It seems tablet computers are getting cheaper all the time. A company called Datawind is set to release an Android-based tablet called Ubislate. The features on it are remarkable. For one it retails for $60 in India and for another two dollars a month it can have unlimited Internet access. Datawind’s goal is to see everyone on the planet have access to the Internet, should they want it, starting in India, but while I am impressed with their vision, it’s the device itself that interest me the most.
We already know that tablets represent a cheap, portable alternative to desktop computers, but the Ubislate, on top of being called the world’s cheapest tablet computer, has a couple of features that I hope become standard on every tablet soon.
The first feature to note is that the Ubislate uses low-speed cellphone networks to access the Internet. Considering Datawind claims the device is good for two things, Internet access and watching HD movies, I’m going to assume that the connection via low-speed cellphone networks might not be perfect, but it should be adequate. No one is ever going to watch an HD movie through a weak Internet connection.
The second feature is even more interesting. Users don’t have to charge their Ubislate, the sun will do it for them. It has a built in solar panel that generates around two watts per day. That measurement is under the Indian sun. Here in North America, where in December it seems like the sun never shines, we might need to wait awhile before we have solar powered tablets, but considering we’ve been using solar powered calculators for the past thirty years, I don’t think the wait will be long.
As cloud computing solutions become the norm for more and more companies, we’re going to see tablets used more often. Make them cheap and capable of running off solar energy, and we might all be using them sooner than we think.
To read more about Datawind and their solar powered tablet click here.
Tags: android, business, cloud computing, datawind, efficiency, internet, solar power, tablet, thin client, ubislate