Ever since the release of the iPad by leading innovators Apple Computer Inc, developers all over the world have made note of the immense potential of the device. It is not uncommon to find almost any electronic manufacturer that you can point a finger at, creating a tablet of their own and claiming "advanced" features. Some don't even bother to really create anything new but still expect their devices to sell in the highly competitive market.
First off, I would like to mention that I am an Apple fanboy but I will try my best not to be biased. I have a hands on experience with the iPad and all Apple devices and I am aware of the technology used in the Adam as well. I would also like to mention that this is a diplomatic review and I am only presenting my thoughts on both the devices. The decision on what is better is totally subjective to the reader. Now without further ado let's get started...
Let's get technical... In which terms, the Notion Ink Adam is far ahead of the iPad. The nVidia Tegra processor and faster CPU gives the Adam an edge over the iPad. They have also integrated a swivel 3.2 MP camera to the tablet which is a very good touch. The most notable feature of the Adam is the display which can switch between a high end HD back lit display to a low power consumption, display which is similar to e ink technology. Now with all this integrated, the device is provided at a much cheaper price. How is all this possible??
One of the thoughts that rarely enters a person's mind when talking about a device that is newly introduced into the market is the cost for Research. That is what separates the innovator from the rest of the manufacturers. There is always a huge cost invested in researching when getting a device totally new into the market. The iPad was introduced more than a year back. The time at which it was being developed, the relative costs of its components would have been much higher and to integrate a camera and several other features into the box would have simply made the device cost a whole lot more. The is a reason why people buy Apple products. It is because they know the way Apple cares for its customers. You will notice this from the time you purchase an Apple product and as long as you use it. Apple uses the highest quality materials for all its products with no compromise. The build of every product is solid. I cannot yet comment on the build quality, customer service, etc of Notion as all this is yet to be seen. Only time will tell. But two of the major reasons for the cheaper price are time and research costs.
This is with regard to the iPad. The iPad 2 is going to be announced very shortly and I feel it will give a healthy competition to the Notion. Only time will tell which will be the true winner.
Notion has to truly be commended for the extremely impressive step of theirs. Hope their product is a huge success. Apple will always give a healthy competition and make things interesting :)
Another factor that I would mention from the end user's point of view is their application. The iPad does whatever it claims. It was a very bad move from Apple to ignore Flash support for the iPad. But that's not the end of the world. If you truly want flash, wifi broadcast, and all the fantastic features that are disabled on the iPad, it is very much possible to have all these with a simple jailbreak. It might not be very user friendly to get it enabled but once it is done, everything should be good to go from then on...
If you are an Apple fan like me, you would like to own an iPad because you would like to keep all your Apple devices in sync. One more very important feature to consider is the kind of apps that you get for the device. There are thousands of apps coming out on the App Store and Google Market(although... not so much) daily so you would want to base your decision on that. Also, the Adam supports the Chrome OS, Windows, Android. You may want to choose the Adam if you are more comfortable with these operating systems. There are so many tablet devices out there in the market with different screen sizes and resolutions. It is beyond me how a developer decides what resolutions and configurations to keep in mind when designing software for these devices.
For a user who is not an Apple fanatic, I would suggest the Adam for all practical purposes. For what Notion claims, it should be a more versatile device and should perform better because of its hardware.
