What Would You Like to See Demonstrated on Adam?

     I'm taking suggestions of what you want to see demonstrated to my Adam. It could be a video of it running flash or a video taken with the Adam's camera. Drop me a suggestion in the comments below.

Notion Ink Adam Full Review

     This is a going to be a sad story. I have been following the Notion Ink scene for a year now, and this is all I have to show for it. The Adam has the makings of a great tablet, but it was just pushed out to soon with an inexperienced company. Find out everything good and bad after the break.

The Hardware

     The Hardware is excellent. The tablet is a bit on the thick side with a nice curve on the top to give it excellent grip. The back is entirely plastic, but that doesn't cause any problems. Around the edges it has two USB ports, on mini USB, the volume rocker, the power switch, a micro SD/SIM slot, a full size HDMI port, the headphone jack, the power port, and an odd back button. The Speakers are absolutely fantastic. The have great sound with and awesome stereo effect. The microphone isn't quite as good, but it is still supreme. The swivel camera on top feels a little loose, but not to the point that it will be a problem. My biggest gripe with the camera isn't the low quality, which I will get to later, it's the fact that it doesn't swivel the full 185 degrees like is stated in the tech specs. When locked in the forward position, it is perfectly parallel to the screen. 

The Screen

     The screen is definitely not the best feature of the device. It may be the worst feature of the device aside from the software. It is a 16:9, 10.1", 1024x600 screen. It was made for landscape mode, and in portrait mode it looks a little stretched out. The viewing angles aren't great either. You can get a better viewing angle by tilting it in portrait mode, but you are rarely in portrait mode. 

The Camera

     It has a 3.2MP auto-focus camera mounted in that special little swivel. The pictures are grainy and underwhelming. They are about what you would expect from a camera of that resolution, but a little worse. It is labeled as auto-focus, but it just cycles in and out of focus all of the time like it's in an endless loop. You just have to take the picture at the exact moment when the object is in focus. The video is the same way. Throughout an entire video it just cycles in and out of focus. You can't make a decent video unless you are in a video call.

The Software

     Inside you will find a dual-core Tegra II processor powering the beast. Coupled with that you get 1GB RAM and 8GB of flash memory. The problem with all of this is that you would never know it by using it. The Eden UI is slow. The apps are slow. The launcher is slow. Scrolling is far from smooth. The whole thing acts like the speed of a mid-range smartphone. It should be almost as fast as the Xoom, and it just isn't. The problem all lies with the software. 

     The problem isn't just speed, it's also the extreme amount of bugs that Notion Ink has yet to work out. I can't be productive on it because it is only a matter of time before something force closes on me and all of my work is gone. The apps are fantastic, but still slower than they should be. For a look into the good side of the software click here. I had several problems with the tablet rebooting spontaneously. One time it even went into a spontaneous reboot cycle. For a full list of the bad click here. 

    One of the biggest (it would be the biggest problem if the software was worth a dime) problems with the device is the Android Market or lack thereof. I understand that the Adam is not a phone, and that the Market is made for phones. Honeycomb still has access to the same phone apps that the Adam would. Rohan has stated back in December that the market would come with the update to Honeycomb which they are currently working on. Notion Ink is slated to release their own Genesis store in a short amount of time, but with the Adam's user base, it can't have a significant amount of apps in it. Just like the iPad, it's the apps that make it and without those apps it is not made. They need to give us a stable Honeycomb update that includes Eden and the Market. 

    

Wrap-up

     With amazing apps like Mail'd and Sniffer, and amazing guts like the Tegra II processor, the Adam has the potential to go far. Right now I can't recommend it to the average user. The user experience was suffering so much that I rooted mine to get the market and ad-hoc (and now Edenx) until Notion Ink pushes out an update that fixes the bugs. When Notion Ink pushes out a stable build of Honeycomb with the market, the Adam will shine, but until that happens we will just have to keep faith in the hands of Notion Ink.

Adam Initial Impressions... The Good Side of the Story

     Yesterday I told you about most of the bad things I have noticed so far, and now it's time to point out the good before somebody picks up the bad to use against Notion Ink.

     The apps that Notion Ink has designed are quite fantastic. Two of my favorites are Mail'd and Sniffer. They really utilize the panel system to its full extent. They don't use the back button like other Android apps would. Instead, they use backwards swipes to navigate back to the point of origin. The Calendar app should also be mentioned as one of the stand out apps. Three apps that have yet to arrive are the amazing looking weather app, the specialized music app (it currently has the stock Android music app), and the Genesis store.

     I thought that the panel system would come in handy, but ti hasn't for me. I usually find myself reaching for the menu button to launch the full app. I can see where it be of use, but it just hasn't found its way into my needs yet. The "alpha panel" is extremely useful. It is the center for music, mail, facebook (oddly), and the recent apps. A tap on the top of the Alpha panel brings the panels down to reveal a list of apps that, sadly, aren't rearrangeable. The panel system is nice, but apps have to be written for the Adam to utilize the panel system. I have already written what I want to see from the panels here.
   
     One of the most useful parts of the tablet is the inclusion of USB ports and sniffer. I have control of what is on my tablet. I have used a flash drive several times to transfer apk's and songs. This is one thing that the Adam has that is above all other tablets on the market right now. Right along with the USB ports is the full HDMI port on the side. Angry Birds never looked so good. The Adam will be in awesome standing if they can just fix the software problems I discussed here.

Adam Initial Impressions

     I have had my Adam for a day now and what do I think about it? It's a mixture of good and bad so far. Be warned though, because this post will consist mostly of the bad. Read after the break for Impressions.

