It was sometime in december last year that I had placed an order for the much hyped 'Adam' tablet by this 'Indian' company called Notionink. They had first shown a working peice at the previous CES , almost a year ago. And I paid online in a mad, artificial frenzy created by first videos that showed of its usability. I admit it seemed attractive and impressive at that time :| . The apparent speed and multitasking ability compared to an ipad (the older version) was appealing naturally. The price too seemed reasonable at first glance, worked out to around $ 450+50 including shipping.
Before understanding my qualms about the device, you should know that I am a gadget freak. I have 'wasted' most of my earnings from my pre MBA days on gaming pcs, speakers, monitors and what not. Post MBA , this was my first big cash outflow :|. To be at the forefront of all the hype about tablets and android devices, what better way than get one myself ?
The options available were an iPad, galaxy tab, a host of 'Chinese' tablets in the guise of respectable brands and newer options popping up everyday. However, there was something romantic about the Adam, it was the 'tablet' that sounded like the primordial man who would eat the 'fruit of sin' (the apple) and eventually achieve immortality through short term pleasures (in this case, android apps) , which were not subject to moral policing. The Adam it seemed to me was the Indian dream, a power toy created to penetrate the fabric created by corporate evil (read apple, MS etc. ) and eventually bring down the prices of all convergence devices making them ubiquitous like the mosquito!
To my dreamy mind, I was like the Christopher Columbus of convergence devices, surfing through an ocean of them and rediscovering the chosen land through my super instintive and zero rational-thought purchase of a device yet to meet the eyes of a sane user. The artificial hype created on the internet, in strong conjunction with the buzz around tablet pcs and stuff in between at the workplace amongst the C-level executives instantly made me a mini celebrity. I was the guy who was getting the potential 'apple-slayer'. It made me feel like I had obtained an asthra from Shiva after abstaining and meditating like Ravana.
To give Notionink some credit, they were a little understanding with customers who decided to change their minds once they placed their orderd. They would collect around 1000 bucks and return the rest. It was not a bad option now that I think about it, but what the hell, you have to stick by some decisions in life. So as I awaited eagerly for my magic tablet, I could feel the excitement amongst people around me as well. Sadly, Notionink was not exempt from the vagaries of Murphy's laws. They suffered setbacks which were described in excruciating detail by Rohan Shravan. To be fair to him, the delay of 3 weeks was not that long, however for people who buy on pre-orders, these kind of delays are extremely frustrating. The premium we pay is for the privilege of messing with the device before anyone else gets their hands on. Its like watching a first day first show of a Rajnikant film!
When it finally arrived, I was excited... like I haven't been in ages! Pulling out stuff without damaging the box was something I've always sucked at and I still did. With great care and impatience, I managed to assemble stuff, which involved putting a sticker on the touch screen and charging for a while. With bated breath I watched the screen load and then after that ... it was fairly disappointing.
Whats really disappointing about a device is when it doesn't start working as soon as you unpack it. Nokia mobile never fail to amaze me, they just start working as soon as you unpack and connect them, atleast the basic features . Another thing about devices and applications is the comfort with which a user can pick up how it works, without a manual! Why do you think 'Angry birds' is so popular, its fricking intuitive and even more fricking enjoyable. With the Adam, maybe they tried a little too much with the user interface. There are four buttons on one of the shorter sides and it takes an intelligent user some time to figure out what each one of them does, and how not to accidentally press them all the time. Hmm, maybe fewer buttons at the centre would have been better, but then it would look like the ipad perhaps.
The UI was confusing to describe it in one word. There was some kind of 'ribbon' thingy which has application shortcuts, but you cannot add all apps to it. Then there is a home screen with 3 apps run at the same time , side by side . I for one couldn't understand why and how I would manage to process three distinctly different applications in my brain, which sadly is highly unithreaded. Building fundu stuff for fundu people is alright Mr.Rohan Shravan, but if you want normal , stupid people to use your device, then you've got to keep it simple!
