It was three months ago, in the midst of the most
tablet-centric CES in recent memory, that we first
laid our hands on Notion Ink's impressive Adam prototype. Since then, we've been on the lookout for
signs that the small Indian startup will actually deliver on the tablet's
lofty promises, and while that still seems to be on track, the latest update from the company's founder is casting doubt on the originally planned June release date. Stressing the need to agree subsidization deals with telecoms for the 3G-equipped device, Rohan Shravan explains that "some want to give you Adam for Thanksgiving, some for summer holidays." Add in his resolute commitment to only going ahead with the tablet when it's fully capable of running Flash (seriously Adobe, the thing can do 1080p video, but Flash makes it wince?), and you have a significantly more elastic release window than we were originally led to believe. All the same, Rohan couldn't leave us without some titillation, and he also promises "amazing freedom" on the email front and a number of content collaborations that he's not yet allowed to announce. If you ask us, we just want something --
anything -- with a
Pixel Qi display; we'll make up our own content, just give us the hardware already.
[Thanks, Srikanth]
posted April 7th 2010 4:53AM
When are people just going to admit that Flash is a resource hogg and pretty rubbish. I'm glad Apple have made a stand, at the very least it should make Adobe pull their finger out.
@wilvo
Hmm, there's a conundrum. Assuming that Adobe does suddenly make Fash wonderful on all platforms, should Apple adopt it? On the one hand, if the software works well then supporting it will make it easier for people to access the World Wide Web content and content providers won't need to change things. On the other hand, Flash still is not an open standard and we're still giving control of content on the World Wide Web to a single company.
@Kelmon
Apple wouldn't adopt it anyway. If Apple gave full Adobe full access and assistance, what would you need all those apps for? You could use free Flash alternatives or in-browser versions that would be given away to drive web traffic advertising.
@CBONE
There is no way that Flash would supplant native apps on iPhone OS devices. Give me a break.
@CBONE
Well, Adobe already provides the tools to convert Flash applications today into the iPhone format and those can be delivered for free via the App Store. I'm not sure how well that works but it seems apparent that Flash games on the iPhone/iPad would not work well because they assume you are using a keyboard and mouse, which of course you are not. Native applications will always deliver a better end-user experience and that's what really counts.
@CBONE
Of course you could argue that the app market wouldn't exist to the extent it does if we were all using flash based web apps. The App store is successful because the apps are easily accessible, reasonably priced, and profitable to the developer. Now I know many on here don't like paying for stuff, but nothing motivates people like money, and right now iPhone devs are raking it in.
Can you imagine what a chore grocery shopping would be if you had to go to a different shop for each item? You've been able to get mobile apps for ages, however the market remained relatively small because the apps were hard to find compared to how easily they are found now, I know, I've had smartphones for many years and rarely installed apps on them, because the process was cumbersome.
I've just installed air video on my iPad, fabulous functionality, for very little money and found when simply browsing the store. Now I know you can get similar functionality with orb but its all that little bit harder to setup isn't it, and the reality very few people other than techies are going to bother.
@CBONE
There are already thousands of free web apps that don't use Flash, and often provide alternatives to App Store apps. Apple not only doesn't try to block these out of fear of lost revenue, they maintain a directory of these web apps at their own cost.
http://www.apple.com/webapps/
Nearly 4500 of them there, and that's assuming there aren't any out there that aren't indexed. The theory that Apple keeps Flash off their mobile platforms out of App Store-driven greed is pure bull.
(To keep this on-topic...) Why they DO keep it away is because of the same crap that other tablet makers, such as Fusion Garage and Notion Ink, are running up against now. If your device is not running Microsoft Windows, Adobe has decided that it doesn't warrant the effort to optimize Flash to even a usable state.
Then there's the touchscreen issue: Flash content on the web (currently ALL of it) relies on the presence of a mouse, and sometimes a keyboard, for proper interaction with its UI. Touchscreens can't do hovering without clicking, simple as that. (Maybe they'll be able to sense finger-hovering someday, but for now, no.) Many Flash-based UIs use mouseovers for important stuff, and that would all be missing on a touch device.
