The response of the tablet to the stylus is a bit laggy judging from the videos but the concept is still great. I think the future is bright for note taking specific notepads that has long battery life, large storage, and fast stylus response. I am hoping that they will sell the standard grade of this device for less than 100 dollars, which is quite doable. They could sell a higher grade device with more and better features (i.e. faster CPU, better screen resolution, better stylus...) for a higher price. If they are able do all of these mentioned, Sony will be back in the game since every student and working professionals probably will buy at least one of them (it saves time and money, long term, including paper and pencil costs). Another thing they should do is to make the GUI more intuitive for sharing data wirelessly. In addition, it would be cool if it can be charged wirelessly as well.
The stock market is a mess this week but there were still exciting news announced in NYC at the Amazon Tablet Event. The very first Amazon android tablet called Kindle Fire is all over the news, but is it a steal at $199 price tag?
Lets first examine the specs and then compare it to the competitor.
Comparisons (taken from geekapolis.fooyoh.com and unplggd.com)
Final Verdict
It is one of the cheapest android tablet given the spec. All the cheap tablets out there under $200 do not have IPS screen and duo core processor. However, the lack of camera, expandable storage, bluetooth, GPS and Google's android market will pull some people's interest away from this tablet. If you want all that bells and whistles (i.e bluetooth, GPS, front and back camera, USB ports, HDMI ports), you are still better off getting other tablets like Ipad or honeycomb tablet.
If you want a very portable device specifically for reading books, surfing the net, play multimedia, casual gaming, this device is for you. Also, if you like Amazon services and you shop from amazon often, this tablet is really good for that as well since you can get a month of free amazon prime membership if you pre-order the device now.
By the way, if you are only interested in ebook reading, then you should also consider the new Amazon Kindle and Kindle touch as they are much cheaper.
The highly anticipated android tablet will finally be available in North America at various well known retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. This sweet tablet runs for only $399 and the optional keyboard dock runs for $149.(see Eee Pad Transformer North American Launch News for details)
Why is this tablet a big deal and what is this tablet different from any other android tablets out there?
This is the cheapest android tablet out there that sport the latest android software, the tegra 2 processor, and an IPS screen with resolution that is same if not better than its competitors. Combined with the dock, the combination can get very good battery life, ~15 hours, and weights only about 2.9lbs total.
Shown below is a comparison table taken from Anandtech's recent review on the transformer tablet.:
As you can see, the Asus Eee pad has a very competitive pricing compared its rivals and I am glad to see this as it will create pressure on the cost of tablets in the future. I believe that netbook/tablet transformer platform will dominate the market in term of mobile gadges in the near future.
From two posts ago, I briefly talked about a $99 NoteSlate that is due to come out in June, a simple paper replacement for taking, saving, and sharing your notes. To me it seems like a bargain because of it's simple concept and it's usefulness factor. Just recently NoteSlate.com updated their website and more information was provided in their design, products, and features section of the site. I was glad to see the progress they made and was hopeful that they will market their product on time.
Here's a brief list showing what this device can do and the pros of this device:
tablet device, 1-bit display, monochrome, 1 touch
simple device, slick body, paper look and feel
has low power consumption, solar accessories, and passive mode for displaying static pages.
can store up to70,000 pages of notes
can share files through WIFI and USB
flexibility in the firmware modification. The firmware will be later available for opensource community.
The technical details of NoteSlate is shown below:
There'll be no all color version anymore. The picture below shows only the color variants of NoteSlate that will be available this June. In the future they will have the custom colors version available for purchase as well.
For more details, feel free to go to www.noteslate.com. You can also signed up a pre-order newsletter on their website so that you will be contacted whenever pre-order is available online. This device will be sold only through this website as well.
From a recent post by Gizmodo.com, I found a rather interesting device. NoteSlate!!! It's a tablet built with the sole purpose of note taking and PDF viewing/editing.
