The Kindle is Amazon’s newest 7″ device. It’s quite different from the E-Readers because of the fact that the display is full color. It will also have access to many apps downloadable from the Amazon Marketplace. Compared to other tablets, internal storage is fairly mediocre, coming in at around 8 Gigs, however, with access to Amazon’s cloud storage and the ability to re-download any app you ever downloaded, you may not need it. You connect to the internet via wi-fi as there is no 3g or 4g options at this point. Units are now shipping for $199 bucks!
Asus Transformer Prime:
This bad boy will be pretty powerful using NVIDIA’s Quadcore Tegra chip which means it should be able to handle pretty much anything. Gaming should be pretty fast and fluid with that much power under the hood. What makes the Asus Tablet different is that it can be docked with a keyboard which carries extra battery power and usb ports. This can come in handy for power users. Asus just announced the product so expect it to go on sale before the Holidays.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1/8.9:
Samsung has different sizes to suite different needs. The smaller 8.9″ for a super mobile experience or the 10.1″ for a nicer viewing experience. Both are running Android’s Honeycomb and have wi-fi versions, but only the 10.1″ models offer 4G options with either Verizon or T-Mobile. You can take a look at Samsung’s different tablet offerings here.
The Motorola Xoom tablet is now available for online order, or you can pick one up at a best buy. It ships with Google’s new Honeycomb OS which is basically Android for Tablets. The Xoom has a lot under the hood that makes it comparable to iPad like 4G from Verizon, Flash, and a larger display (10.1 inches). It’s also got a 1GHz Tegra dual core processor and 1GB of RAM to boot. Not bad Motorolla not bad.
Notion Ink Adam
This tablet was the first of the bunch to actually go on sale. It boasts a Pixel Qi screen which allows you to turn the back light on and off enabling daylight reading. It also has a custom Android interface and will be upgrading to Honeycomb. Ad to that a 1GHz Tegra dual core processor and swiveling 3.2 MP camera and you have an inexpensive rival. The most expensive 3G + wifi version will run you only 500 bucks. Plus its got a whole slew of ports including HDMI, USB (x2) and Micros USB.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will have Honeycomb with Samsung’s “Touchflo” customization. It will be super thin at only 8.6 mm which is slightly thinner than the iPad2 which comes in at 8.8mm. It also has a dual core 1GHz processor and front and rear cameras of course.
Playbook
The Playbook is RIM’s definition of a tablet and I think its a pretty good one. The OS will be RIM’s so it’s neither Android or iOS. It’ll be a little think at 10mm in depth. It’s also smaller coming in at a more mobile 7 inches. It will also have a 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM. Front and rear facing camera, 3 and 5MP respectively, however, the difference lies in its ability to sync with your Blackberry. We are talking contacts, calendar appointments…the works.
G Slate
The Gslate is another Honeycomb tablet that will be running on Tmobile’s 4G network which means 1GHz dual core processor, 1 GB Ram. The screen will not be as big as the other guy’s (only 8.9 in) however the display will be HD. Nothing out of the ordinary except for they sucker punch you with this little trick. It will have dual rear cameras for 3D and HD video capture. Booyah.
Someone out there finally got their Adam Tablet. Care to guess who? Yup Rohan the CEO of NotionInk himself, and he posted pictures as well. If your frothing at the mouth for one you’ll have to wait for the next batch of Pixel Qi screens to come in. However, word on the street is that more tablets will be available to order before the end of the month. Take a look at the Notion Ink Blog for more pics!
If you have been following this tablet at all, then you will know the events of the past week or so. The Adam, running Android 2.2 with custom UI, just went up for pre-order. It was a disaster, and many blogs including androidpolice.com were calling NI out for what looked like scammish behavior. However, Rohan reached out to them, and they have an interview which can be found here. Strangely enough, because of their bad-mouthing, they also got exclusivity to a video of the device working in all its naked glory. I think it’s a great start, however, the lack of a marketing team, or a strong one, is pretty evident but to be truthful – I’m not getting this device because of how well it was advertised that’s for sure! The video shows off the custom UI, it’s multiple ports, web-browser, and custom email app to name a few.
