AcrossWorld Education, in collaboration with Go-Tech, has launched a 7-inch Android tablet in India, called ATab, priced at Rs. 5,000. The tablet will come with free access to online educational resources from AcrossWorld Education as well.
Specs of the ATab include a 7-inch touschreen, a 1.1 GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of built-in storage expandable via microSD up to 16GB, as well as Wi-Fi and 3G (via USB dongle). Colour options for the ATab will also be available, which will help its “appeal to the younger generation.” We expect it will be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and the touchschreen to be resistive. When it arrives in the second week of March, the ATab will join other budget-tablets in India, like the BSNL Penta T PAD IS 701R and the education-oriented Aakash.
The ATab comes with three-years of free access to EducationBridge, which will allow give institutions, teachers and students a platform with which share content and educational resources, and “connect, collaborate, and innovate.”
AcrossWorld Education will provide professional services to institutions for the deployment of the EducationBridge platform. According to the company, many schools and colleges from various Indian cities have already shown interest in the tablet and platform. Some schools have already partnered with AcrossWorld Education.
Dr. Stephan Thieringer, President and CEO of AcrossWorld, spoke on the launch of the tablet:
“Open Source is the future of education. 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 at the college and University level. 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.”