1st March 2012
By Betwa Sharma | March 1, 2012, 9:21 AM PST
DELHI — Okay, so it’s getting hard to keep up with India’s spree of low-cost tablets. There is Aakash for about $47 ($35 for students), which is the least expensive in the world. Out in March is a $66 tablet launched by BSNL, a state-owned telecom company. Now, there is ATab for Rs. 5000 or $100 approximately.
So does anything set ATab apart from its cousins? Its makers are stressing that it offers not just the hardware but a link to free educational content. The tablet has been created by AcrossWorld, an education technology company and Delhi-based manufacturer Go-Tech.
The $100 tablet includes three years of free access to EducationBridge, an educational platform developed by AcrossWorld, which gives students and teachers access to a wide range of open knowledge resources and legacy content through a single sign on.
“By bundling free access to AcrossWorld’s global premium educational content, ATab is not just a book shelf, but a whole library full of the world’s best Open Source knowledge for schools and higher educational institutes,” said Gaurav Khanna, CEO of Go-Tech.
Education Bridge, according to their press release, will allow “academic institutions, teachers and students to use a variety of content elements including Open Content, Open Educational Resources, Legacy Content and proprietary content sources to connect, collaborate and innovate. It also includes professional services for deployment and training schools and colleges on using EducationBridge to leverage premium global educational content.”
The specifications of the new tablet, which will be out in the second week of March, are quite similar to its predecessors. The initial launch will introduce 10,000 pieces. The 7 inch touchscreen tablet has a 1.1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 2GB memory expandable to 16GB, Wi-Fi and an external 3G USB dongle.
“With the availability of ATab Indian schools will be able to discover and leverage world-class educational content at their fingertips at the K-12 level itself as well as the college and University level,” said Stephan Thieringer, CEO of AcrossWorld.
“It is very timely and appropriate that India schools and colleges alike seriously explore advanced technology solutions that provide instant access to the world’s best educational resources, especially now within an affordable budget,” he said.
Photo - Acrossworld.com