"NoteSlateis low cost tablet device with true one colour display, real paper look design, long life battery (180h !), together with very handy usage and very simple and helpful interface for pen and paper. This easy, compact and portable gadget is used anywhere you want to make any notes, drafts, sketches, any ideas for future reference. Paper for everyone! Write a note and check it later, save it, or delete it. Maybe send it after. Just one colour is enough to express the basics. Keep your life simple. You will love it. For $99."
This would potentially be a cool and useful device and it's not very expensive (~$99). Although this device is not available for purchase right now, I am expecting more of this type of device coming out later this year and early next year so stay tuned.
Update: some people commented that NoteSlate concept is really similar to Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet which is available for purchase online already for about $40, albeit not as sleek and have lesser spec. (limited functions, cannot save, etc) as compared to the NoteSlate.
Notion Ink is a company in India which faced several issues trying to turn their dream concept into an actual product. It took them about 2-3 years to convert their concept to reality and finally was able to provide pre-order of their first tablet product called Notion Ink Adam. On December 9th, 2010, a limited number of devices were released for pre-order globally on the official website and very soon it was all sold out. After the pre-order the CEO of Notion Ink posted several unofficial videos on the Adam tablet user interface (UI) called Eden UI.
The Adam Tablet runs on a customized version of android with addition of muti-pane user interface to improve multitasking experience. A cool feature of Adam is that we have an option to to choose Pixel Qi screen instead of the standard LCD screen. Pixel Qi is a low-power, dual-mode display that can switch between an e-ink ebook reader like screen and the normal LCD screen. In addition it is one of several tablets coming out beginning this year to include the powerful dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. From Notion Ink site(not available anymore after pre-order was sold out), we find that Notion Ink offers a range of Adam tablets with different options:
LCD and WiFi: $375.33
LCD, WiFi, and 3G: $425.33 Pixel Qi and Wifi: $499.45 Pixel Qi, Wifi, and 3G $549.99
A more detailed list of technical specifications is listed on the official Notion Ink website. For more information about Notion Ink Adam, you can also check out NotionInk FAQ Wiki the community created.
Albeit various disappointments and negative news. The product finally made its appearance in CES 2011 and was captured in several first hands on reviews from tech news/review sites. One of the better review videos I found is from Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/notion-ink-adam-hands-on-preview-video/) and the comments were mostly positive.
Fun device (swivel camera, Pixel Qi screen, RF radio, Eden UI, etc.)
Feature to cost ratio is really good compare to alternatives (starts from $375 for the none-Pixel Qi, wifi only version- the one I got). Xoom (not available yet) would cost at least $200 more and maybe require contract.
Can be used every where (mobility, varieties of tasks it can do)
Can be used for people of all ages (very light and size is big enough to read ebooks and surfing online without eye strain)
Appearance is different from typical tablets (economical design)
Xda forum support(hacker's dream tablet)
Battery life is long ( typical use is ~6-12hours according to some users in the forum)
Potential Honeycomb update.
You would be supporting a company that has potential to do big things in the future.
Issues to be awared of:
The community forums seems to overreact to everything that didn't go their way and was skeptical about the health of the company. The device was not without fault. There were people reporting that they received units with bad Pixel Qi screen. The customer support of Notion Ink as of now is really poor, slow reply due to small company with little man power.
MY UNBOXING VIDEO & REVIEW VIDEO
I am waiting for Notion Ink to ship the product. It's estimated to ship by Jan 29th from China factory and I assume it will arrive to me by mid-February. I will post the video as soon as possible.
Update: The shipment is delayed due to the short supply of LCD screens. Now the estimated shipping date is Feb 14th now.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMUNITY VIDEOS From what I see, NotionInkFan.com makes the best unboxing videos and review videos all around. There are many more and you can search on youtube but they'll be more of less the same or worst in quality and content. Here it is:
Video taken from Notion Ink Fan Website - Greg's unboxing video
Update:
Video taken from Notion Ink Fan Website - Greg's 2 part review videos
Video taken from Notion Ink Fan Website - bonus review video that Mike (vector66) created about one of the Adam tablet alternatives, ViewSonic G-Tablet(have similar hardware and software platform), and then compares the specification of ViewSonic G-Tablet with Adam
