Archive for notion ink adam
Here is Why Notion Ink Choose TI OMAP Over Tegra 3 For Adam II
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Notion Ink has recently announced a successor to its Adam tablet device which is being called the Adam II. However, unlike its ancestor, Adam II is making far less noise and that’s hardly surprising. This since the Adam has failed to live up to the kind of hype that it had generated during the time of its launch. However, the upcoming Adam is still in news which can be attributed to NI’s choice of processor for the new tablet — the TI OMAP SoC processor that has raised many an eyebrows.
The normal choice should have been the Tegra 3 quad core chip and that was what had also been announced initially. The switch to TI OMAP therefore has been a reason for intrigue to many people out there. Notion Ink though explained the swap claiming the actual usage of power of the processor is more optimal in case of the TI OMAP rather than the Tegra 3 chip. They further clarified that even though Tegra 3 has a better GPU or the OMAP have more memory than Tegra 3, these issues have a lower precedence than the actual usage of available resources.
Where TI OMAP beats Tegra 3 chip is the plethora of documents, use-case models, white papers that are available on it. These in tun makes it easier to draw out the most from the capabilities of the TI OMAP chip. For firms that do not have the ability to carry out its own R&D, relying on such documents and case models could be the only way out. Another great reason to opt for the TI chip is that those who developed the TI OMAP are placed in Bangalore, which is where Notion Ink is also located.
Further, the fabrication of the TI OMAP chip is based on the 28 nm process while that of the Tegra 3 is based on the 40 nm process. The advantage of this for TI OMAP is that the process is cheaper as also less taxing on the power consumption aspect. Battery life of the devices based on TI OMAP would naturally be more than those based on the Tegra 3 chip.
Surely most of the reason mentioned above are purely technical in nature and hence well beyond the scope of the average tablet buyers. For them, what matters most is a device that is well put together, has decent battery life and has the performance to boast of. Let’s just hope the Adam II delivers on these aspects.
Notion Ink Adam II Will Feature TI OMAP 4 and Android 4.0
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Notion Ink has announced a sequel to its Adam tablet, which right now is being referred to as the Adam II. This is hardly surprising, considering the next generation of the much hyped Adam is already due. Further, a switch of heart in favor of the Texas Instruments OMAP 44xx processor instead of the Tegra 3 chip, which many had initially thought would also be powering the new Adam, has also been confirmed in the company blog. However, predictably, the new Adam II will be running the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Apart from the TI chip, the new Adam II will also be featuring TI components like Wi-Link 7.0 and Phoenix Audio Power Amplifiers.
The first gen Adam tablets came with a NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor along with the Pixel Qi low-power display panel, which has the unique feature of being readable even in direct sunlight.
What Notion Ink is packing in their latest tablet is a feature specifically aimed at developers named “Modular Based Software Architecture.” This feature will allow developers to create their own applications, which the company claims will enable optimum usage of “every single hardware feature in a ‘user customizable’ application.”
Notion Ink blog does provide more details on this and many other issues, though the exact release date or price details of the device are still being kept under wraps.
Notion Ink Adam gets Android 4.0 pre-alpha build
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A pre alpha version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has been made available by Notion Ink for developers to try out and give their valuable feedback. The company right now is in the process of integrating the latest Android version on their Adam tablet. One can download the OS and test it out for helping the company in trouble shooting the problem areas.
Also, with all of it still in a work-in-progress state, its needless to say the number of things that aren’t functional as yet is far more than those that’s functional. Like there is no audio, camera, Bluetooth or even 3G working as yet. The OS in its present state supports graphics, GPS and Wi-Fi. Also, the most common feedback received as of now is that the OS has a bug that places the device in sleep mode.
To get instructions on how to download and install one has to visit the Norton Ink forum. There is news that the source code also would soon be made available to the public at large.
Notion Ink has also released a video to show how things are in the Adam with Android 4.0 on board.
Week in Review for Tablet News
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The past week has been a busy one with lots of tablet news coming our way. The diversity in the tablet affairs that we got to witness in the past week has been fascinating. While we’ve seen one tablet, the Dell Streak 7, going into oblivion after a not too impressive existence, the Adam from Notion Ink came back from a lull with an Android ICS makeover.