Well, well, well….what do we have here? According to the folks over at Longbox…Notion Ink’s Adam will be the first tablet to include Longbox’s Digital Comic Library. Looking at the video below – I am thoroughly excited. Rather than dealing directly with a publisher – it seems Notion Ink is providing access to different publishers on one platform through their “Genesis” store – much like iTunes, a place where you can purchase video and music content regardless of the source. Talking about the Notion Ink team, Longbox CEO Rantz Hoseley had this to say :
“It’s easy to talk big lofty ideas. To see a company deliver the goods, even when it isn’t easy to do so? Those are the kind of people you want to partner with, and Rohan and his team have been phenomenal in that regard.”
That’s one strong endorsement, especially about a new start-up that many people didn’t think would have made it this far. They are so confident in the experience that Hoseley goes on to say:
“Yes, a generic Android version of LongBox Digital, as well as an iOS version for iPhone and iPad will be released shortly after the launch of the ADAM tablet. We’re confident that the experience of LongBox on the ADAM is a superior one, but we also strongly believe that you cannot dictate to people how, or on what device, they consume their entertainment media.”
Big talk, and I wouldnt mind putting the Adam to the test with a shiny review unit if I must say so myself! You can check out the Adam Specs here. There will be four versions:
While out gallivanting around the city, I happened upon the Samsung Store in the Columbus Circle Shopping center. I figured I’d test my luck to see if they had a Galaxy Tablet Review Unit that I could get my nubs on to try out. Sure enough, the little guy was on the first table as you enter the store. As I played around with it I noticed a few major things.
First, it really is quite lite. According to specs its supposed to be around 1.5 lbs and it feels it. It was well put together and definitely felt like a grown person’s toy. The size is controversial but I suppose it all depends on what one would use it for. At 7″, it does what it does quite well. The screen is crisp and clear and it wouldn’t take up much space in a briefcase or small bag. However, rumors of the ability to lug this thing around without a case of some sort is a gross exaggeration. I doubt anyone would carry this thing in their back pocket or the inside of a jacket. 1.5lbs is light, but not that light!
Next, I noticed an older app that I used to have on my G1 called Bubble Blast. I figured I’d open it up to see what it looks like on a 7″ screen. The answer is… terrible. Functionality-wise, it works as you would expect, but you can also tell not much work was done to optimize the game for the tablet space. The reason I point this out is because I am quite sure there will be a lot of apps in this same boat so there will be some wait until Android 3.o comes out and developers are able to get their android apps to a tablet friendly place.
Lastly, flash is working – not magnificently, but working. Checked some flash heavy-sites and the browser chugged its way through. I was impressed, but thought that it could be done better. I only expect the mobile flash experience to get better, especially after Steve Jobs’ public lambasting of adobe. Hopefully those who decide to spend the 600 bucks or so for this bad-boy when it comes to US Carriers will be able to wait for the software updates that will make the Galaxy Tablet browsing experience a bit better.
Below are the Galaxy Tablet Specs:
3G/Wifi/Bluetooth 3.0 Version
Android 2.2
7hrs of Movie Viewing (4,000 mAh battery)
1.0GHz processor
7.0″ Capacitive Display
Front facing Camera with 3.0 MP rear facing camera for video conferencing
So Rohan has been busy lately. Not only has he managed to update his blog, he has managed to get the site looking quite snazzy. Its flash, but he is working on an Ipad compatible version as well! The new site re-design makes me think that the “Buy Now” button can’t be to far off.
Another development was the confirmation that the present hardware will be compatible with the next version of Android that comes after Froyo. Chocolate Frosty Surprise I think it is…
Lastly, wifi will be b/g/n not just b/g which basically means greater range and increased performance.
Update: 6.27
I have been looking around the Notionink.com website and just realized that I can only get to the blog portion of the site. There used to be a website portion where you could view pictures of the tablet and see the specifications. There was even a store icon that said “coming soon”. Now all of that is missing which has my interest highly peaked! Does this mean what I think it means??? Are they going to announce a release date or better yet, are they modifying the site for pre-orders and new specs??? I’ll keep you posted..
