Notion Ink, the plucky Indian startup intent on shaking up the tablet industry, was most recently spotted turning over the sofa cushions
looking for spare change, but that isn't stopping the company from announcing pricing for its
mythical first product. The Adam, it has now been revealed, will be available for $498 with WiFi, 3G, GPS, and a Tegra 2 system-on-chip powering things, with prices dipping down to $449 if you exclude either the 3G or
Pixel Qi display option, and $399 if you drop both and make do with a WiFi-only LCD-based tablet. That certainly adheres to the promise of
aggressive pricing, but the Q3 launch -- which in itself was a slip from a Q2 pledge -- has now also been definitively scratched off the board of possibilities, as the device won't be submitted to the FCC for certification until November. Notion Ink claims that from there on it'll be just a matter of waiting on the FCC to clear the Adam for its US launch, which could happen in late 2010 or CES 2011 at the latest. Or, you know, never.
posted August 12th 2010 11:47AM
I lol'd.
@N900 But in all seriousness, the device is stock with 3G, GPS and PixelQi. $399 for Wi-fi only. That's a huge margin away from the price ranges of a similarly spec'd iPad.
However execution is key. So maybe at CES we can see them deliver.
@N900
In order to compete with the Gorilla they REALLY need to provide better features and/or pricepoint.
We'll see when the reviews come out.
I look forward to somebody bringing out a product that makes Apple increase it's slow-moving feature-add pace.
@Pingles This should be killer, an ebook reader/tablet that doesn't burn your eyes but shows video in full color!
@N900
this thing better run android 2.2 when it is released if it wants to beat the ipad.
@Pingles Well there's the PixelQi display itself, it doubles at an e-reader, and I figure that ability to switch between such screen modes is pretty enticing. That and HDMI.
Does anyone know what OS it is running?
@N900
I think the title of this article should be changed...
iPad Wifi only = $499
Adam Wifi only = $399
They're beating it by $100.... no $1... and also:
iPad 3G+Wifi = $629
Adam 3G+Wifi = $449
Add in the Pixel Qi screen and it's $499 for the full monty. I think the pricing is killer-awesome.
@Pingles
To tell you the truth, I'd buy it only because it has Pixel Qi. I want that screen way too much. I'd even buy an external keyboard to show off the screen in public, typing away... into a pole, but still worth the embarrassment.
@Plazmic Flame They aren't beating anyone yet...
I really want to see this thing released, but to talk about it like it is already whipping the iPad in the market isn't accurate.
@tricheboars It will, don't write annoying threat comments without knowing the facts, they have already stated it will run FROYO 2.2 and will later be upgraded to GINGERBREAD 3.0
The problem here is the screen resolution...
It's too bad Android doesn't support higher than 480X800, unless this is shipping with Android 3.0, which -given the Tegra 2 core- is highly likely, according to NVIDIA's CEO saying Tegra 2 will debut with Android 3.0
@tricheboars They need to do more than offer a newish version -- they need a pledge on bringing future updates to the Adam lickity split for those who want them.
I'm still hoping Google brands their own (HTC) tablet where updates will be in the bag for sure. The tablet biz is not the phone biz, so hopefully Nexus doesn't put Google off hardware too much.
@Plazmic Flame
we should take into account that all of them have GPS and rotateing webCam! That is not the case of iPad....
@sliderem The iPad has GPS.
@tricheboars It does run Froyo:
http://nextparadigms.com/2010/07/31/notion-ink-adam-tablet-will-have-froyo-why-this-still-disappoints/
@TareG Hopefully, the delay will result in it shipping with Android 3.0 out of the box? :)
@fortunzfavor Or leave the bootloader open...
@N900 Ugh why LOL ?? You sound like a laughing Hyeena. A dumb one at that.
@N900
As an Indian and an IITian (they have some in their team), I am soooooo embarrassed that they priced at a ridiculous looking number, 498! They could have gone for 495 or 489 and could have avoided making mockery of themselves.