However, the first surprise of the week came from the Nova 7. This tablet is the only one besides the Aakash to sport the highly lucrative $99 price tag (shipping charges applicable extra). However, the Nova 7 betters the Aakash in that it runs the latest Android ICS, making it the cheapest tablet in the world right now to do so.
Also, in another surprise, users of the Kindle Fire reported having issues with the tablet’s Wi-Fi functionality. Amazon is yet to acknowledge the problems, though a lot of them said the latest update did come to their rescue. Unfortunately, the solution (installing the update) did not work for all Kindle Fire users. As of now, there are over 200 posts in the discussion “Kindle Fire cannot connect to the internet.” In other Kindle Fire news during the week, the tablet will next be seen in the UK, followed by Australia, though not before January 2012.
The HP TouchPad, though officially dead, has also been seen making a lot of noise this past week. UK Prosecutors are being provided with the WebOS tablet to conduct their court proceedings. Interesting, seeing as many believe the iPad is best suited to jobs of this type. Coming to the TouchPad’s OS, there is an update to version 3.0.5 that hogged the limelight, though the biggest WebOS news of the week was when it was announced to be an open source project. This move has not only allowed current TouchPad owners to hope for more updates in future, but there might even be next gen TouchPad versions coming our way later on. The way the entire TouchPad saga has unfolded so far, nothing about the tablet seems to be safe to rule out. In other TouchPad news, the tablet , though refurbished, has been on sale at ebay for $99. Also, Android 4.0 is being readied to run on the TouchPad.
The PlayBook has been in the thick of things this week, thanks to DingleBerry, the app that can be used to root the tablet. RIM has been quick to post an update that secured the gap that led to the birth of the DingleBerry in the first place, though the latter is claiming the PlayBook can still be rooted by reverting back to an earlier version of the tablet’s OS. Reports of a 10 inch version of PlayBook codenamed Black Forest has also come to the fore during this period.
In other news of the past week, the Transformer Prime turned out to be an impressive device indeed. Samsung’s share in the past week has been limited to a video of a transparent and flexible tablet concept along with chances of it launching a 2560 x 1600 resolution tablet during Feb 2012. (The Asus Padfone is another tablet likely to be launched in Feb 2012). Meanwhile, the iPad may have to change its name if it wishes to exist in China, a fallout of a court case which has not gone in favor of Apple. We also take a look at the Tablet S keyboard last week, while in another development that might not be liked by Apple fans, the Pope will be lighting the Christmas tree this year using the Sony Tablet S instead of the iPad.
All this pretty much covers the Week in Review tablet news! Check back next week for more exciting info.
The Notion Ink Adam takes a Bite out of Ice Cream Sandwich
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The Adam from Notion Ink may have been maintaining a stoic silence for quite sometime now but is back to entice us with a whole new Android Ice Cream Sandwich makeover. The video below gives us an idea of what the Adam will be like with Android ICS on board. However, before you begin celebrating, let’s keep in mind these are just early days and everything is yet to be sorted out completely. Like there are some glitches with the graphics and there sure will be several more video releases before we reach at the final thing.
In the meantime though, what is also due is some news on the company’s second generation of Adam. That it will feature the latest Tegra 3 chip and will run Android 4.0 ICS right out of the box is almost a surety. We sure will like to be enlightened on that and the sooner it comes the batter.
Notion Ink Adam to Get Google Ice Cream Sandwich Update in November
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Google is launching its seminal Ice Cream Sandwich update, which seeks to bridge smartphone and tablet streamlined development. Notion Ink made it official today on a recent blog post by CEO Rohan Shravan.
Notion Ink is a home grown company straight out of India, and has had the distinction of releasing the best tablet to come out of that country and gain fame. Due to the success of the Adam, they are expanding out of India and setting up design houses in China and a lab in Taiwan. They are also setting up a service centre in Germany and the Netherlands in December.
The Notion Ink Adam 2 will be on display at CES 2012, and little is known about the tablet. We do know that the boys at Notion Ink will be using the latest Nvidia Kal EL Tegra 3 processor to boost up performance and it will be shipped with Ice Cream Sandwich. To facilitate the Adam 2, Notion Ink is beginning another round of investment to start in the next few months. This should garner enough revenue to produce more units at once and have them shipped quickly.
Notion Ink talked about a fair number of very technical topics in their recent posting, so check it out HERE.
