We started hearing about this cool startup from Hyderabad sometime back and started to follow its updates regularly ever since. Contacted them for a chance to interview, offered to visit them in Hyderabad (no luck) and finally met up with a couple of co-founders (who as I learn aren’t with Notion Ink anymore) at the Headstart-ITsAP Conference back in March (Disclaimer: I was in the Headstart team organizing the event).
The meeting with Notion Ink in itself was weird. They had nothing to showcase in the stall they had been offered, they didn’t bring any prototype to show but a dummy plastic built which was again kept super secret and removed for seconds during the presentation (even after being aired on TV and the real one getting a tear down back @ CES, more on that in a bit). And as you would guess the talks were vague, no concrete promises or details. Heck, even the presentation had Apple’s App Store / iPad creatives up there.
I didn’t look at Notion Ink with anything but excitement back then. An Indian startup doing something inspiring, innovative and different from others. And then we all agree that Notion Ink did have at-least 2 unique features. One is the Pixel Qi screen and the other being a backside trackpad. We were told that NI has two patents but little information was provided on that question if they have been filed, granted or about to be filed for. Investors attending that pitch had little to decide upon and as it seemed NI was keen on taking the award at the showcase (seeing the reluctance to show even the dummy to anyone but the judges). As someone commented ‘what I knew was nothing, and I walked away knowing nothing.’
We wouldn’t help but compare it with an Ice cream plate!
Further upsetting our hopes was the Nvidia Tegra 2 press conference where Notion Ink sent in a plastic dummy (months after demoing a working unit on the sidelines of CES) which was a super old model that was perhaps shown in 2009. Something was wrong, we sensed it at this point. We got some confidence when we started to hear that NI has sourced funding, but the public reports/rumors on the same was very confusing, they got it or not isn’t known. But I know one thing, if an XYZ investor invests in Twitter or Facebook, they are quite PUBLIC about it.
I noticed this pretty late, but when Notion Ink demoed the Adam at CES there are a few things that we missed. See the NVIDIA logo on badge (Images from Engadget) in the CES image above? And see the board that was shown in the tear down? Gives an impression that the product is pretty much ready right? Well as it turns out, NI might be just using a ready-made solution sold by Foxconn or some other ODM with a custom outer cover and UI. No that isn’t bad, but makes clear to me that NI isn’t developing the internals of the tablet, just the attachments like the camera placement, body and UI. Pictured below is the Adam’s motherboard as seen by Engadget @ CES 2010 and the Tegra 2 developer board that NVIDIA gives out (downloaded from here). Also notice the Nvidia markings on the NI board. A masterpiece in how hype was created in the market. Beats the $10 (or $35) tablet by the government!
Tegra 2 Developer Board
Ni Internals as seen at CES 2010
There are several things about NI that spooks us. Be it things that the International media is now catching during the pre-order mess or the comments from the same IP but different names defending NI in a debate with an investor who attended their presentation in Hyderabad. Yes they have a video that is up and they promise a video every day from now on showing off Adam’s goodness. My concerns aren’t to question if the product is being developed or not, or if its a scam, but will Adam come to consumers as promised in Jan 1st week? Is it worth the price? It is really as cool as it looks in videos?
Even when Apple is selling an iPad on pre-order, we know that they have done a launch event attended by dozens of trusted journalists / bloggers. The product has been handled by them (no matter for how short duration that is). There are hands-on pictures by trusted parties out there and the repute of Apple added to that. Sadly Notion Ink lacks that and we fear trusting them at this point.
Yes we shall be at CES 2011 and would hope to see the Adam there or at NVIDIA’s booth or wherever they are demoing it! Till then, we consider it a disservice to our readers to point them towards something that we are ourselves doubt!
I think NI have the product well-ready..but they are following Apple’s way of promoting it…since apple is big, they need not have had to showcase the demo products..the name Apple is enough to create the hype in it itself…all we knew about iPad before its launch was the that inviational image saying “the magical jan 27 event”..there were leaks of different sorts to publicize it..
but in Adam’s case..almost a lot of things have been revealed..so they cant show much during conferences..otherwsie the excitement will die down…(its almost the case like movie promotions..over-promotions kill it)…
another reason could be that since NI is just a start up and ADAM is their first product..so they are going very cautious with the promotion strategy..
Being cryptic and secretive is not being cautious. Cautious is when you under-promise and over-deliver. Notion Ink has been nothing but over-promises at the moment…
Apple’s typical strategy has been..leaks of different sorts..hardly any of which is in the final product…but the final product contains so much more that it is enough to publicize it by word-of-mouth…plus we also have STEVE JOBS’ presentations…
for notion ink i would suggest to hold a separate iPad-like intro launch presentation here in India…”behave like big ppl to be big” kinda thing here…
If u belive in Nvidia.. u can easily trust Notion Ink..
