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Finally my day off!
This has been a busy week at work and a lot of changes happening so quickly I haven’t had a proper chance to use my Adam as I wanted, but now I can give you a proper review of my experience so far.
First of all I want to share some information about me just so you don’t think im a biased person or working for Notion Ink.
My name is Bruno Alexandre, im 27 years old and im from Portugal, I work in a ISP and in a daily base I deal with equipments of every kind and all kind of applications.
I’m a gadget lover, I simply adore every details that a manufacturer places on a equipment and im very picky about build quality and software design, I prefer a practical design to something with a “bling” effect.
I started following the Adam back on CES 2010, Rohan ideas and vision attracted me, his way of thinking was just what I was looking for, a project that isn’t thought to the “elites” and accessible to everyone, the concept he had back then of the Adam was simple but practical and the way he just showed Slashgear a working concept, instead of just a video or something has we've seen recently on others, shown me he wasn’t there to fool anyone and he believed in it and so did I and that’s how I started to follow Notion Ink. Every update afterwards and the open communication he had with the community was something I have never seen before and I always hoped for from other companies, the project started to get even better with the first sketches of the Adam and continuous information he kept revealing about the hardware and the design behind, to a point I could not stand any more not having it and offered to pay ahead for my Adam, even before the Pre-order was known to public. I think when a project has a future, even coming from a company we never heard before is worth investing it is worth to support, and help in anyway possible.
Hardware & Design
As you have all seen the Adam hardware is no big news, every person that likes gadgets have heard of Tegra 2, Pixel Qi and all the other features, the Adam doesn’t bring nothing new in terms of technological innovation but it does bring a innovation in design.
The way it was built is just great, it was thought to be used on a daily base in any situation imaginable, the golden ratio does make a difference! The past 2 days I have used the Adam as a console, media player, work support and as a organizer, it fulfilled every expectation I had, it felt great in any handling position, feels strong being handled in any situation I came to face during my work, there's no crackling sound or protection caps coming off easily, the fingerprints are as bad as in a smartphone, you even cant feel the real weight it has and balances perfectly even by holding with just one hand while typing with the other! Have you ever tried to use the IPAD like that ? It just wobbles on your hand unless you have a case.
My colleagues at work also tried it and they were astonished how a small company from India was able to produce such equipment, they never even heard of Notion Ink or Adam, and they just loved to work with it. One of the biggest praises was the responsiveness of the touch screen and how smooth it was on Canvas to draw a line compared with a smartphone, the processing power and the speed of opening apps, video playback and specially the sniffer, many of them were Android users and they loved it.
Everything looks too perfect doesn’t it, well now its time for the bad parts, the screen protector first of all was awful, as bad as HTC screen protectors for smart-phones all the glare and reflections plus washed out colours made me rage, so I took it off and it felt much better.
The viewing angles of Adam are not very good either, not when compared with my Asus 1005HA LED Backlit screen or the Ipad, but it wasn’t meant to be looked from the side but head-on to be able to read so I take this as a small drawback.
The screen calibration in terms of brightness to contrast ratio is very bad, you notice it more when using at dark environment like the video shows below, but this is something that I think it could be easily fixed if we had the proper tools to mess with it like a normal desktop monitor OSD. (if there’s such tool please tell me since im a android newbie)
Pixel Qi, well this really does feel great, even tho sun is lacking here in Portugal this past days, ive used the Adam on the outside a lot and I love how the pixel qi works, it feels amazing being able to read everything without any problems, unique experience. Indoors even with low light conditions for example in bed with the night stand lamp it was readable or ( you will lol ) in the toilet !
Sound quality was just .. man it was awesome, its louder than the Asus 1005HA and the bass is much better, connected to a sound system is just gives enough juice to make it worth, lacks some equalizer but I think there’s apps out there to do the job.
Camera is one of those things there’s not much to talk about, it's a 3.2 camera like many phones have, the swivel does make it good because you can just point it to what you want, using Google Goggles with it is very cool, the design here helps again, with one hand you can easily stabilize the Adam while the responsiveness of the screen helps out the shooting.
The battery when tested at work was empty after 8 hours of people messing with it, playing watching videos, testing VPN connections, downloading and navigating using the canvas, it was madness the number of fingerprints on the Adam, but it was still very readable. You could only notice the fingerprints on the borders.
