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.

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

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.

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

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.