Adam tablet the start for an all new experience

Tablets, as you all know, are taking over 2011. The number of tablets that were unveiled at CES 2011 is proof that there is going to be cutthroat rivalry this year to get to the topmost position in the tablet market. One of the much anticipated tablets to be showcased at the event was Notion Ink's Adam tablet, the Indian answer to the Apple iPad.

Notion Ink Adam Tablet: Do You See it as an iPad Killer?

Its now over a year since a prototype of the Notion Ink Adam tablet was revealed – in December 2009. After months of rumors, leaks, images and videos, the device has finally started to ship, and the first official unboxing pictures have also arrived.

The question remains as to whether the new tablet is capable of fighting against not only the iPad, but also a bunch of new iPad rivals. Let us take what makes the device noteworthy.

Display

The Adam tablet comes with a transreflective 10 inch PixelQi display with a resolution of 1024 x 600.  From what we have got to see, the device provides an incredibly crisp reading experience in the sun. And, when we turned the LCD backlight on (by just tapping the top button on the display), the brightness was quite ok. The devices' PixelQi technology also provided wider viewing angles. And the display also takes up less power and therefore helps in extending the battery power.

But the only problem was that, the colors did appear a bit washed out. It appeared a bit duller in comparison to the Apple iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

However, we are certainly happy to see the PixelQi screen in a real product, and this might be the start for an all new experience.

One of the most impressive features about the new tablet is that it comes with the Eden user interface, which is an interface layer that sits on top of the Android 2.2 "Froyo" operating system. The UI completely changes the way applications are handled on a tablet.

The UI breaks up the screen into three vertical bands. With this feature, you will be able to run each application in a semi-interactive mode without using the resources required by the full app.

The company has certainly done a lot of work with this. It's a pretty nice layout, but it's also a bit confusing. In the device, different taps means different things. It will take quite a bit of time for the single, double, and triple taps to become a second nature. But a bit of practice won't kill anyone.

Notion Ink Adam Tablet: Do You See it as an iPad Killer?

Hardware

The device comes with a build that is very solid, although it is primarily made of plastics. You will be able to easily hold the device in portrait or landscape mode, all thanks to the rubberized, curved top edge.

It definitely won't be the slimmest tablet to be available on the market, but the device felt lighter than the iPad in the hand, weighing about 1.5 pounds. The device also has a nice array of ports, including a full HDMI and USB.

Apps

Because of the Eden UI, the device won't be able to support stock Android apps or the app market. The company plans to counter this by launching its own app store. But, this is certain to become problematic for the company since it will have to make sure that Adam users are getting ported version of the most popular apps.

However, the browser does quite well. There are a lot of cool stuff included here by the company, but like we said, it will require sometime to get to know it all. But everything worked fast, and never crashed.

CPU

The dual core Tegra 2 CPU has to be given credit for the smooth performance of the tablet's UI. The company has certainly done a lot to take advantage of NVIDIA's graphics and it is visible clearly when we are using the tablet.

The device worked fast, we got faster Flash video loads, but certainly there is a bit of lag. However, the device appeared to be much better than the Samsung Galaxy Tab at handling that video.

Other Main Features

The device has a 185 degree 3.2 MP autofocus Swivel camera. You can rotate it up to 185 degree to suit your need. The device also comes with 802.11n WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 3 cell 24.6Whr battery.

Pricing

As you might know, different versions of the tablet will be available on the market. The versions and the respective prices are as follows.

• Notion Ink Adam LCD WiFi – $375.33
• Notion Ink Adam LCD +3G – 900 Series – $425.33
• Notion Ink Adam LCD +3G – 850 Series – $424.33
• Notion Ink Adam Transflective WiFi – $499.45
• Notion Ink Adam Transflective +3G – 900 Series – $549.99
• Notion Ink Adam Transflective +3G – 850 Series – $549.99

Verdict

The first ever iPad killer from India does have its positive and negative sides. The Adam certainly looks capable of dethroning the iPad. The only problem is that, the Adam will be facing an entirely different iPad this year, the iPad 2, not to mention additional threats from companies like Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Asus.