You have to have a pretty special product to get
two Engadget posts
discussing your wares during the maelstrom of CES, but this Adam thing just won't leave us alone with its
Pixel Qi display,
Tegra 2 innards and bona fide potential to blow the bloody doors off the homogeneous tablet market. We've gone back and grabbed video of the device in direct sunlight and it just kept on impressing us. The screen resolutely refused to be overpowered by the light, whether its backlight was on or off, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg as far as the happy impressions. Come past the break to find out more about buttery smooth 1080p playback (with a handy HDMI out), Notion Ink's plans for modifying the Android OS, and more on the likely pricing of the device which is set to land in quarter two of 2010. Oh, and yea -- we totally ripped it open and photographed the insides. Check that out below.
Update: Check out
SlashGear for some production artwork.
So the first thing to note here is that the unit on hand was -- in terms of external construction -- just a quick mockup of the final body shape, which was made so we could look at the hardware's capabilities rather than to show off any hot curves. That said, we still liked how compact it was and were even promised the final version will be slimmed down to 14mm in thickness. Quite impressive when you consider the Pixel Qi screen takes up a full 5mm by itself. Speaking of the Qi, we consider it a glorious and definite step forward for displays. It looks gorgeous in both modes, and when the backlight is off you're basically getting a monochromatic version of your normal display (check the gallery to see what we mean) which is both perfectly usable and the friendliest thing you can do to your battery. You can see the 1080p demo video below, with both modes showing you what you might expect from the screen while it was being washed by pretty strong Las Vegas sunlight. There's also a patented 3 megapixel swivel camera (not pictured on this dev unit), which has other protected intellectual properties that we were not yet informed of, though augmented reality and educational uses were hinted at.
Running Android, the machine will come with a number of rather cool Notion Ink apps and there'll be an inevitable app store where you can add to that. We were also told the default onscreen keyboard would be replaced by a customized version, with taller keys and other ergonomic optimizations. 3G and WiFi connectivity will be available, as is to be expected, and Rohan from Notion Ink was keen to impress on us the company's emphasis on digital magazine content. Compatible with ePUB and other popular ebook formats, the Adam will be versatile, but the focus will be placed firmly on digital magazine consumption, with a number of content publishers being recruited as we speak. We tried our finest to get a price out of the company, but the answers were alternately, "it'll depend on carrier subsidies," "it'll be competitive with the
ICD Ultra tablet," and the best one, "you'll be
very happy when we release this." The range is definitely between $300 and $800, with a likely landing spot for an unsubsidized device in the top half. We'll know for sure at MWC in Barcelona this year, which is when and where the final product and pricing will be revealed.
posted January 8th 2010 3:26PM
Looks very promising
@MoonWalkerCTE
Looks out of focus to me.
If you're going to go to the trouble of making a video, you'd think you'd go to the trouble of making it right.
@MoonWalkerCTE
the gallery is not named correctly. Atom/Adam
Wow!
Really? $800 and it runs Android!?
@M1lt
Um, between $300-$800 doesn't necessarily mean that. I am sure they wouldn't do that because even a combination of PMP/Netbook and eReader would be below $800. Only Apple can get away with a price like this (or even higher) because of their huge low IQ fan base ...
Ah Pixel Qi. I hope every device manufacturer licenses their tech. It's too damned impressive to not have it, especially since they said themselves it only adds tens of dollars to the cost.
hmmm i just like the picture of the color milk on it
cool
This is hot. Should show off the full ability of the Pixel Qi on this device out of the sun too.
Android on a Tegra 2? Just seems like a waste to me. Windows 7 would make this a powerhouse.
@infinitii
Agreed. I rather see Windows 7 and a pen/stylus option so I can use one note.
@infinitii Couldn't agree more. Anything bigger than my pocket (aka smartphone), and I'm gonna want to run Photoshop and/or Autodesk Pro once in a while, and do some 'real' work. Android just doesn't cut it.
Also, isn't putting Android on all these tablets kind of putting the squeeze on Chromium at the moment? Especially if the unsubsidized price is gonna push up closer to the $800 mark?
@Alan Strangis
Yeah... Windows 7... on an ARM platform... sure...
But I would LOVE to see MAEMO on this one. Android simply doesnt seems right.
@infinitii Erm... As Tegra 2 is based on ARM, you can't run Win7 on it (Win7 requires x86 or x64). You can run Win CE Embedded, or WinMo, but let's be honest, who wants that?
@Anaerin Thanks for calling me on that one, I'm still reading up on Tegra 2. I don't see why running CE with a proprietary UI would be so bad (think Viliv's Cube UI). At the very least it wouldn't be pushing $800 unsubsidized.
@infinitii
The cost of the hardware and the appeal of the product is what is driving the cost up, not Android.
There is no cost associated with utilizing Android. It is already a well-polished OS, as well. If they were to use WinCE (which requires licencing fees) they would have to do much more software development while gaining no improvement in functionality.
@musicalwds It's true that android is a free, open source OS. Your forgetting it takes an entire team of Linux experts to port android to different devices and maintain it (no help from Google I can assure you, haven't we been over this before?). CE licenses are cheap, even in low quantities. Development SW is also cheap and the know-how is already there. If Viliv can put out a 7 inch tablet, running proprietary UI and SW on a more expensive platform (XP) and more expensive chipset for $600, surely Tegra 2 running CE can be competitive even without a subsidy.
