrant score at almost three thousand. It is lightning. You can find it at Notion Ink Hacks under the hacks forum.

Five Reasons To Root/ROM Your Notion Ink Adam

     The Adam is great isn't it? The biggest way to improve on any Android device is to give a little root to set it free. In a recent interview with Notion Ink Hacks, Rohan said that he encourages users to hack their Adams, and he has even done it himself. If there was any doubt that you should adventure into the journey of ROM's, here is a list of five big  reasons why you should.

     1. Root Access
This may seem like a no brainer to the seasoned and even the occasional Android user, but it is quite a good reason. You could get apps like SetCPU to underclock the Tegra to conserve battery. Your backups will go much deeper with a root backup such as MyBackup Root. There countless other apps on the market that require root access if you just look for them.
     2. Android Market
As I noted in my initial impressions, the Android Market, or lack thereof, is the biggest flaw of the stock Eden UI. With any ROM use you, even if it is just the basic root, you will get Market access. Once you have that access, you will have over 150,000 apps at your fingertips ready to download without going to the extra trouble of side-loading.
     3. Ad-hoc
Ad-hoc will only affect a small number of users, but I still do not know why it was left out in the stock build. For the wifi only Adams it allows the tablet to be linked to a hotspot created by a phone or other devices.
     4. Home Screen Replacement
I like Android, and part of that comes from the awesome home screens that give us widgets, live wallpapers, and an amazing amount of customization. The default Eden home screen gives us none of that. Now you should know that home screen replacements don't require root of any kind. Edenx gives you this nice home switcher that easily allows you to switch between your replacement and Eden so that you don't lose the awesome panels that make your Adam a Notion Ink product. Alternatively, if you hate Eden for whatever reason, you can easily switch to a ROM like Utopia or Beast that provide the vanilla Froyo experience.
     5. It's Super Easy
The only way it could possibly be easier is if it was a one click solution. All you have to do for any of the of the ROM's is load the update.zip to your card and boot into recovery mode to apply the zip. Some of the ROMs require you to wipe the user data, but with apps like Titanium Backup who cares? To top it all of Rohan practically encourages it. Technically your warranty is void, but none have been canceled yet.

Galaxy Tab 8.9 & 10.1 First Impressions (Adam Beware)(Video)

     It looks like we have a couple of worthy adversaries to add to the list today. They are the most iPad like Android tablets I have seen thus far. The Galaxy Tab's are to be sold based on the amount of memory with a 16 and 32 GB variant. The big story from here is that they will both be wifi only at launch. The prices are as follows:

	16 GB	32 GB
Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi	$469	$569
Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi	$499	$599

     The 8.9 Tab will have an interesting accessory that causes worry in the Adam realm. It has USB in/out. The one thing the Adam excels at, and they made it available on a Samsung device, but you still has to buy the dock connector add-on to use it. The insides are the usual dual-core 1GHz chip and 1GB RAM that we have come to expect by now. The rear cameras are both 3MP while the front shooters are rated at 2MP. Both have the usual front-facing cameras. Another feature that has potential to shoot the Adam down are the stereo surround sound speakers that the tablets have. They must be good for Samsung to boast like they do. The Galaxy Tab's are also the world's thinnest tablets, coming in at 8.6mm in thickness (just 0.2mm thinner than the iPad).

     The story isn't just about the hardware this time around. Samsung, most likely in an effort to differentiate themselves, have skinned Honeycomb over with Touchwiz 4.0. It may not be all bad news, however, as it seems that Sammy has tried to do a little more than replace the launcher this time. Touchwiz replaces the home screen with what they call "Live Panels". In the demo below you can see that you can actually open up certain apps in little windows. Windows on an Android-powered tablet is refreshing to say the least. Tablets might be getting some desktop savvy to them. The video is courtesy of Android Community.

Don't Hold Your Breath For A Honeycomb Update On Your Adam Just Yet

     A top reason why I favored the Adam over other tablets is Notion Ink's fight to make the Adam future proof. Way back in August when everybody thought Gingerbread was going to be the tablet specific version of Android, Rohan made a pledge to give the tablet an update. The Adam was designed with the future in mind. As it turned out, Gingerbread was just another phone software upgrade. With Honeycomb coming shortly after, Notion Ink made the decision to skip Gingerbread all together so they could focus on the real prize, Honeycomb.

     Honeycomb has a vastly different UI than previous versions of Android. One of the drawbacks of this is it makes it harder to skin Eden over something so perfect. The coding for this could take a very long time, and that's okay with me. As long as it takes to make it as good as possible. I don't to get a Honeycomb update that is just as bad as Froyo with Eden is now. Even if it takes two months time, they will still be faster than most manufacturers out there. Froyo was released in July of last year, and the Samsung Epic 4G is just now receiving it officially.

     Don't be surprised if the official Honeycomb does take months. With Honeycomb we will be getting the Genesis store along with the Genesis SDK. That is when all of the fun will start folks. Until then, Rohan has mentioned a major update in the next few weeks. While it won't be Honeycomb, it will probably bring the weather, music, and various other apps.

