gdgt

That's far from adequate content and not a viable answer to the content issue. Free content in the public domain is a small fraction of what people want to read. Most widely-read content is not in the public domain and is available only from a content distributor. Without a way to get that content onto Android tablets their use will be sorely limited.

You can get non-public domain content without DRM that can be read on Android devices. I don't purchase anything with DRM and I can find books to buy and read from the few publishers that don't use DRM.

Yes, but that content is very limited. This device looks great spec-wise, but if you can't easily read a lot of content on it then it's a lot of specs with little use.

This is still a hypothetical and not an actual current product. For Android devices such as these to be viable they need a way to get content on from a real, operating distribution source -- not something that may or may not be around the corner in the future.

The nook is an Android device and B&N has already announced a eBook application for Android devices early 2010... I suppose you could be skeptical but it's more or less a fear without traction. Even apart from the separate content providers putting out Android apps, take a step back and actually look at the device itself.

A key- if not THE key- feature of the Adam is the transflective Pixel-Qi display which expressly seeks to challenge slow, low res, poor contrast e-ink as a daylight, low battery, hi-res, high-refresh, low cost alternative. Is it at all reasonable for a product to have that hardware focus and then completely forget about content partnerships? Maybe, I suppose crazier things have happened, but when they expressly TELL you they have content lined up to take advantage of one of their key debuting features... skepticism starts to look a little like cries from Chicken Little.

Your threshold for "hypothetical" product is maybe a little unreasonable. This device has been seen in tradeshows since 2007, the guts and parts splayed for all to see, with hands-on by just about every gadget blog out there. They've basically announced they will spill all at MWC and if this device is "hypothetical" then by those standards, the iPad is too.

Skepticism isn't a bad trait but it's gotta be based on something that's not counter-factual.

I'm not referring to the Notion Ink product as hypothetical, I'm very excited about this product. What is hypothetical at this point is a clear tie-in with a possible Google Books distribution channel to get content from mainstream publishers. Whether Google Books will have a store, a store that contains content from mainstream publishing and whether that store will be accessible on the Adam is hypothetical. I was responding to your post in terms of being able to get content onto this device via Google Editions.

I look forward to see what content channels are available on the Adam when it comes out; how useful the device is will be tied directly to what kind of content is available for it. Frankly a Pixel-Qi screen isn't that useful if you can't read much on it.

My apologies for misinterpreting your post, but with respect to Google Editions, they've been pretty stalwart in pursuing it... and it fits with their increased emphasis on charging consumers directly- the Nexus, YouTube Premium, etc. To put it another way, you don't offend a bunch of publishers with a 63% cut unless you're serious about getting into the business and they don't bother telling you they won't accept anything less than 70% unless they think you're serious.

You're right that it's a ways off- and anything could happen in the meantime- but I think this is more concrete than, say, Google's attempt to get 1Gigabit broadband to 500,000 homes.