I really like the screen they use for this. Pixel QI might have a winner there. The only down side to all these tablets they are pushing on us, I'd like a pen for note taking. I want to do more then flick pages or webpages with them.
Best tablet I've seen so far but still to thick.....maybe battery life has not caught up with my for idea of"proper tablet thickness" but i hope Apple can top em. Though no matter what apple puts out in 3 weeks in won't be running an open source os which blows....no porn or poker
@dk4884
14mm is too thick for you? You have high standards indeed. My current phone is thicker than that.
Pretty impressive. Although it seems awfully risky having all these tablets pushed onto the market when nobody knows if anyone will buy them.
@plastik The riskier the road, the greater the profit.
Looks beautiful...needs Windows 7 though as mentioned above...
And what will it do for internet connection?
@TheRogueFFAngel The article is light on specs. If this has a LAN port and can host USB keyboards, then it will be my pda / ebook reader / media player on the train on the way to work, and it will become my netbook while at work by plugging into a keyboard I leave in the office. And if it can dual-boot android and ubuntu, I'm set. The 3G aspect will still be problematical for most parts of the world. Who wants to pay high monthly fees for every single device you want occasional, perhaps data non-intensive connectivity???
Whatever OS a tablet has, it absolutely must have support for a stylus and Photoshop or it's equivalent. Like a port of GIMP to Android etc.
If your going to type get a notebook/netbook. If your going to view media - browse the web- take handwritten notes - or draw, get a tablet. Simple. For me a tablet is useless until it can be used for artwork.
@SkonOfVulcan Agreed. You go to all this trouble of having a large touch sensitive screen, and no stylus option? Doing sketches, drawings, painting, diagrams, etc would be such a natural application. But with only a blunt finger - well, it's like finger painting compared to using a nice sharp pencil.
Glossy surface... think i will take smarbook version with gloss-less PixelQi screen surface thank you...
@Uberich The retail version will come with a matte screen and anti-fingerprint coating.
The "Magic Slate" from apple will have ichat, no integrated keyboard because you will be able to speak to it and it will be able to stream live video! You heard it first... Youtube.com/cloan00
I love this device. But Android seems clumsy and I don't like it.
Can anyone tell me why no one is adopting Maemo?
I think I want a tablet now, just to have one.
Wow that looks really nice. Finally something that blurs the distinction between tablet and eBook reader by offering a daylight readable screen as well as a responsive and fully featured OS.
Ok - where are these guys located at CES? They're not listed in the CES iPhone app - or on the CES site? I want to see this thing!
Ok Engadget, you-ve seen both, which is better - Mirasol or this?
So is this some kind of mirror or..?
I agree this would be a game-changer...if the iSlate (Apple Tablet) is roughly the same price.
If iSlate is super-cheap (which I doubt), game over for all (except maybe Kindle or Nook)
looks nice, if it's around the same price as a netbook 200-400 I could def buy this.
these tables came out a year too soon... imo chrome with a few additions will save them all in software category.
Why on earth did Pixel Qi go through the trouble of making the screen as little glossy as possible, when Notion Ink then slaps on a sheet of glass? What were they thinking? I'm not interested at all.
@Rex: "Only Apple can get away with a price like this (or even higher) because of their huge low IQ fan base ..."
Almost exactly right. A fan base that the Linux freetards have wet dreams over. And you're right again - only Apple has the technology, hardware/software integration, supply chain economy of scale, and mindshare to actually innovate profitably.
But, and I hate to nitpick, that would be "high IQ, high income fan base," by the way. Apple doesn't need the low end of any market. Just the top end. Leave the dregs to the Microsofts and Eee PCs of the world.
@RabidAppleFanboi
Wow, who needs summer's eve with you around?
this is amazingggggggg
but I can't believe how dumb the slash gear guys were in the hands on video
now if it only had pixel´s qi screen and a software for remote pc id fall in love with it. also hope it has a couple of usb´s.
All i wanted to see was the internet....
Bam! This is the tablet format we really want. an e-reader that doesn't destroy your eyes (though these reflective LCDs are dark indoors without the backlight) and can be used to view the web in all it's glory (read: flash). But Apple has a huge advantage because they have the app distro locked down mostly (though Android has most everything you really want, just not 5 versions of each and 40,000 you don't want), but an open source OS under the most integrative screen.... mmmmm
for $800 it needs the marketing and push of another big player. I'd really love to see the Courier come out with this tech though. Right? The courier will be crap without a reflective light display because it will still relegate it to dual screen netbook status instead of all around useful device (eg. internet, textbooks, Infinite Journal, newspapers, streaming video). I think the issue is that no one with a $$ backed marketing dep (MS, Apple, Dell, HP) wants to cut into their already profitable laptop, desktop or netbook sales with a tablet that does 70% of what people think they want and 90% of what people actually do.
Hmmm, this is actually pretty much what I hoped the iPad would be.
How can he say 1080p video if the resolution is only 1024x600? THATS NOT EVEN 720p!!!!!
@kyphem It's downscaling the 1080p video to fit the screen.
But it can output 1080p via HDMI port :-)
I think the touchy/feely application of the Pixel qi screen is fine for fun and games and reading, but I need a keyboard and the ability to use word in both modes, so I'm waiting for a laptop with the screen. Then I can use it to both read and write. This seems to me to be the hard general use for this wonderful technology. It's the basic application, I would have thought.