     I'll start off on a good not by discussing the hardware. It is fantastic. I may not be as svelte as an iPad, but it is still great in the hands. That curve combined with the large amount of bezel creates an amazing grip. The back button on the side serves little purpose for me. I think the power switch would be better if it has an actual button instead of the slide switch that it is. The camera is a tad wobbly, and I can guarantee that it only swivels 180 degrees. I can get 185 degrees out of it by shoving it down, but it locks at 180. The silk screen on the back has a typo directly under where it says,"Created with love by Notion Ink Design Labs". The mistake reads,"This may device must accept any interference received...". The hardware buttons definitely need to have a backlight. I don't know what's wrong with the wifi radio. It has terrible signal strength. I mean TERRIBLE.

     On to the software. It needs work. I don't mean work like pulling an all-nighter at the office; I mean work like building a house in a week with only two people. I may be exaggerating a little, but the software does need some serious tweaking. I like the Eden UI, but the experience is suffering. With its Tegra guts, it should be capable of buttery smooth animations and seemless transitions. I liken the speed right now to that of the original Motorola Droid (You know. The one with a 500mhz processor.). Angry Birds ran like butter, so it has to be the UI that holds the slow problem. I like the hidden notification bar if I can get it open. I have to tap on that little battery in the corner several times to get the dumb thing open. I can't believe how unresponsive it is, and the launcher is the same way but not quite as bad.

   I would put up with all of that and give it a stellar rating if it weren't for the biggest problem with the device. It doesn't have the Android Market. I didn't think it was going to be that big of a problem, but having to side load all of your apps only to find out that have of them won't install, crash, etc. is the biggest pain of the entire device. Rohan said in an interview back in December that the Honeycomb update would also bring the Market to the device. I hope he hasn't changed his mind. Genesis is a good idea, but the user base is way too small to have a good quantity of apps. I haven't found an apk of flash that works yet. So far, they have all caused the browser to crash.

    You may ask if I hate my Adam. The answer is no, because I love my Adam and I have faith in Notion Ink. Faith is what got me to this point. I have confidence that they will bring out software updates that with fix these problems (the terrible wifi signal strength worries me due to the fact that it is a hardware problem) and eventually update it to Honeycomb with the market. In case you are wondering, I have the LCD + WiFi variant. If you are thinking about ordering one I am going to say go for it!

     

Adam Used With a Stylus

 The viewers have requested a demonstration of a capacitive stylus on the Adam, and here it is. I can already tell you that it isn't pretty, but your results may vary with different styluses. I'm using the Pogo Stylus for iPhone. 

 

My Adam is Here!

     It came at about 5 PM. Until I get some first thoughts up, here are the unboxing photos. The box converts to a stand. It came with a nice travel adapter for those overseas.

Honeycomb Has Changed my Opinion of Custom UI's

     A little more than a year ago the greatly rumored Google phone was announced, and everyone thought it was fantastic. It has since set the standard for hardware. The appeal in the Nexus One for me was only partly the hardware; the software had the most amount of pull. It packed stock eclair without any of that skinned garbage. Custom UI weren't as commonplace then as they were now which is not the way I want things going. The UI's they put on phones are sometimes beneficial, but they usually cause problems like Samsung's Touchwiz. And then came Honeycomb....

     Honeycomb has this awesome new user interface that is almost impossible and unreasonable to skin. HTC is convinced to put Sense on the Flyer for it to get Honeycomb. Notion Ink is going to deck out Honeycomb with their Eden UI. What we have at this point in time are a ton of tablets that all run stock Honeycomb. They have very little differences other than a few hardware specs. It's a massive see of sameness. Is that what it would be like if all android phones ran stock builds? Probably.

     Manufacturers have every right to meddle with the source code to their own pleasing. They need a way to distinguish themselves from the crowd. Often times, this is the only reason they have their own skin. Is there any other reason for Touchwiz's existence? I still hate custom UI's, but I see there purpose for the people making them. Without them we would have many different bodies floating around with the same face.

AT&T Blocking HSUPA on HTC Inspire 4G?

     HSUPA is the uploading half of the 3G spectrum for those of you that are wondering, and apparently AT&T is blocking this simple feature on the Inspire. It was originally thought that the Ispire simply did not have the hardware for it, but new reports say that the capability is just be blocked by AT&T. The question is why on earth would you do that? Of all the things you could block.

Is Google Trying to Make Chrome Slightly More Annoying?

     I love Google Chrome, and I don't think there is a feature that I haven't used at one point in time. Three of the most important and best features of Chrome are the omnibar, the tabs, and the extensions in order of importance. Firefox has the tabs and extensions, but Chrome excels at it. The omnibar of Chrome is the big standout feature that adds an entirely new level of usefulness. This new idea suggests that Google is thinking about giving the omnibar an auto-hide feature.

     The reason for this nonsense is to save the space. Chrome is already good at saving space, but that apparently isn't good enough. Having to mouse-over everytime I want to use the omnibar (which is constantly) could get annoying fast. The linux version of Chrome requires you to triple click to select all in the omnibar. Could this be one of those annoying feature? They can hide my address bar, but my bookmarks bar stays!

Make a Phone Case From Masking Tape

 Did you ever feel the need for a case, but not feel the need for spending the money? With a little time you can just tape your phone back over for cheap protection. You could use duck tape for a classier look, but masking tape is easier to handle and my phone with still fit in my keyboard case. The curves are a bit tricky to get smooth. Masking tape also makes for a nice template to fill in the logos if you so desire.