If you are like me, then you are probably holding out for a tablet that is a little more functional than the iPad. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater, I’m just not that much of an early adopter. I like to see what my options are before I make a purchase! We did a tablet article a while back, before the iPad launched, where we talked about some of the tablets that were coming down the pipe. One of our favorites was Notion Ink’s “Adam” Tablet. Not only were we impressed by its creator, Rohan Shravan, but we were also impressed by the overall design and hardware specs. You can find the iPad comparison here. The tech world was all a-buzz a few days ago because Rohan mentioned that there might be some launch delays pushing the launch all the way back to November. Needless to say, people were sorely disappointed. However, Rohan has just recently cleared the air on his blog and he says things are “on track” whatever that means. As longs as things are on the track rather than off the track I say. Below are some reasons for why I definitely want to wait a bit till this bad boy comes out sometime in Q3:
The Screen is one of the biggest factors. Made by Pixel Qi, it has the ability to basically turn black and white with the push of a button making viewing in direct sunlight much more do-able. This also boosts battery performance quite a bit. Will also come with an ambient light sensor which will automatically adjust the screen depending on lighting conditions.
It has a camera. Not just any camera…a 180 degree swiveling camera at that! This is for taking pictures or video of you or your surroundings with the push of a finger.
Track-pad on the back. Some people might think this is a small point, but I think the smallest points are sometimes the biggest. I predict this will be extremely useful because you wont have to hold the tablet with one hand just to select something on screen which will lessen hand fatigue and make the overall browsing experience that much more enjoyable.
Those are just a few key points, but you get the gist. Check out Notion Ink’s site here for more details.
Yea, so about that whole stepping up their game thing…turns out its more of the same. Courier has been cancelled as we all tried not to believe. Way to go Microsoft, for killing dreams. C’mon Adam, your our last hope and we don’t want any more delays! Anything past November and all bets are off!
On another note I’ll go ahead and add the ExoPc “Slate” to this list…
Its 11.6 inches, slightly bigger than the iPad, and runs Windows 7 which should be quite useful for people who still need to get stuff done. What really drew me in was the interface. Love the WebOs reminiscent swipe-to-exit functionality there. I also think the app launcher is pretty neat as well. Full HD playback, camera, and Adobe Flash support don’t hurt the cause either.
Ok Guys,
I’ve got more tablet news. If you are still thinking about purchasing the iPad, or one of the other tablets out there so you can let everyone in the office know what a trend-setter and awesome guy (or gal) you are then pause a quick second before you open that wallet.
Remember Microsoft’s rumored tablet? No, not that HP thingy, the two screened one that had the awesome demo vid? Yeah, its called the Courier, and its really shaping up to be a great device to rival the best.
I’ve included a nice video from Engadget below.
Now a couple of comparison notes:
iPad has an actual pre-order date of March 12th and a shipping date of April 3rd, so its the first to actually materialize. Notion ink’s Adam and the Courier are still Q3 or Q4, whatever that means.
Adam will have two modes – one for reading and one for content viewing which should dramatically increase battery life. It should also be able to run Javascript and have full HD playback making it an ideal content consumption device.
Courier is smaller than both, but has two screens which could become interesting with game-play. Think Nintendo DS. It uses the stylus heavily for better or for worse, but the UI is quite captivating. If Microsoft can deliver on its promises in the video below they may have a winner. No word on pricing, video playback quality or battery life as Microsoft hasn’t even confirmed its existence yet, but I know you can’t wait!
Remember like a month ago when everyone was frothing at the mouth over Apple’s iPad? People were saying all sorts of things and then when the official announcement came, things just kinda simmered down. This was mostly because the iPad couldn’t do half the things everyone had thought it was going to be able to. People were thinking it was going to have a camera with gesture recognition, multi-tasking capabilities, making breakfast in bed, the whole shabang. Now granted, the iPad is still quite impressive, and the entry price-point of $499 certainly helps matters. Yet, there was this nagging feeling of what could have been. Then from left field we have Rohan Shravan, founder of Notion Ink busting onto the scene with his “Adam Tablet”. Now here is where things get quite interesting… The Adam tablet not only has a 3.2 Megapixel camera, but it swivels as well. The Adam can not only double as an e-book reader, but it can turn off the backlighting for easier readability in direct sunlight with pixel Qi’s new screen which gives it increased battery life. Oh, and it runs flash, and has an entry cost of $327. Interested? Yeah I thought so. Check out the the below chart i picked up at Gizmodo:
Here is a video from Technoholik showing a version of the Adam that looks really quite nice.