Software
Well the software is another issue, the idea behind Eden is good and I love the leaves, but not every application seem to have gone under proper testing or QA, they don’t fit well with each other and don’t respond properly sometimes to the commands you give to it, one of the examples is facebook tool, the cramped look of it and the minimized information makes it really annoying to work with.
The lack of Android Market to be able to get some of the Google Apps made the experience even worst, if Genesis isn’t ready yet then the Android Market should still exist in the meanwhile.
Mail app is very good, I enjoy the UI and how simple it looks while having every feature you need, its also very useful in a job like mine where im constantly receiving emails.
QuickOffice is also great, I work a lot with excel, acrobat, word and having the Adam around is a excellent working tool, I can give support to my colleagues in real time without having to go from one side to the other getting the information they need and taking time which is essential in my job.
The browser, I was kinda of disappointed with the UI from the browser, it felt.. wrong.. hard to explain, but once I got to work with the tabs I just loved how it felt, the idea of placing them like that helps a lot when you are consulting online or trying to get updated with the latest news in the gadget world, it was a fast experience with flash always loading in the websites quickly and with no issues.
The Video Player, had some issues, as you may have noticed on the video above, the sound and video were de-sync, I was using .wmv tried also .mkv and other formats, thought it was a issue with the internal SD Card, used my external one Class 6 and had the same issue, must be codec wise.
In the end I just preferred on having the LauncherPRO as my main screen since I could customize with every widget I wanted, with no limitations whatsoever as you can see on the video below, at least until NI can deliver a better interface or Honeycomb is out.
Conclusion
I'm not an expert reviewer, nor I have experience in reviewing equipments, some of you may not agree with me on some aspects but in the end this was my experience, and I just wanted to share with you all. I enjoy every day with the Adam I have, and it will be my main support at home and works to organize my life.
Do I regret buying the Adam ? No I do not, the Adam is a great tablet.
Would I prefer the Xoom over the Adam ? I wont pay $700 for a barometer, but … I wouldn’t mind having the quality of its screen. Also I had Motorola equipments before and my experience was bad.. not with 1 but more than 4..
Hope you enjoyed.
Thanks for your review bro. I have been looking for a down to earth review for a while. I am probably waiting for the Asus transformer but I would love to try out an Adam and see if it would change my mind. I guess in the end the question is, will it get Honeycomb?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
jorny32 said:
Thanks for your review bro. I have been looking for a down to earth review for a while. I am probably waiting for the Asus transformer but I would love to try out an Adam and see if it would change my mind. I guess in the end the question is, will it get Honeycomb?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
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Rohan mentioned that they are working on honeycomb. If NI doesn;t bring it, the adam is pretty close to ASOP android, so I'm sure that the developers here will port it to the adam.
Thats what i hope also.
hmm..intresting review. Friend can you post some more of your experiences with Adam in detail. I would like to see how different application like
1) Rockplayer (for MKV,avi)
2) Laputa ebook reader
3) Google earth
and some good HD Games with motion sensors.
Video Playback
Do you think the video playback de-sync is because of the player?
Meaning that with another player this would not happen?
Good Review
zabaknilesh said:
hmm..intresting review. Friend can you post some more of your experiences with Adam in detail. I would like to see how different application like
1) Rockplayer (for MKV,avi)
2) Laputa ebook reader
3) Google earth
and some good HD Games with motion sensors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure ill post tomorrow probably.
Thanks for this review man. Appreciated. Looking forward to updates on your ongoing use.
Very nice and honest review. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Have you already rooted and installed market with NIH/XDA root packs? Or just using the update released by NI?
Thanks for the review.
I have been using Eden UI on G-Tab for a few days now, and I agree that it takes a little getting used to...and some of the Apps like Mail'd are good. Browser is so-so...and the keyboard could have used "Autoprompts" for words.
Thanks LeviathanPT for the review. I'll wait to pre-order my NI 3G+Pixel QI for the "general public".
Its good to read e-books and Comics?
Thanks
@ zabaknilesh
1) Rockplayer (for MKV,avi) - Still has the same desync issue even with rockplayer
2) Laputa ebook reader - Very cool app, i like the flipping pages transition and its very smooth and accurate, the books can be read very well. Also the thick part of the adam is excelent to grab and makes the reading experience much higher.
3) Google earth - Doesnt launch just crashes
4) Some good HD Games with motion sensors. - Is there any free games i could try ?
@tokyobreeze
Yes i have rooted using NIH since genesis isnt out and i dont want a limited (by software) equipment .