Bcz Nvidia is nt a fool to invest its product in Adam…
I don’t doubt NVIDIA. They are just promoting Tegra 2. But then more they have fallen before aswell. The Magic Tile that was shown running Tegra 2 in India (by an Indian company at NVIDIA’s conf) turned out to be the ICT Ultra http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/21/eaft-magic-tile-and-compal-tablets-shown-in-india-tegra-2-and-a/
NVIDIA’s isn’t investing in Notion Ink, but promoting Tegra 2. They are justified in doing so.
Mukesh ambani, one of the worlds richest person is a major investor in this startup.. apart frm Nvidia…
DNA, you seem to be another marketing aide NI has employed!
Who gives a dam if Mukesh has invested, does not make the product good. Mukesh does not necessarily invest in technology, he invests for returns (which sometimes come with just hype too).
You want to keep hyping varourware, do so, but please don’t pretend there is a “real” product behind the hype to the techies at least! It’s just an insult on their common sense and sense of integrity.
“But I know one thing, if an XYZ investor invests in Twitter or Facebook, they are quite PUBLIC about it.” Its not compulsory. Not always investors reveal there investments. Many reasons . one is they dont want to bring spotlight on a company so that valuations dont increase on the next round of funding. Or sometimes the company itself would be in stealth or semi stealth mode. if you look around you can find many examples.
And using the reference design provided by a chip manufacturer is a very common practice in most companies. Majority of the products you see around is just built around reference designs with minor changes. if you dont even know this you aren’t qualified to write an article!!
Thx John, O I do see how n no of tablets in the market are built with the same hardware. But then that does say how deep the company is in developing it.
Yes its not compulsory I agree. And I do remember them mentioning back in March about investors and major retail chains etc in US etc etc. But in this case, by all means I can see whats missing. Showing off the financial backup! No one would dare call NI a possible scam (as many have recently, I don’t), if their investment was public. It only adds credibility and they need it.
What does it say about ” how deep the company is in developing it” ? you tell me 🙂
The original iPod by apple was developed around Portal player’s reference design.
MS Kinect is developed around PrimeSense 3D chip reference design.
80 % of the notebooks manufactured are developed around CPU manufacturers reference design.
Tell me what does this tell you about Apple, MS, and all the Acers and Asus’s !
“Showing off the financial backup! No one would dare call NI a possible scam (as many have recently, I don’t), if their investment was public. It only adds credibility and they need it.”
This would have helped NI during the preorder messup. But you see this is upto the investor to decide whether to go public or not with his investment. THen how can u write a statement like “But I know one thing, if an XYZ investor invests in Twitter or Facebook, they are quite PUBLIC about it.”
“No one would dare call NI a possible scam (as many have recently, *I don’t*)” You are not trying to make me believe that writing this derogatory article, you were supporting NI . Are you?
I still hope they deliver something good and prosper. Seriously. But yes, I am on the fence, not supporting, but not shooting it down either. Just highlighted my concerns. There are more, the entire feel of this co raises a doubt. Hate to say but reminds of JooJoo.
Appreciate the time taken to comment, thanks
Another Classhole.
@Annkur,
Your article is not presented based on proper research and writing based on the findings. This is just your opinion. Go to CES 2011, inform us the reality, not just your own opinion. That way, it will help a lot to many customers.
Thanks Dean
Yes the commitment is to help as many customers / gadget lovers as we can.
I have put up a case and I am coming quite from my experience and facts to a large extent. I feel there is enough case for anyone to wait till CES / product shipping / FCC and review. Till then I prefer to stay on the fence.
@Annkur
It is nice reading someone’s comment or article. It gives us good idea about what is going on. I do like critics. I always look for positive and negative aspects from reviewers. Thanks for sharing the information. Hope, more reality will be coming from you guys.
P.S: Lately I read lots of things about “Adam”. Positive comments, negative comments. All are nice but some journalists do not maintain the ethic of professionalism. They just wrote but they forgot their articles/comments are for the readers and they jumped to the conclusion before knowing something thoroughly (I don’t refer this statement to you).
Regards,
Dean
I’m personally waiting for the Adam to support Honeycomb and Android Market. None of the 10-inch Android tablets except the soon to be revealed Motopad will have this by CES, so they’re not exactly laggards. Right now it’s a question of how soon they integrate a larger ecosystem of apps onto their custom UI.
I find the design more appealing than the Viewsonic G or the Vega, esp. because of the Pixel Qi screen.
You can’t blame a company for seeing where the puck was moving early, and moving in that direction.
Insightful post! I can understand the piss-off if you are shown dummy models everytime.. From a name which everyone is talking about..
Thanks Rohit, No its not about the dummy. There are several things as I mentioned that makes us take this stand
I have to admit that after reading this, I get the distinct impression that you are upset and have an axe to grind because you did not get the inside information and preferential treatment from Notion Ink that you had hoped for early on. But who knows…
Regardless, there are many more tech blogs writing about the Adam right now where readers can go to find the information they are looking for. And some of them were skeptical for quite a while too.
