Update NIP20140211

New update from Notion Ink for all the adam variants with few bug fixes.

This time the process is much more simple compared to the previous time. A simple "Update Adam" from Settings and adam does everything for you.

Few noticeable changes (minor ones as most of the major changes are already covered by Greg in his post.

1. The startup screen showing the notionink logo is now changed to white background with black text "notionink".
2. The notification bar icon in the upper left corner does not have the black background any more and does not flash.
3. Update removed Android market from the list of apps, but still kept the other apps intact. Will try the NIH market update tomorrow.
4. Once you have updated the build number would be NIP20140211 for PQ + 3G. I assume this is different for each variant. The mail from notion ink did mention four different build numbers to start this update on. So that gives an impression that each variant uses a different build number.






Adam - New Update (NIP20040211) and Update 1.03 from NotionInkHacks

Time for another update

I was very happy that the update process this time was more stable and more tested. The update process itself with instructions has been posted by NotionInkFan, NotionInkHacks, etc. The fact I am happy about is that NotionInk mailed all adam owners that a new update is available with detailed instructions and a good summary of changes included in the update. This is a major step in the right direction. Of course this might not be new or innovative but it dos show that team NI has put in a real effort to overcome the short comings. Rohan and team should be appreciated for this move.

The update itself for fairly simple to install. The manual does provide all the necessary steps.

The important part is that after the update adam feels much better. There are not much force close like before. The Eden UI (Panels) seems more responsive and quick.

Next obvious step was to look for Root + Market and as always friends at NotionInkHacks had update 1.03 ready. Tried it immediately and the update was quick and simple. (Hardly took couple of minutes)

Reboot and there it is android market. Also the google account setup in the market worked with no problems. (In the earlier updates it was difficult to configure and sometimes needed a work around with youtube app)

Updates about some apps:

1. Tried Tango for video calls - The audio call itself works great. When I switch to video, within couple of seconds the call gets disconnected. Have reported this to support at NI.

2. Tried couple of benchmarks like Neocore and Quadrant. No major improvements/degradations noticed. Didn't expect any improvements in this area.

More updates to come tomorrow.

GPS on Adam with Google maps

Today in the train, I tried working with Google maps GPS enabled. Just recorded a small video from mobile to show that GPS is working.

Follow the blue pointer and the GPS icon in the notification bar.

Adam Running with Market + Root (Courtesy: Notioninkhacks.com)

After the latest update by Notioninkhacks.com, I can say adam has become a much better tablet to hold. Even though there is a FC on the Eden UI once in a while, the frequency is much low.

I was able to install many apps and test them. Surprisingly, I didn't find Google maps, Facebook app, Twitter app in market. I had to extract apk from my HTC Desire and then run it on Adam. But I must say after that Adam is a great device.

I tried couple of VOIP apps as well.

1. SIPDroid - Worked fine with configuration but the call could not be diverted to speaker. It only worked with a headphone. The mic seems to be a good one as I was able to hold it normally and was able to speak.

2. Fring - Worked great with SIP configuration. Call output could be diverted to speaker and call quality was great on wifi and 3g.

Few applications extracted from phone only worked in portrait mode (They don't switch to landscape mode). This was mainly seen in config/settings screens in few applications.

Having no widgets is a shame in the eden UI. But I guess the idea is to have a Panels instead of Widgets. May be someone can make a Panel app which can work as a place holder for multiple widgets. That would become a must have on adam the moment it's developed.

Google goggles seem to close after couple of seconds with no use. Need to find from other adam users, if anyone else experienced the same. (This was also not available on market and had to extract from phone, so it could be a problem with the apk as well)

Few other applications that worked fine:

1. ES File manager and ES Task manager
2. Astro File Manager
3. Facebook (Official android app)
4. Google Skymap
5. Google maps v5+
6. Google Earth
7. Robo Defense
8. Twitter (Official Android app)
9. Yotube App
10. WhatsApp
11. Winamp
12. Wordup
13. Google Latitude
14. GPS Status
15. Free Running
16. Dolphin Browser
17. Benchmark Pi - After Submitting the score was placed 600+ in the rankings. Not a bad score for stock ROM.
18. Air Control Lite (Had problems with audio)
19. Chrome to phone
20. Dolphin Browser
21. Adobe Flash 10.1
22. Parleys Client
23. Wikitude

Apps related to Netherlands:

1. 9292ov pro (For public transport users)
2. Trein Tijden Lite (Much quicker app compared to the official NS app)
3. Appie van Albert Heijn
4. Saldo app from ABNAMRO

If anyone has any app that needs to be tested, you can contact me through comments on this post and I will try to test it on adam.

