Adam, Part II: Basking in the Sun
Published June 10, 2011I have what is called a “Wifi PQi” Adam, meaning that its a wifi only (no 3g) device with a Pixel Qi screen. Its the Pixel Qi screen that really makes the device shine, so to speak.
What you have to know is that its not a great screen. I’ll be quite honest: compared to just about any LCD screen of comparable size that you are likely to find anywhere today… the Pixel Qi screen really sucks. Its low res (only 1024 × 600,) grainy (due to the touch overlay added by Notion Ink) and has pretty wretched viewing angles with the backlight both on and off.
But its the only device currently on the market that lets you sip a cocktail on a sunny Hawaiian beach while updating your blog. And in my case it might even be solar powered.
Adam: Android for your lap.
Published June 10, 2011I’ve been a Verizon customer for many years and a smartphone user since the Palm Kyocera 6035 so I was quite excited when the Droid was finally available through Verizon in the fall of 2011. I’ve loved it ever since: powerful, flexible, hackable. It had one major flaw that I couldn’t get around no matter what I tried: the screen was way too small for any kind of sustained productivity.
Android had tons of potential for a mid-sized tablet, though. And I already knew which one I was interested in. It was Notion Ink’s Adam. A 10″ android tablet with a sunlight readable screen! USB ports! An external microSD card slot! GPS! It’ll even wash the dishes for you! So I joined the eager ranks of Notion Ink followers and awaited the coming of the Perfect Android Tablet.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I can honestly say now that it was worth the wait. But that’s true mostly because there still weren’t all that many appealing tablets available when I finally bought one. And none with that sexy Pixel Qi screen. It took quite a bit of work to get it running acceptably but I don’t mind doing that kind of thing too much. Hacking is fun! Is it an ideal tablet? No. And it certainly doesn’t do the dishes. But its is a very interesting device that has its niche. I am one of the people who lives firmly in one of those niches, too.
The Chris Blog
Published June 9, 2011Do I really need a blog? Probably not.
And yet over the years I have had a variety of thoughts and experiences that I’ve felt would make interesting reading on a blog. Since I have a website already I might as well use it as a blog. And so… here’s a blog. You can, no doubt, so the flawless logic in my reasoning.
And for my first blog entry… have I ever mentioned how much I dislike the word “blog?” There is just nothing graceful about the word. Too close to slog, flog and grog. For some reason I always think of “blog” as referring to writing that unrefined and tedious by its very nature.
But I highly respect the artform at a whole. There are some excellent and well thought out blogs to be had these days. With any luck this will eventually be numbered among their company.
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