Here is another one cause I know the first video isn’t enough
Steve Jobs is playing for keeps as is evident by the moves he has made with the inception of the iPod and the iPhone. Love him or hate him, Apple has fought back from the brink with hit after hit and it looks like they’re here for the long haul. But that’s not what’s on everybody’s tongue right now. Enter stage left: iSlab, or iSlate or iThingy. Whatever you want to call it, it seems destined to be the next best thing since toilet tissue.
Just the mere rumor of its existence has sent shivers down thespines of large companies and has News Papers and Magazines clamoring for a Digi-Saviour. Can Apple do to the print industry what it did for the music industry? Honestly, our money is on Jobs. He’s a mad genius when it comes to this sort of thing, and the buzz alone is guaranteed to bring some high-rollers to the table. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Harper-Collins, and Condé Nastare already in talks over the rumored Tablet, and we are pretty sure there will be more. If you’re a non-believer, that’s fine. Consider yourself in good company, but the rumored specs paint a very pleasant picture.
Imagine a kindle – but in color and a larger 10 -11” screen, not to mention ten times sexier. Total access to your library of music anywhere you go and the ability to buy more in a web-based version of i-Tunes that downloads songs over wifi – or better yet, a 3G cellphone network like Verizon’s. It may also have a “Best of TV” service offering a subscription to your favorite Television shows. The inclusion of games is a no brainer, and a faster processor and larger hard disk space can only help matters. Now the clincher – the tablet will reportedly have facial recognition software that will recognize users and perhaps perform tasks meant for specific persons using a front facing camera.Maybe it will be like the chair settings in your car where you just hit the 3rd button and it automatically adjusts the seat because you’re too tall for your wife’s settings and she insists on driving your car even though you bought her a car for Christmas, but she likes the feel of your car better. Or maybe that’s just us.
The price range should be inside of $1,000, and could possibly be subsidized if it debuts with a cell phone carrier. If anyone out there needs someone to test this bad boy out, count us in.
Source:WSJ
UPDATE:
ok, so alot of the above information turned out to be wrong…or atleast a bit premature. This doesn’t mean all the information is garbage though. For starters, the camera may still be in the works. Soooooo glad we were wrong about the price. In approximately 60 days, you can pick one up for as low as 499.99 (16GB)with the 3G unlocked version coming in at a cool 629 (16GB).
Now there has been a lot of chatter, mostly by Geeks with super-powered devices, saying that the iPad doesn’t live up to the hype. I’ll have to agree to a point. But c’mon, what device does? Just because you thought the iPad was going to levitate, pay bills, make your bed, etc… and (surprise!) it doesn’t you wanna get all salty? Look, for 500 bucks your getting a premier device that works super well, and does everything it needs to. The iWork suite looks fantastic, browsing magazines and online content looks like an absolute pleasure to do, and gaming is pretty nice. It is the first and last device I want with me on any trip. Now I don’t own anything Mac branded and even I can tell that this is a great device. Jobs and his boys just aren’t catering to those of us who happen to know what the device should be able to do such as multi-tasking and voice calling with video telephony over wifi etc.
Now to a few more details about the device…
The device is 9.7 inches diagonally, and .5 inches thin. It’s a bit heavy (depending on what your comparing it to) at 1.5 lbs. Battery life is supposed to be 10 hrs of moderate use, and almost a month at standby, though something tells me that if your online playing games, you are gonna need to plug that sucker in a lot sooner. Now I have to give kudos to Apple for making their own performance chip. I really like the way they take a really hands on approach to their product. It really seems like they care about what they put out there.
You have access to three main stores now..iTunes of course, App store, and now the iBook Store. The Screen is multi-touch capacitive and is LED backlit. Take a look at the video below:
