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Notion Ink shows its Ipad Competitor Adam

Notion Inc a India based start up run by an IIM alumni has revealed its Apple Ipad Competitor christened as Adam. The Ipad competitor definitely beats the much anticipated Apple Ipad hands down in terms of Technical Specification. Also the Adam is set to run Google’s Android.

Adam will run on a NVIDIA TEGRA 2 with a Dual Core Cortex A-9 processor, both will provide it huge advantage in terms of power consumption battery. Also the NVIDIA TEGRA supports full HD unlike the Ipad. It supports Multi Touch capabilities just like the Iphone and Ipad and supports A2DP Bluetooth Streaming, one better on the Apple version.

Adam also has a 3.2 MP Swivel Camera for Pictures and Video Chatting on popular IM’s. Adam will also have 2 USB ports , a HDMI port among other standard ports. Adam will also have a sim card slot with support for 3G calling and Data.

In terms of Software Notion Ink’s adam will also support full Flash browsing, the Adam was shown at the CES minus the custom UI.

With all the above mentioned extra’s the Adam is still expected to be priced lower than Apple Ipad.

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Apple iPad – Hit or a miss ?

Apple’s  “Most awaited!”  Tablet device is out, unlike a full Tablet PC this is  more of an iPhone with a 10 inch screen. It runs the same iPhone OS and almost has identical features of the popular iPhone.Apple Lovers will crave for the device and critics still have a lot to complain.

But Apple has Maintained its consitant tactic of Beauty over features. With a thickness of 1.3 cm and weighing less than 0.75 kg this must be one of the thinnest and lightest computing devices around, also it sure will be a style statement, if you carry one around. But lets get down to business in terms of features.

It is available in two versions one with 3G and other without the 3G support. Below is the price for both versions available in 16GB,32GB and 64GB
                         16GB          32GB             64GB
Wi-Fi              $499             $599             $699
Wi-Fi + 3G    $629            $729            $829

Features –

– 9.7 inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display
(same multi touch as iphone)
– 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
– Fingerprint-resistant coating
– Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
– Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
– UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) (Data only)
– GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) (Data only)
– Email and Document support
– Browser without Flash support
– Accelerometer
– Ambient light sensor
– 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
– Built-in speakers (Mono)
– Microphone

Main Disadvantages
– Not a Full fledged computer OS (iPhone OS)
– No Multitasking support (it can run a maximum of two apple apps)
– No USB
– No Webcam
– Mono Speaker
– You can install apps only from Apple Appstore
– Need to use itunes on PC
– No Flash support in browser
– Limited to AT&T 3G network
– Too pricey for its limited feature set
– 16/32/64 GB Flash drive is too limited for a device like this

Overall Apple has created a device between a Phone and an Tablet PC, but for this form factor and price the functionality provided is very disappointing. Many who own Macs still install Winodws XP on them and use it for many applications which are not supported in the Apple OS.

Possibly a more feature packed version of the Ipad with a full featured Leopard OS will be much more appreciated than the shortcut taken by Apple here.

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New Indian Mobile Manufacturers grow like mushrooms

Last two years have been a big bang year for Indian Mobile Manufacturing industry, few years back there was no real Indian Mobile manufacturer, Only Nokia,Samsung,Song Ericssona and LG were the Big players in the Indian market. But now there are almost 10 new brands (and most of them Well established in other areas). The likes of BPL,Onida,Karbonn,Fly,Philiphs and innumerable others have opened shop and already started to impact the big players in the bottom segment.

They offer much more value compared to Nokia or Sony Ericsson in the Rs 1000-5000 segment, and most of these manufacturers also offer minimum 1 year warranty unlike the chinese phones, So its a party out there for Indian consumers and growth story of these manufacturers also is incredible.

Other reason for their fast growth is that most of these manufacturers sell phones with newer features like Dual Sim etc for an extremely low price. For instance Karbonn offers a dual sim phone for Rs 1800/- with FM and a toy cam. And for a dual sim from big players you might end up paying Rs 8000 for Samsung’s only model.

With the ban on Chinese handsets, people and shopkeepers are looking for safer options in these new brands, who are ready to capture market even with a loss. Karbonn and Fly phones also offer service centres too, you can walk into any Sony Ericsson service center and get your karbonn or Fly phones serviced. These strategies help both the manufacturers ie Sony Ericsson as well as the new players.

But on the other hand this aggressive growth has threatened the big players, for instance Sony Ericsson has stopped/closed their Dealerships in B/C cities due to poor profitability. In few years we might see a whole new hierarchy in the Indian market. Lets wait and watch this game.