The UI notwithstanding, there was just one good app, which impressed. That was the painting application, which was quite intuitive and lent itself really well to the medium. It allows pretty awesome control with the pinch zoom option and similar brush control. Other than that, I expected atleast one good game, a word processor and a browser. There was no game, no word processor, more of a word reader and a browser which was functional. However, for some strange reason, setting up wi fi and 3g was quite a task. A strong factor was that the manual was super short without many basic instructions a user would expect. I struggled as any self respecting gadget freak would , to make it work 'on my own' before finally giving up and asking technical support. I had hoped for someone I could talk to, shout at (hopefully) and get stuff fixed by in my hometown where Notionink is based out of, but that was not to be. I had to email them and then wait.... indefinitely.
My feelings of disappointment and despair was largely vented on facebook, and the rave reviews which I had promised was postponed and transformed itself in its embryo into damaging commentary on a mismanaged affair. Over time, my timely updates on facebook became self defeating in nature, making my Adam unsellable to people I knew. Funnily though, with my expectations lowered, I started discovering that besides the poor support and software provided, it was a sturdy piece of hardware in terms of processing power and multiple features. I connected with others experimenting on tablets and installed custom ROMs created by technical geniuses, the kind you see in movies hacking and stuff. The custom ROMs namely 'EdenX' and 'BeastROM' were really awesome, not all in one version but over a few versions, took care of many shortcomings of the Notionink apps. The most basic one being Android market access.
With android market access and unlimited wi fi in my room, it was really great for some time. It literally opened up a new world for me. Angry birds, Talking tomcat... Pew Pew and loads of other apps and games made me forget about the pain I had endured so far. I was reasonably happy with the device after that, the build was unstable and annoying messages about applications crashing all the time would pop up, but it was alright. Slowly, I lost interest in it , the novelty factor was wearing off. The tablet did n't transform my life like I expected. To illustrate, I'll take the example of the Samsung galaxy tab. This ad comes to my mind, where a guy is carrying around an unwieldly device and performing apparently life changing tasks on it, like tele conferencing, GPS tracking and some kind of place recognition. Highly exagerrated if you ask me, its a pain carrying any device larger than a mobile, especially if its built with a big glass display and heavier than it looks. Dell Streak is a lot more believable. I guess they had their buyers too, at a ridiculous price of Rs.35,000 or more ?!
The only app I ended up using after a while was this chromatic guitar tuner app called ' Da Tuner'. It was free and it made life much easier for a beginner musician like me. I also had got a 5 octave keyboard which is a fairly large musical keyboard, with a stand and a note stand etc.
In my mind, the Adam stood proudly on the note stand
Showing me musical notes as my hands moved like magic wands
In reality, the note stand was flimsy
And Adam took a great clumsy fall
All of dad's tape and all of his toolkits
Could't put Adam together again
Through pain and sorrow
A helpless OEM , didn't let me borrow
Any expert support I deserved
And so I tried to preserve
The broken tablet, with 10 ruppees worth of insulation tape
Wound round and round now it lies,
Like a mummy in black bandage
It works fine now on the BeastX ROM
But like a slave in bondage...
Its life is sealed, with a cracked screen
Bleeding, it works like a robot, sans any sheen
............
Now, around 3 months after I first got it. Its with mixed emotions I write this note. Poorer by aroud 25k, richer for the experience with technology startups, first adopter risks and controlling impulse purchases on my credit card, I stand with a 'tablet' which will hopefully cure me of some ailments atleast, in the near future.
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| Notice the black insulation tape which is holding together the glass. Its cracked diagonally and with a spider web pattern at the left top corner , hidden masterfully by yours truly ... |
For people looking at tablets and other convergence devices, there are a lot of options with Apple introducing ipad2 , Samsung cutting prices and I guess others too. You've got to be on some mobile marketplace, whether Android or apple or Blackberry or nokia, its a lot of fun for gadget lovers... Go get yours!
