Notion Ink Adam shipping today, to take on Motorola Xoom

The tablet codenamed Adam runs on Android 2.3 but will be upgraded to Android 3.0 or Honcycomb once the OS crafted specifically for tablets is released. However, Adam uses a customized version of Android 2.3 known as Eden, which imitates almost all the features of Honeycomb. Also, the OS platform Eden is expected to feature its own app store known as Genesis which is due for release real soon.

The primary loophole in the otherwise specification rich profile is the use of Android 2.3 which is considered to be an OS suited for smartphones rather than tablets, thus the Honeycomb upgrade will plug this caveat.

Notion Ink's tablet took almost 3 years in making and is expected to make an appearance this week for customers who have placed pre-orders. Also the company plans to pre-pone their February shipments to the last week of January. This would come as a reprieve for customers who have anticipating the release.Here is a video demonstration of the Notion Ink Adam tablet as explained by the founder Rohan Shravan:

However, Notion Ink Adam will face resistance from Motorola's much raved tablet Xoom. Here is a close comparison of the two tablets expected to dominate 2011. 

Motorola Xoom will feature Android 3.0 Honeycomb compared to Adam's customized Android 2.3 version codenamed Eden but Adam compensates for this as it supports Google Chrome OS and Ubuntu.

The tablet from Motorola has Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core 1 GHz processor whereas Adam is powered by 1 GHz dual core ARM Cortex A9 Nvidia Tegra 250 processor.

In terms of memory, Motorola Xoom will have 1 GB DDR2 RAM while Adam will feature LP-DDR2/DDR2 667MHz 1GB RAM.

Adam tablet has a 10.1-inch display with 1024X600 resolution and sports TFT Pixel-Qi display. It also has a variant with normal 10.1-inch 1024 × 600 LCD display while Motorola flaunts a 10.1-inch 1280×800 pixel capacitive screen display.

When it comes to input features, Xoom has multi-touch capacitive touch-screen display, 3-Axis accelerometer compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, Gyroscope whereas Adam will have multi-touch touch-screen, headset controls, accelerometer and ambient light sensor.

Motorola Xoom has a rear-facing 5 MP camera with 4x digital zoom and auto focus, 720p video capture at 30fps dual LED flash and a 2 mega-pixel front-facing camera. However,  Adam tablet will feature a 3.2 MP Swivel Camera which rotates up to 185°.

The Adam tablet will have Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1 plus A2DP whereas Xoom will feature Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1 plus EDR.

And in terms of weight, Adam weighs 600-750 g while Motorola Xoom weighs 730 g.

Also Adam tablet will feature 3 cell 24.6Whr removable battery lasting up to 16 hours and 160 hours with backlight off, along with universal charger while Xoom's battery life is expected to be more than 10 hours.

Notion Ink Adam pre-orders were sold out but the owners are yet to receive the tablet, however the issue is due to be sorted out this week. Motorola Xoom 3G / WiFi version will be available in the first quarter and Xoom 4G LTE will arrive in Q2.

The Xoom tablet is yet to be priced but Notion Ink Adam carries a price tag of $375.33 for LCD, $425.33 for LCD, WiFi, and 3G, $499.45 for Pixel Qi and Wifi and $549.99 for Pixel Qi, Wifi, and 3G.

Here is a comparison of the Notion Ink Adam and Motorola Xoom tablets which were released at CES 2011:

 
Notion Ink Adam
Motorola Xoom

OS
Eden
Android 3.0 Honeycomb

Display
10.1-inch 1024 × 600 pixel TFT Pixel-Qi display or Normal 10.1-inch 1024 × 600 pixel LCD display
10.1-inch 1280×800 pixel

Memory
LP-DDR2/DDR2 667MHz 1GB RAM
1 GB DDR2 RAM

Storage
Flash memory 8GB, expandable micro-SD slot
Flash memory 32 GB

Camera
3.2 MP Swivel Camera
5 MP

Processor
1 GHz dual core ARM Cortex A9, Nvidia Tegra 250 processor
Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core 1 GHz processor

Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1 plus A2DP
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1 plus EDR

Battery
3 cell 24.6Whr removable battery lasting up to 16 hours and 160 hours on backlight off
More than 10 hours

Weight
600-750 g
730 g

Input
multi-touch capacitive touch-screen display, 3-Axis accelerometer compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, Gyroscope
multi-touch touch-screen, headset controls, accelerometer and ambient light sensor