Interview with Notion Ink – The Adam and Adam 2 News
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Recently we chatted again with Rohan Shravan the CEO of Notion Ink to talk about the success of the Notion Ink Adam. He also shared some key insights with us about the Adam 2 Tablet.
The first question we raised was about the sales record of the Adam and how it performed in different countries since the time of the launch. It seems the United States led the first round of sales, followed by Europe and then India. Currently the Adam has been constantly sold out in all markets and demand is still strong. Exact sales numbers are unknown and not in the public domain due to agreements with investors.
The Android community has come up with some great firmware updates for the Adam since it initially launched. Notion Ink had talked a bit in the past about an upgrade to Honeycomb but cited problems with the platform. It seems the Adam will NOT in fact get a Honeycomb update, but they said that it will get the Ice Cream Sandwich version instead.
Well before the Adam launched, Notion Ink really hyped up Project Genesis. For those of you coming in cold, Genesis was the development program that NI was coming up with to have people make custom applications. This never panned out due to Honeycomb being launched right after the Adam had come out. Most developers started to make Honeycomb applications for all of the tablets released with that OS bundled in. NI has promised millions of dollars in incentives for various things to be developed, but put a hold on the idea. They thought that Honeycomb might make it onto the device so they held off of Project Genesis. Now that Honeycomb won’t make it ever onto any of the current or future tablet iterations done by the company, they are focusing on Ice Cream Sandwich before Project Genesis is ever revived.
There was also some news about the Notion Ink Adam 2 that the company has in development. They should be bringing a copy of it to CES 2012 for people to check out. Rohan and the boys are really excited about the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and Ice Cream Sandwich as the future of their product line. It also seems they are very into the new Pixel Qi enhancements to the Notion Ink screen.
Pixel Qi developing a new screen for Notion Ink Adam
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Pixel Qi demonstrated to us at Computex a new screen they are going to be using for the Notion Ink Adam that will reduce glare and give a better experience utilizing the Pixel Qi mode in units that support it.
Anyone who has purchased the Notion Ink Adam or saw any of our videos comparing it to an Amazon Kindle or our direct sunlight tests all noticed one thing, there was tons of glare on it. Notion Ink recognized the glare factor and packaged plastic screen protectors on the unit. Although they were nothing but screen protectors they did help disperse the light a little bit. This is why Pixel Qi making new screens for the Adam is such good news.
John Ryan the COO of Pixel Qi told us that the new screens were in development and they were relying on Notion Ink to adopt the new technology into future manufacturing. The screens themselves looked tremendous compared to the previous iterations and even with trade-show lighting there was no glare at all. The display models they showed us at Computex was a new film layer they had on-top of the screen.
We have to hope that the Notion Ink is going to adopt this new technology into future Adams because their current crop of Pixel Qi screens has been received with a lukewarm response.
NI Adam on Sale Again and Google Honeycomb to Arrive June 27
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As was mentioned earlier, the Adam tablet is available right now. Notion Ink is currently accepting a fresh lot of pre-orders, though hasn’t mentioned when the deliveries are slated to begin. Prices start at $375 for the base LCD Wi-Fi only model, while the top-of-the-line model with the sunlight readable Pixel Qi display and Wi-Fi + 3G will set one back $550. Prospective buyers will have to sign in at the company store’s page for an e-mail invitation containing the password, which in turn will have to be used to select configurations and place the order. Notion Ink has revealed the response so far has been encouraging Americans to beat Europeans this time in the number of orders placed.
Meanwhile, the company has made available a substantial upgrade for the Adam that promises to make a lot of things better in the Adam tablet. As mentioned in the company blog, the update will include changes to the “video player, new Panel Manager, Chords, general stability, Multi tasking menu, and UI changes.” As for the mother of all updates, Notion Ink is promising its June 27 by which times it will be ready to roll out the Honeycomb update for the Adam tablet PC.
Notion Ink Releases New Update for Adam, Will Have Honeycomb Next Month
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The last time the Adam tablet was in the news was when it was announced that the tablet would come pre-loaded with the Kindle e-book reading application as well as the Dolphin browser. This time, Notion Ink blog is proudly proclaiming a new update that promises to be a big one; the Eden 1.5 update will start streaming in starting Monday and will ring in more than 150 changes. Notion Ink also has lined up the Honeycomb update, which the company has said will be made available towards the end of next month.