But with Notion Ink’s recent change towards releasing more information and videos, and the Adam completely selling out all of its models, they have come to realize Notion Ink is for real and they have created one of the most news worthy tablets of all time.
So it is strange that you would choose not to write about the Adam in spite of most everyone clamoring for information on the Adam. That in and of itself makes me skeptical of your motives and therefore I don’t take much of what you have to say as reliable information.
But that is just my impression and opinion… And of course you have a right to your opinion too.
Best of luck to you…
For not say anything you say a lot.
We don’t want to say anything but somehing is stinking here. Not NI and somebody is crying pissed. Not NI 🙂
did we say anything ?
Never heard of this blog. Guess lot of people are going Droid make their living off NI.
Interesting Point of View.
We at ‘STARBYTE COMPUTERS Blog’ Also standing with you Annkur. We earlier thought we are only who are only who are not writing about Notion Ink Tablet. As a leading Tech Blog, we have also not covered this tablet yet (Just Because of No Complete Information is Available Yet). Other Tech Blogs are crazy writing about it.
Anyways, this is true, it is looking like a Ice Cream Plate.:)
So you arn’t going to write about it because there is no complete information
SO then you have complete information on this headline currently on your blog.
“Motorola MotoPad Will be the First Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS Powered Device”
It seems there if far from complete information on the tablet, it has just started to be leaked, seems like a pretty incomplete story to me, doesn’t it to you ?
you report rumors
“According to the reports, Motorola MotoPad Tablet will be the First Tablet running Google’s Upcoming Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS.”
What if Notion Ink, updates the adam first, which is much more likely
“There are talks of it having a microUSB jack, mini HDMI port and a 3.5mm jack.”
I thought you waited until you had complete information, but it appears you publish random talk about a potential feature of a product not released yet, even Motorola still has a count down timer for a release of information, but it appears you have the complete story already.
Wow, STARBYTE COMPUTERS Blog has joined forces with Onlygizmos.
How cool.
Now both of you together can be doubly quiet and deliver Two X nothing.
Thanks Bhujang
Attempt to comment on a popular post and get some traction. We removed link to their blog that was added along with the comment. But we don’t delete comments, so it stays.
so you are writing an article to say you aren’t going to write any articles about this topic. That makes no since, if you aren’t going to talk about it, then don’t
the article was pointless
@Annkur…Have a look at motherboard image posted in their blog http://notionink.wordpress.com/2010/11/13/week-end-special-part-viii/ Looks different from the developers kit you mentioned above.
Looks like this is the only article where you’ve been getting comments. Thats just how much buzz there is for NI Adam. Instead of running down an company thats actually doing something that can give the term “Silicon Valley of the east” for Bangalore some backing, just because you haven’t found out enough about it try doing some real research and writing something that adds value.. I’m sure you have heard of ccavenue – it used by a large number of online Indian stores, much of the hoopla during preorder happened because banks abroad marked payments via ccavenue as fraud – you really can’t blame NI for that. Nobody is forcing anyone to do a pre-order, its meant for people who place enough trust on the product and the company.
Because you are an a$$ ole
@ Ankkur
We have Popular Tech Blog, You have removed our link it is fine it is your wish. My motive was not attraction. and we both dont have competion. STARBYTE COMPUTERS Blog has a Team of Tech Experts and runned by a IT Company. I shared only my opinion not to attract your visitors.
@ David
Our is a Technology News Blog. We cover both released and upcoming gadgets on daily basis. And today we have covered Notion Ink Tablet (By our Author Bhushan). You can browse through our blog and you’ll know that leaked/upcoming information is very few compared to Tech Products Launches/Released News information (All comes from Press Releases).
@ Bhujang Patil
We have not joined forces with OnlyGizmos.com, We always go to our unique way. Anyways.. Thankyou for your comment.
@ Parteek Malhotra
It is being runned very well indeed! 😀
Annkur, i think this above “V” guy is right…i dont know if it is right in business language..but i think he seems to be quite right…u seem to have misread the market sentiment..
now that you have got such good response (though negative) on this single article abt ADAM and NI…u may want to reconsider your thought of not covering Adam..
What so far NI has done in the pre-launch stage of Adam is more than enough. They have released several videos on the product which few other companies have ever dared (or cared) to do. That gives a lot of credibility to the company in contrast with the companies elsewhere in the world marketing ‘crappy’ products under veils of secrecy. I understand it is hard for some guys to accept the success stories originating from India. These folks in NI are real brains whether the ‘brains’ of some ‘intelligent’ folks allow the fact to be accepted or not. I found BoB went even to the point of calling a commenter an ‘a$$ole’ (kudos to BoB’s education and taste!)
see the CES demos… u will want to eat ur words. stop writing shit if you dont know anything.