Is The Adam's Slight Buzzing A Widespread Issue?

     There have been many reports lately of a small buzzing sound coming from people's Adams. It isn't a problem until you try to record something using the built in mic. The mic must be great, because it picks up this buzzing even though the sound seems to be coming from the opposite end of the device. Some users have questioned that it may be the screen causing the noise.  The only thing that makes me think the problem isn't affecting everybody is that I remember someone saying the microphone was excellent. It is most certainly not excellent with all of the noise. You can hear the noise in the video below. My LCD Adam has the noise. Do any of you Pixel Qi owners have the same issue?

A Look Into The Shapes and Naming Schemes That Are Notion Ink

     If Notion Ink was trying to create a theme for themselves, they have done it. All over the tablet and in the UI you can find many things that are very "Adam". Why is nobody talking about these subtle details? Are they too subtle to merit a mention? I don't think so. Join me as I try to unravel the secrets inside the lines.

     That shape you see there is the defining shape of Eden. It appears all over the tablet, and into the UI. All of the buttons, the headphone jack, and the power jack have a logo with this shape. Even the name Adam is spelled with the letters in the shape. I suppose the real question is does it have any meaning? Probably not, but it is in way too many places to not have a purpose.

     The blue squiggly line in the picture was an attempt at showing another design aspect of the Eden UI. Some of the Eden app icons have the color filled in with a sketched look. It resembles the look of a crayon/brush stroke or maybe an unfinished sketch. The unfinished look would contribute to the unfinished fell of Eden. The entire Eden UI has a paper and sketch fell to it. Are they trying to say that Eden is a work of art, or was one of the designer an art school grad?

     Probably the biggest point to be made is the naming scheme. It's fairly obvious that the names are all biblical. Not everything is milk and honey in the garden of eden though. On the NotionInk.com landing page you will see a promotional video. The music player that is shown in the video is playing an interesting selection entitled "Eden - The Beginning". Hopefully, for Notion Ink, Eden is just the beginning. If they can make it past the Adam, Eden will have been the beginning and not the end. Adam is the first creation. Let's hope this doesn't mean Notion Ink considers themselves a god. One thing that is still a mystery is the company name. What in blue blazes is a Notion Ink? Could it be that Rohan had a notion? But then where does the ink come into play? What does it mean!

Dear Google, We Need Honeycomb Source Code

     Need I say more? Notion Ink needs to start working on Honeycomb with Eden, and they can't do it without your help Google. Let's be honest with ourselves, Notion Ink will take a while getting Eden ported to Honeycomb, and until then we'll have get a Honeycomb ROM to tide us over. Either way, we need that source code.

Notion Ink Adam ROM Review: Edenx

     It's truly amazing how many ROMs are available for the Adam considering how few of them there are in the wild. While only Notion Ink knows the actual number of Adam's there are, we can assume the numbers are only in the tens of thousands. All of your the Adam ROMs can be found at NotionInkHacks.com. The ROM I will be reviewing today is called Edenx, and was compiled by Roebeet.

      Edenx is a very stocked based ROM unlike the Utopia and Beast ROMs that are vanilla Android based. Its simplicity is its beauty. What it adds is root access, the market, various Google apps, a home switcher, and a few other tweaks. The home switcher is nice since Eden isn't customizable at all as a home screen. Edenx is what stock Eden should have been other than the root access. Small apps like Google Voice Search and Live Wallpapers complete the Android experience. The Android Market is also a plus.

     Is there anything I don't like about Edenx? I wish there were an option in the settings to get rid of the panel switcher in favor of the stock android app switcher. Other than that, Roebeet did a fantastic job.

Photo and Video Shot From iPad 2 and Notion Ink Adam

     During the Apple keynote, Steve left out the resolution of the still photos for the iPad's camera. The reason for this is probably the fact that it's about 0.7 MP. That's bad, but the Adam isn't really any better. Tablets aren't made for this kind of thing, but it needs a video demo anyway.

The Genius and Slight Flaw of the Camera Position on Adam

     Right on the Notion Ink website they praise how they positioned the camera on the Adam. It's in the corner so you can video chat in both landscape and portrait modes. Not to mention the fact that the thing swivels! While trying to use the camera in portrait mode I noticed a slight design flaw. The hardware buttons are on the opposite side of the device. This makes it very easy to press them while using the camera in portrait since your hands are generally at the bottom of the device to hold it upright. You could flip it around so that the buttons are at top, but the the camera is at the bottom. This is a very nit picky point, but I felt it worth mentioning. Hopefully this won't be an issue for Adam 2, because Honeycomb doesn't use hardware buttons.

Bug Report: Eden Browser

    Notion Ink bragged about their browser so much. I wouldn't say they lied, but the browser is half baked. I have compiled a little list of improvements the Browser needs to have below.