Finally, there's the fact that Flash is under the sole control of one company, and that company has a proven track record of security problems and outright crappy software quality overall. No other company, be it Apple, Notion Ink, Fusion Garage, etc., can proactively solve Flash-related problems themselves. Apple, especially, has learned the hard way not to depend on a single outside company for anything essential. That's why they're so gung-ho about open web standards — if everyone can create content freely, there's no single point of failure for a platform that supports that content.
TL;DR: Flash is a problem because it sucks horse balls, not because it's a threat to other closed systems.
I would like to see this tablet sooner rather than later but... We haven't heard much lately from MSI or Asus about their tablets... Asus had said they were working on a better software experience last I heard... They sound a little more serious about competing with Apple than these others...
@sicem
The last time I heard, Asus weren't yet sure which software platform they were going to put on their tablet devices. That sounds like an indication that either the product itself is going to be rushed to get something out there, or that it is still a ways away. No idea about MSI, though.
@Kelmon
I thought they stated they were going to be making both an android and a windows tablet, that doesn't sound like they can't decide merely that they see a market for both.
Also... I could care less about flash and I don't believe it is holding up any of these products... Flash could be added in a later update to the OS... If its a great product and has a great user experience even w/o flash than it needs to be on the market... The longer these companies wait the more buyers Apple will steal...
See all these devices struggling flash, I thought flash is supposed to be manna sent from above.
@Kwame Nkrumah No wonder why Jobs told Adobe to F@%K off.
Ugh. If they are wanting carriers to subsidize this tablet, they must want a ton for it. Can someone besides Apple release something this year? The joojoo barely counts, those morons used the finest technology early 2008 had to offer in order to make something that sucks harder than a Dyson.
@CBONE And wireless carriers subsidizing it won't really be a subsidy for consumers if they have to buy a 3G plan with it. Is this tablet going to be 4G compatible? I doubt it so by next year it will be irrelevant anyway for people that want to do web browsing on a mobile device. PixelQi is the real star of this device, I just wish they could get their screens on other devices so I wouldn't have to wait for NotionInk to get its act together.
The subsidization idea sux. In the end you always pay more than you get, and meanwhile you are tied to one provider. No thanks.
Most everyone already has unlimited data on their phone and at home. Plus net access at work or at school. Are they really going to buy another data plan? I mean the one expensive enough to make carriers want to subsidize the device?
Hey Notion Ink, I want to pop in any sim card that I choose, anywhere in the world, paying a fair price for the data transferred, no BS, no contracts, OK? OK.
Id love to see this thing work, but an obscure Indian company with no track record and an impressive prototype is a real long shot at best.
There just aren't any examples of a business model like this working in the long run.
I'd prefer them to patent what they can and license it to a company like Asus, msi, htc or Microsoft (courier).. I just doubt these guys could handle the complexities of bringing a global product to market.
@nothingreal I agree with selling the patents to a larger company - would like to see MS or Asus own it.
@nothingreal
Who doesn't love a plucky underdog? I really hope that they can deliver a great product and can carve out a niche for themselves. Who knows, perhaps they can be the next Research In Motion...
I agree that it is a long shot but it does make things far more interesting.
@Kelmon
yeah I really do like the underdog aspect of it..
I'm just concerned that a small company like this will effectively crowd source a product.. basicly just run down a list of features and tick them off one at a time.. the results are almost always an infeasible conceptual product that is either too complex or to expensive to brin to market effectively.
adding in an experienced manufacturing company like Asus or MSI would help them bring a good concept to the market and provide support, updates and even developer interest.
Apple's iPad is good - but it needs a real competitor in the market to really ignite the tablet space... hopefully this is the one.
ugh...vapourware is the new word of the month
I wonder if the (?potential) sale of the folks behind PixelQI will affect this project.
As much as I'd love to see this thing in action... I can't really see it materialising in June
@AstroSeven
Of course it is!
it wouldn't have gotten so popular if the fanboys would just keep it in their pants and stop fapping at every spec sheet and CGI render with stars in their eyes of killing the applePad
I don't think this is vaporware, but I don't know how I can get excited about this yet.
All of the demos I've seen make the device appear to be slightly clunky from a software perspective, and until major developers pledge their support to something like this, tablets will be doomed to be little more than web browsers and media players. I know it's Android, but software will still need to be written specifically for it's larger screen size. I think the great thing about tablets is what types of new software will be available, not their feature lists. Hopefully all those "waiting for Adam" responses that flood Engadget iPad posts will translate into huge sales and developers will take notice.