@Plazmic Flame the 4699 Ipad is 64 gig , you forgot to sat that ...
@TMoney2007 wow youre such an idiot he was CLEARLY voicing his opinion
@Plazmic Flame I think so too, because when I got the Tweet, I was pissed! I wish they could push Engadget Articles via MMS. I'll look into it...
@Ignoramus Hostile much? This thing WILL be beating the iPad on features and price IF it ever makes it to production in this incarnation and price level.
That's all I'm saying.
@N900
$498.99 totally undercuts Apple iPad. Victory. At that price they should sell at least 10 units.
@Plazmic Flame ... but if Vlad actually relied on the facts, then how could he justify the snarky its-an-Apple-wannabe attitude that entertains us all so much?
@r3loaded On their website they said it will not but they are doing everything they can to make sure it can be upgraded in the future.
@10nisman94 Yeah, all those burned eyes we hear about all the time with the iPad ... Oh, wait, we DON'T hear about that?
@N900
If you actually saw how this thing works. It wipes the floor with iPad for half the price.
@N900 Prices could fluctuate, might go lower than $399!
http://www.99bits.com/2010/08/adam-prices-could-fluctuate-slightly-might-go-lower-as-well/
This is simply AWESOME!
@99bits Thanks for the update. I liked the ipad vs adam article more..
guys check it out, we could buy 2 adams with pixel-qi, wifi and 3g for the price of 64gb 3g-wifi ipad+tax+couple of USB adapters!
http://www.99bits.com/2010/08/adam-vs-ipad/
Hope it does well! India needs to start giving China a run for it's money when it comes to home-built technology. ALL THE BEST Notion Ink!
@AbhishekVerma
"India needs to start giving China a run for it's money when it comes to home-built technology"
You do know that the devices are being assembled in China, right?
@AbhishekVerma
Now instead of me asking my relatives who visit from the US, to bring the latest laptop, they'll be asking me to bring this baby when I visit them. Full circle in the gadget world *crosses fingers optimistically*
@AbhishekVerma
Or you know... they could order it online.
@Osnaz Sorry, they said their launching it in the US 2-3 weeks before India.
I love price based marketing, it's so hilarious.
@d0mth0ma5
yeah, its a pretty poor sign.
@d0mth0ma5
They should've said it's $399 + $99 S/H.
Save a dollar here, a dollar there, and you'll have dollars everywhere.
Looks good on paper, I look forward to reviews putting it through the paces.
Without meaning to sound like that ridiculous meme, what is the hard-drive capacity of The Adam?
@d0mth0ma5 It's on their website.
@lewishnl Oh yes, 16 and 32 GB. Neither a deal breaker nor a maker.
@d0mth0ma5
I don't have the source of the interview, but they said you could be able to plug in external hard drive as it has 2 usb slots
@d0mth0ma5 To be sure: there is no hard-drive (spinning disk like in a desktop) inside but static internal memory (SSD type). This kind of memory is pretty good with it's seektimes, noise (none), energy consumption, etc,.. but has 1 downside: still pretty expensive, especially /GB.
Also 16/32GB is pretty good for a tablet. Keep in mind that a tablet is not a data storage server or something like that. You can expand the storage with microSD cards or attach an external USB-drive (and these are the cheapest /GB)
Very fartworthy but seriously does anybody believe that this will be released? And if it shocks me and is released, will it be like the JooJoo (which I got free on eBay with a macbook purchase).
I sold the JooJoo after 2 days, very nice device that did not work as advertised.
@Jamesky then again the joojoo had its own custom software, the specs look more than decent to run android. So it (more than likely) be much better than the joojoo.
@Jamesky they cant go wrong with it much. unlike joojoo, this one is running on arm based processor which should not cost much battery juice to run and tegra 2 is very promissing for android. so the usual cons of joojoo are already absent. i can see many pros in this device. i just wish it makes to market soon.
I have been waiting for it for a year. However I will buy one at this price :)
@sapient2k7
pretty bad use of "however."