Until then, Android 2.3 Gingerbread will be ruling the roost and to make things even more interesting, there will be another update on Wednesday that will allow one to enjoy the ‘rich features of 2.3 Gingerbread.’ Plus there will be many more apps.
Another major development on the Notion Ink front is the setting up of an advanced online system along the lines of those used by companies such as FedEx or Samsung. The system will soon be made live on support.notionink.com and will lead to quicker response times along with acting as a one stop shop for all aspects, such as taking care of all issues to getting live support and so on.
Also, as has been mentioned in the last few posts at the official company blog, the Adam will again be available for pre-order from this Monday. Adam enthusiasts in its home country will be excited to hear that the tablet will finally be available to Indian consumers with all duties pre-paid.
Lastly, the reason for Honeycomb to feature in the Adam rather late is that Notion Ink is having to put in a lot of effort (and time) to upgrade the kernel which is a requisite to make the Adam Honeycomb compliant. In fact, Notion Ink is claiming to have already moved all their resources “from current Eden 1.5 and Gingerbread to Honeycomb” so that by next month end, Android honey should be seen making things sticky and sweet with the Adam.
So make sure to click the ‘update’ icon on your Adam to usher in the update.
Kindle Android 3.0 App debuts on the Notion Ink Adam tablet
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Kindle and Adam lovers now have much to rejoice. For the Kindle for Android has now made its debut on the Adam tablet PC. This is great news for book-lovers who have bought the Adam tablet as this will open up access to the over 900,000 book now on offer at Amazon. The Amazon’s Whispersync technology will also be a part of the package. This combined with the sheer number of books on offer along with the ease with which they can be downloaded all make the Kindle application almost a must have for book-lovers.
So while the Kindle application definitely enhances the appeal of the Adam that bit more, what’s also exciting is the announcement in the company blog of more coming our way. So let’s keep our fingers crossed until the next post at the Notion Ink blog.
Notion Ink releases new update, will make Adam Gingerbread compliant
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Notion Ink has come up with a major update to the Eden user interface that aims to make it more user friendly than it ever was. Also, the update will make the Adam tablet PC to be at par with Gingerbread. Well yes, its Gingerbread and not Honeycomb though its the latter that everyone thought the Adam tablet PCs would taste like straight away after starting out with Android 2.2 Froyo. More so since NI itself had said they would jumping on to Honeycomb from Froyo that the Adam had shipped out with. The company right now is engaged in converting the ROM OS to eMMC OS post which, the Adams would be seen sharing space with the rapidly growing Honeycomb class of tablets. In the meantime, NI justified the move to push Gingerbread so as to have all ‘apps and kernel closed to Honeycomb.’ We only hope, that comes soon enough.
In the meantime, the update also comes along with a lot of improvements across a variety of segment. Like there will be a new e-book client, an updated Kernel, optimally over-clocked Tegra along with pre-installed Flash to name just a few. The update will also put to rest a lot of issues that has been bothering Adam users so long.
Then the update will also bring along with it a new browser which will be in addition to the one already available with Eden. Managing all tabs and applications will also be easier hence forth. There is also a Video Player included in the update that has been based on Mentor Graphic’s Inflexion technology and which NI claims will be very adept at handling even large number of databases. A music player though very basic will also be part of the update. While the player will be able to do all the usual stuff, one will have to wait for other advanced things such the equalizer in the next update.
You can have the update here or you can catch up with more on this at the Notion Ink Blog.
Goodereader Radio – Playbook thoughts – Notion Ink Updates and Kindle Library Lending
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Welcome to another episode of the Good e-Reader Radio Show! Today we have lots of exciting news from the last few days! First of all the Blackberry Playbook Launched! I have been playing with it non-stop for the last few days and give you my impressions about the device, how it handles and everything else.
Today Amazon announced Kindle Lending for Libraries, we give you the full story of what it is all about, how you can get borrowing and lots more. We even give you some links to look at to find out how library lending works and what Overdrive is.
Tons of other stories on this episode about Notion Ink, and shout outs to our new author Mercy. Lastly, we explain the new Good e-Reader Indy Author Initiative and how you can get involved! We are looking to hear your Independent Publishing escapades! Trails, errors and Tribulations in the realm of marketing and selling your books. A must listen!