Also, I do find it pretty funny that there's none of those "OMGWTF how am I going to get REAL WORK done on this thing!!!!" comments. The landscape keyboard implementation on the company's website looks positively awful. Why are the keys so wide? If I'm going to be typing on a screen, at least make the keyboard look like a regular keyboard.
@ebgolfin
Excellent point.
Also what about the protesting about how just putting a phone OS on a tablet is a horrible idea. Android is a phone OS too right?
can somebody explain quantitatively why flash is so cpu intensive as opposed to hd video playback or rendering a game?
Good for Notion Ink, they basically got themelves a perfect hardware lineup by using technology from other companies and are now dedicating themselves to partnerships, which is basically the ONLY thing that hs made products such as the iPad so successful. I'm glad that if they make it on their promises, i won't have to pick between hardware and software.
@ComradeArmona Don't you need very capable *software* to go between that hardware and content? Which is arguably the most difficult part, and what is actually delaying the Adam...
@darksharpie
yeah I don't know why I didn't write that. All I was saying is they picked top of the line hardware so they could focus on the software side, which includes partnerships
The main claim to fame here is the PixelQi display.
Which from the demos, looks like crap most of the time. The tradeoff for the sunlight readability is that in normal indoor light it looks very shifty, fading. YUK. For a big, essentially indoor tablet, I don't think PixelQi is a good choice.
Though I would actually like a PixelQi display on a Pocketable (say 5" screen) MID. That device is like to spend a lot of time outdoors and I would trade off indoor quality for outdoor readability.
Other than that, Notion Ink is another Joojoo. Some uknown player that won't be able to match the SW/HW quality of HP/Apple/Dell etc..
PixelQi: Yes in the right circumstance.
Notion Ink: No thanks. This is just another Joojoo waiting to happen.
Failure to get stuff to the market in a timely manner is costing companies like Notion Ink money. I've plunked my money down on an IPAD mainly because it's here now. I could decide to buy something else two-three years down the rode but that's not going to help a start-up company now.
Get your product to the market NOW!
I wish that Pixel Qi would just come out with a regular tablet netbook with their screen instead of messing with this company who will probably have a device out by early 2011. I'm just interested in having a PixelQi screen not this tablet that will have all the limitations of an iPad just with an Android core instead.
@budice4ever
1) It's the netbook manufacturer that chooses what screen they use for their product. Pixel Qi has shown modded acer netbooks with their screen already, about a year ago. Pixel Qi can't help it that manufacturers choose cheap glossy screens, the customers seem to like that "oeeeh nice shiny shiny looks good, gonna buy this instead of less attractive anti-glare type).
2) The adam runs android and has better hardware. While it won't be the same as a full OS it's certainly much less restricted than the iPad.
And don't forget: tablets are NOT desktop/laptop/netbook replacements or competitors. They are a different kind of device. You also don't bash on a phone because it won't run MS word in W7 do you?
Who is going to carry this device. Will there be print and TV ads?
The geeks (a large chunk of Engadget users) know about it.
Marketing.
Steve Jobs has more money in his freakin wallet that Notion Ink or Fusion Garage combined.
Think about it people.
thanks engadget im pretty sure i tipped u on this one three days ago
Only 30 articles to go, engadget, to catch up..Then we'll see if you're really biased.
If you're going to release it as late as November, you might as well include 4G chipsets instead of 3G. Be truly revolutionary and just throw a Beceem BCS500 in there and allow every carrier, from Sprint to Verizon, to sell the same version.
http://www.engadget.com/tag/bcs500/
I hope they'll sell it for $300-400 unsubsidized. There's suppose to be two versions of this, one with Pixel Qi and one without.
The Pixel Qi screen is what makes it cost so much.
First guys 1080p video is no biggie anymore, you got a dime a dozen chips made specifically to handle that.
Flash on the other hand continues to be a resource hog, even will all the improvements made by adobe (GPU acceleration, etc...)
I believe tablets (ipad included) with GPUs could handle flash, but it would have to be a standalone player, with no other applications running on the background.
I want anything with a Pixel Qi and a Tegra 2.