    Tab switching is a little confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it it is pretty good. I rarely use the tabs because tab switching causes the browser to crash about on out of every four times. That's annoying, and you lose everything you had open.
     Pinch zooming is slow because it unnecessarily pre-renders everything. A very confusing aspect about the zooming is that pinching only works in one direction. To zoom you have to pinch horizontally; vertically doesn't work. It's a very odd gesture hole.
     And now the last of my complaints. The address bar makes it difficult to simply search for something. You can't enter in a URL until the current webpage is done loading. The address bar has no "googling" functionality. When you type in a search term, it just says webpage cannot be found. Also, the hardware search button does nothing in the browser. To search for something you have to open a new tab (usually crashing the browser) and go to Google.
   

iPad 2 Hands-On with Photos (Aside Notion Ink Adam)

     The single most compared to item in the tablet world has now turned one and grown a little to compete with an ever growing niche. The upgrade was minor, but it was enough to bring it up to date. This thing is thin, fast, and just about everything Apple brags about on their homepage. With all that being said, there are still things that the Adam does better than the iPad. Take a look at the areas where it shines and falls short after the break(s).

You can see the viewing angle difference. Both screens are at full brightness.

 Screen
     We all knew that the iPad's screen is better than that on the Adam. You can't really notice the resolution difference in everyday use. The iPad's screen seemed to be a little bit brighter (though with more glare), and the viewing angles were almost non-existent. It's important to note that the Adam's LCD has terribleviewing angles. The iPad'sscreen also seemed more responsive in general. The capacitor on the Adam only accepts two finger inputs at a time, while the iPad accepted 10 without a pause. Apple excels at anything to do with touch input.

Size
     The iPad wins here. No question. The only thing the Adam has going for it here is the curve.


Speakers
     The iPad has an alright speaker on its back, but it is mono and not very loud. I don't need to tell you about the Adam speakers again.

Cameras
     Tablets aren't exactly meant to be good cameras, and the junk they shove in there just proves the point. The Adam's swivel is rated at 3.2 MP and standard definition video. The photos and videos both turn out mediocre. The rear camera on the iPad can shoot video at 720p, but you would never know it; the photos are even worse at less than a megapixel. While both cameras are just bad we still need a winner in the rink. For still photos, the Adam wins (barely), and for videos the iPad wins because the Adam's micrphone picks up all of the CPU noise. I post a video here soon that demonstrates both of the cameras.

Software
     It is now time to discuss the most important part of any tablet. The iOS on the iPad, with its new dual-core 900 MHz chip is lightning fast. I might even go as far as saying it beats the XOOM. Everything whizzes by and apps take seconds to load. Apple manages to do this by making iOS as lightweight as possible. If something has the possibility of slowing things down, it stays out. One of those things that was stripped down was the multitasking (more on that later).

     The Adam's Eden UI on top of Android is slow. The snail pace and unresponsiveness isn't the fault of the hardware. The homescreen is the silky smooth when replaced with Launcher Pro. On top of the slowness, most of the items that were created by Notion Ink (e.g. the launcher, Mail'd, etc.) have a nasty habit of crashing every once and a while. Android has more potential and strength than does iOS. I want you try and copy a file to a flash drive with your iPad. Better yet, I want you to try to even find a file on your iPad. Pretty hard right?

     Android also excels at multitasking. The Adam disappoints here because NI have replaced the standard app switcher with a panel switcher. There are only about ten apps right now that even have a panel to switch to, so this add-on is worthless. Likewise, the panels should add some side by side multitasking to the experience, but it has very limited amount of uses.

     The iPad has super slick app switching when you double click that home button. The problem? It isn't real multitasking. Only certain actions are allowed to happen in the background like playing music or GPS. Everything else just hangs in a frozen state. The apps have to be written to make use of multitasking as well. On Android, they just multi task; plain and simple. It's all a matter of choice for the software. Do you want fantastic speed with not so much functionality, or do you want awesome functionality (it will be more functional once the software bugs clear up) with less speed.

Smart Cover
     Every tablet needs something that sets it apart from the rest, and here it is. The smart cover is a really good idea. Everything works by magnets. It's held on with magnets, and a magnet in the tip wakes the iPad when you open the cover. The best feature is the stand that it makes when you fold it into the triangle. They make a lot of stands for tablets, but they are all extra thing to carry around... except the smart cover.

Battery
     There have been many rumors of less than stellar battery life on the Adam, and most of them are true. Once I removed the cell standby with a simple and safe hack, those worries went away. This will not work with a 3G Adam and the life may not be ten full hours of non-stop use, but it still very good. The iPad's battery lives up to the ten hour mark for the most part.

Verdict
     It is all a matter of opinion. You have many choices to make. Better screen or more ports? Super thin or have a curvy handle? Android or iOS? Bad swivel camera or two bad fixed cameras? I am perfectly happy with my Adam while I watch the iPad stroll around the house. No one is better than the other, and they excel at different things.

In perfect harmony