@SimonCt
Yeah reading e-books is awsome, comics is something i havent tried as a appbut ive been at some comic websites and its very cool.
Try jjComics Viewer if you can, The main use for me is read e-books and comics....
For ebooks im using Aldiko, that can be conected with Calibre
Thanks for your review. Very informative!
thanks
Thanks for this usefull review!
Very good review!
Did you try to re-load google earth and still crash?
Edit:
I see they got it working on the Viewsonic over here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10100271&highlight=google+earth#post10100271
Thanks for the comments guys, the google earth seems not to be compatible using the web android market and that guy doesnt supply the files needed :|
Flash
Have you been able to use a browser as the Skyfire with flash on it??
Hey guys I have made a review from my new adam with pixel qi! I also added a lot of pictures and two videos (showing eden, hardware, pixel qi outside, also made a comparison from screens of galaxy s and macbook pro, ... pictures and videos are on the second page) The review is in german, but pictures and videos can say more than 1000 words
Adam Tablet PC review with pictures and videos
please click on "gefällt mir" or I like button in the facebook fan box
Thanks!
I know this has been already mentioned before but I wanted to start a discussion around wearable tech and touch on a few things I think this particular watch is getting right and why I think the game changer is finally here...
For the most part I think that because this isn't just a companion device like the I'm Watch or the Sony and numerous alternatives out there this is actually has loads of it's own functionality
For a start its waterproof!
If you're anything like me then you know how much you'd be put off having to rush for work and not have to worry about getting your watch soaked in the shower!
7 day battery life!
The I'm watch although has a nice colour screen only has 2 days worth of battery... that would really grate on me... having to charge your watch up ever other day.... 7 days is on par with other activity trackers.
Does everything a Fitbit Flex without needing to wear two things...
I do like the idea that I can wear this and not need a watch so now im back to having something just on one wrist and not on both
Keep track of your fitness in real time..
Something you can't do with any fitness tracker.. I really like the idea of using an Android Rock or Z1 watch phone but sadly they don't support bluetooth 4.0 LE which would have been great to directly see the apps off the fitness trackers... but this is the best you can get right now..
Syncs with Windows Phone 8
Ok for the minority of WP8 users out there with Lumias to actually have proper support with something is an amazing change
Anyway here's the link see what you all think about wearable tech...
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kreyos-the-only-smartwatch-with-voice-gesture-control/x/4042531
Actually what made me really laugh on their promo video was yeh look the watch is waterproof she just made a call and jumped in... errrr... hang but on but she just destroyed her £600 iPhone which isn't waterproof oh... and notice how she didn't try and use it after she had jumped in ;p
If anyone does pledge and doesn't mind using my referral link, it'll be greatly appreaciated! Thanks.
http://igg.me/at/kreyos/x/3035858
Referrals are not allowed on xda
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
If you are shopping for this device and have visited this forum, here is a YouTube preview of the device by myself, LoopyD / LupineDream
http://youtu.be/jDhzp7mRNVU
This video is a quick rundown of the device and basic software and features that it comes with. Most of the terminology used is pretty laymen. The attached poll is a rating for the quality of this vidoe. I have been attempting to increase my skills with vidoe editung.
I am a professional student. If you would like me to spend a bit more time on improvements or donate to the hardware for my basic phone pitches or other tutoriaks (root, ROM, etc.) please donate:
PayPal: [email protected]
Support is appreciated in these attempts. Thanks for watching and reviewing!
Informative, thank you =]
i have the same case as yours... the spigen
I might make a revised version. Seems like the general result is bad quality. I appreciate the critiques, though. I will work harder to improve the quality of the videos.
Do you all have some suggestions? Seems like there is quite a bit of room for improvement.
LupineDream said:
I might make a revised version. Seems like the general result is bad quality. I appreciate the critiques, though. I will work harder to improve the quality of the videos.
Do you all have some suggestions? Seems like there is quite a bit of room for improvement.
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When looking at things like this you have to look at who you are being compared to. In this case you would need alot of equipment to match what they do and to be honest. Unless it is right after the devices release videos like this almost will get no views at all.
zelendel said:
When looking at things like this you have to look at who you are being compared to. In this case you would need alot of equipment to match what they do and to be honest. Unless it is right after the devices release videos like this almost will get no views at all.
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Sadly, critics are going to be hard on someone on a fixed income. Oh well, I did attempt. I'll leave it up. I really like this phone. I'm glad that I got the chance to show it off. Even if it was with a tablet camera.