PS: After the update from NotioninkHacks for the market access, I was getting the following error when I tried to setup Google account.
"Can't establish a reliable data connection to the server"
If any of you encounter the problem, it could most likely be solved by using the Youtube app to configure google account and then launching market.

Refer: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780545

Big thanks to team Notioninkhacks for all their support in resolving this issue.

UPDATE:

Couple of benchmark results:

1. Neocore - 48.5 fps

2. Quadrant score - 2175

Notion Ink Adam Updates

First impressions:

1. The build looks sturdy and strong. No glare (PQ Display)
2. The default memory available is 5.54 GB. (After the first boot)
3. Yet to try any accessories.
4. The power adapter has US style pins. This is a shame for people in EU as here its mostly different. Since the adapter can work 100-240V, I guess we could use a pin converter.
5. Facebook app does not seem to connect. Have to investigate more. (Not updated adam software yet. Just out of the box)

6. I had a pin converter already and it worked great. Now adam is charging.
7. Saw the Force close window few times in different apps.
8. No market or Genesis yet. (I have just started Adam update. It’s ~82mb file. Download in progress)
9. I tried my phone SIM card. 3G worked fine. SMS also works. No phone calls.
10. It comes installed with Nimbuzz.
11. Side loading of the apps possible. I will post more later about it. Still experimenting.

If you have used an android phone before, the settings are no different so getting used to is a smooth walk.

All in all good experience so far. But there is a lag once in a while. I hope the software update will fix that.

Haven’t had sun light after I received it (I am in Netherlands where sun light seems to be a rarity in this time of the year), so can’t test the potential of the PQ screen yet.


12. I uploaded a video of side loaded Angry Birds game play
Angry Birds on Notion Ink Adam
13. Initially there was no sound in Angry Birds but a reboot helped to get sound as well.
14. Video playback with a mp4 worked fine.
15. USB drive with 640GB was not recognized. Need to see the file format of the drive. Could have been NTFS so that might explain.
16. If anyone has the latest appbrain apk, can you please pass on? I cna try appbrain as well then.
17. Till now major bugs/force closes I have seen are with:
a. Panel interface (Home screen package)
b. Browser
Both seem to be NI developed. All android core components seem to be working fine.

Will try Dolphin and Opera on it and post back results.

UPDATE:
1. Tried Dolphin browser - Except the installer screen rest of them worked fine. Installer screen was for some reason did not work in landscape mode.
2. Opera 10 - Works ok. But web pages seem like blown-up pages from mobile. Dolphin and the default are better in this area.
3. External SDHC with a USB card reader (8GB) worked great. Was able to play movies as well from this storage with no lag.
4. Tried NFS but didn't seem to render all the graphics so the game was not playable.
5. AppBrain apk I got was redirecting all install actions to market for some reason hence did not work fine.
6. After a few reboots, the force close windows seem to be lesser in frequency. Very rarely I saw a force close in the past few hours.

Mail from NI about the update:


Greetings form the Notion Ink Support Team !!


The Update has been removed from our systems for now we would be informing you once the new update is out.


Thank you for your continued support to Notion Ink!


UPDATE2:
1. Exchange sync worked with no problems (I had to use manual setup)
2. html5test reuslts:

a. Default browser - 176 points and no bonus points.
b. Dolphin browser HD (v 4.2) - 176 points and no bonus points.
c. Opera Mobile 10.1 - 72 points and no bonus points.

I tried the same on the browser on my HTC Desire and the result was same.