Looks like more manufacturers are getting onboard with full Android!
https://www.wareable.com/smartwatches/haier-watch-review
its pretty cool !! lets see ...
I would totally get this but no Wifi support without tethering? Make this truly a standalone watch Haier!
It's a "turnkey" smartwatch made by somebody else. Except for the case design (one that OXY Tech rejected), there's nothing new here. Even the features, apps and icons are the same as the Square proto I have from the ODM (pics show proof). You can even download the exact same firmware they have on the watch. I even made some custom watchfaces for the M200 platform a couple of months back, an example can be found in the last pic of the linked gallery.
The vid used in the gallery I linked is from here
Well that's disappointing, I have the k9 on the way I was going to get the d5 but couldn't live with the leather band. And just picked up a moto 360 earlier in the week. I'm kinda excited about Android again. I've had great phones lately and haven't had the need to mess around with Roms or tweaks, other than flashing a few tablets to new Roms but even than the Roms I've found are so stable its flash and forget. I can't wait to start playing around with something new again.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
I have already been looking around a lot, but there are so many watches with little nuances that are hard to keep track of. I am a regular watch wearer, never wanted a smart watch because they were a little too gimmicky when they first started. The technology is getting so good and useful now, that I am finally interested in swapping my regular watch for a smartwatch. I would like to find something on the cheap end for the first one in case I don't like it. Old and discontinued is fine if it meets my requirements
My requirements are:
1) Good battery, it needs to make it through a whole day at the minimum
2) Always on face is preferred. If I am ditching my regular watch, I would like for the face to be on and at least look like I am still wearing a watch. Kind of petty, but I prefer it. I can do without depending on how easily and quickly the face comes on.
3) Ability to use faces from places like facer or facerepo, and custom make my own face with watchmaker if I can't get what I want. The biggest thing for me is that I want an interactive face with a rotating on-screen bezel. I am wiling to design my own. I don't know how, but I learn well and will figure it out if I have to.
4) Round screen of good resolution without the notch on the bottom like the moto 360. I want to make a bezel face that needs the whole round screen.
4) Alert notifications for text, email, alarms, etc. is all I require for smart features. I do not care, nor do I really want fitness features like heart rate monitor, pedometer, etc. So if they don't work well on a model that otherwise meets my needs, that's fine.
5) Size on the smaller side. I can't really wear anything bigger than abut 45mm, so smaller than that is preferred.
I have been looking a lot and found some watches like the No. 1 and KingWear that seem to use their own version of Android OS. The battery life is amazing, but the faces are too limiting. My biggest concern is being able to make an interactive watch face with the moving bezel, zoom, and chronograph subdials. From what I have read, those watches take VXP faces, and they are not compatible with the features I want to have. They just have hour, minute and second hands. So am I supposed to be looking for something that just uses Wear OS or straight Android OS? The Fossil watches look good, as does the Galaxy, but I don't want to spend that much to try this out. Is there an older, sluggish, discontinued watch that will let me mess with faces on Watchmaker and make the face I really want? I feel that once I have a face I like, I will buy a newer watch and just use my proven face on it and be done. I would like to spend under $150, obviously the less the better. I have seen older Samsung watches like the S2 available at a fair price used, just not sure if there is a clone I could order new for less money, or something even cheaper I could use to get my face dialed in. I am totally open to suggestions if anyone can help.
For always ON and facer/watchmaker there are just Samsung > S2 (S2 has only a degraded always ON) or Wear watch. All are higher than $150. Always ON with an OLED screen is not very good idea I think, it feel strange with a wrist star war laser
dersie said:
For always ON and facer/watchmaker there are just Samsung > S2 (S2 has only a degraded always ON) or Wear watch. All are higher than $150. Always ON with an OLED screen is not very good idea I think, it feel strange with a wrist star war laser
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. I didn't realize how limiting the always on feature would make my choices. But you're right about the OLED. So if I scratch that requirement for always on face, do you have a recommended way to proceed looking? Like what to look for and what to avoid? Specific models if you know any, but I would like to know what to look for in the specs, like OS or firmware that will allow the faces I want to be used.
Almost same answer.
Facer/Watchmaker works only on Tizen (Samsung) and WearOS. So your choice stay only in Samsung or Wear Watch.
Just Gear S2 is OK without real Always ON.
To increase your choice you must delete the Watchmaker/facer option.
dersie said:
Almost same answer.
Facer/Watchmaker works only on Tizen (Samsung) and WearOS. So your choice stay only in Samsung or Wear Watch.
Just Gear S2 is OK without real Always ON.
To increase your choice you must delete the Watchmaker/facer option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks. I actually like the looks and size of the S2, but I don't know if I would actually like it. They can be found easily for under $100 USD, so the price is right. But going to a straight Andorid watch (non Tizen or Wear OS) might be the smartest thing for the future.
One thing I really don't understand. On a straight Android watch, are the faces just ordinary APKs running as a widget or regular application on the watch? Or is there a different file/application type that is used to make a face for an Android watch? I think that's what I have not been able to really understand.
I have tried making an Andorid app in the past and it was beyond my ability. That's why I thought Watchmaker would be a little easier for me to use. But if I can't get what I want because of the hardware, I will try my hand again at making an app or hiring someone to do so, if that's what needs to be done.
Gear S2 is really a very nice Smartwatch. Just screen a little small : 1.2". But very better than any pure Android Watch.
All pure Android watch are not really "smart" because they have almost 0 connected features. Just notification and almost nothing else.
Watchfaces for Android only watch ? we can almost say that they are non existent. We can not really found any faces for Android only, try to search on the store. Existent faces are only for special Android watch where the manufacturer has created special option for, ex Amazfit Stratos.
dersie said:
Gear S2 is really a very nice Smartwatch. Just screen a little small : 1.2". But very better than any pure Android Watch.
All pure Android watch are not really "smart" because they have almost 0 connected features. Just notification and almost nothing else.
Watchfaces for Android only watch ? we can almost say that they are non existent. We can not really found any faces for Android only, try to search on the store. Existent faces are only for special Android watch where the manufacturer has created special option for, ex Amazfit Stratos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see now, watches like the Kospet advertise as having customizable faces, but it appears all you can really do is customize the background image. It is not false advertising, but it is misleading a bit. And I see other watches like KingWear say something like "hundreds of watch faces to choose from", which like you said, come from the manufacturer. So I get it now, without a Wear OS watch or Tizen, I am limited. That's fine and understandable.
What I have not tried yet, is to see how the Watchmaker app works. If I want a face with a rotating bezel around the edge, and subdials for chronograph features, can I build that in Watchmaker? The biggest one is the ability to have a round graphic around the edge of the watch that rotates by touch like a dive bezel on a diver's watch. If that can be done in Watchmaker, I'll go for the S2 to play with it. If not, I will see if I can get an Andorid app to work with the features I want and then run that on a watch.
All I really want is a watch with rotating bezel, chronograph subdials and an analog or digital clock. I've seen the faces available, but the subdials don't do what I want, and I don't think the on screen bezel rotates like I want.
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm finally getting a good understanding here and I think you've pointed me in a good direction with the S2 for a very affordable watch to test.
gadsden said:
What I have not tried yet, is to see how the Watchmaker app works. If I want a face with a rotating bezel around the edge, and subdials for chronograph features, can I build that in Watchmaker? The biggest one is the ability to have a round graphic around the edge of the watch that rotates by touch like a dive bezel on a diver's watch. If that can be done in Watchmaker, I'll go for the S2 to play with it. If not, I will see if I can get an Andorid app to work with the features I want and then run that on a watch.
All I really want is a watch with rotating bezel, chronograph subdials and an analog or digital clock. I've seen the faces available, but the subdials don't do what I want, and I don't think the on screen bezel rotates like I want.
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Click to collapse
I use facer and after Watchmaker for the beginning of this apps. If I can resume : I think we can do all we want with Watchmaker. The apps has all needed features. For rotating it has a "rotate" on his field for the item image, so you can rotate all you want and in the way you want because it has also an user "script" (LUA) applied on all items you want.
dersie said:
I use facer and after Watchmaker for the beginning of this apps. If I can resume : I think we can do all we want with Watchmaker. The apps has all needed features. For rotating it has a "rotate" on his field for the item image, so you can rotate all you want and in the way you want because it has also an user "script" (LUA) applied on all items you want.
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Cool, thanks. I'll buy the premium and just try it out to see if I can do what I want. If I get anything going, I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again for your time and replies.
gadsden said:
Cool, thanks. I'll buy the premium and just try it out to see if I can do what I want. If I get anything going, I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again for your time and replies.
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Even with Free version you can test all you want. I think premium is just for unlimited faces.