
A Full-Featured, $38 Tablet Is Coming to the U.S. - brk
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/12/16/a-full-featured-38-tablet-is-coming-to-the-u-s/
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patrickg_zill
Microcenter is selling a $39.99 tablet with a 1.2Ghz CPU, pretty similar
specs: [http://www.microcenter.com/product/423567/A700_Tablet_-
_Grey](http://www.microcenter.com/product/423567/A700_Tablet_-_Grey)

EDIT: comparing the specs, they seem 99% identical

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GuiA
I have one of those (I volunteer with a program that teaches kids how to code,
and we're thinking of giving one to each of them for them to program games
etc. on). It's actually pretty responsive! My main everyday tablet is an iPad
mini, and I was expecting a clunky piece of crap - but for 38$, it's totally
worth it.

~~~
analog31
I'd love to know if there's a good way to program an Android on an Android. I
haven't found a satisfactory answer yet. On the other hand, programming for
kids is probably a good use, as it doesn't have to be massively processor
intensive.

One problem is lack of a keyboard, though I've got a $20 Bluetooth keyboard
that's a clone of the Apple. But I wonder if kids really care about that.
Maybe not.

I'd love to have something that was as simple as the good old BASIC of old. In
fact, as I'm typing this, I'm downloading a couple of BASIC interpreters to
play with.

If you come up with a good way of doing this, that the kids enjoy, please
share!

~~~
gw
You can write and compile standard Java apps on Android with AIDE [1]. For
young kids, you can make games on Android with Pocket Code [2] using a visual
programming UI similar to MIT Scratch.

[1]
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aide.ui](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aide.ui)

[2]
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.catrobat.c...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.catrobat.catroid)

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sergiotapia
At that price range I would buy one for each of my kids, hands down. It works
for reading, internet, and some videos. Sure you might be able to play every
game out there, but it's fantastic for common usage!

Specs:

$38 7" screen at 800x400 Android 4.0 ICS 1GHz single core processor 4GB
storage with microSD for expansion and I'm guessing 512MB ram The $38 UbiSlate
7Ci tablet, running on Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating
system, features a 1-gigahertz , single-core processor (the sort of CPU found
in the first-generation iPad introduced in 2010). Just 4 gigabytes of storage
is built in, although microSD card slots are included for those looking for
more space to store apps and media. The 7-inch display offers a resolution of
800×480 pixels,

~~~
brk
It _does_ sound nice, but I'll believe it when I see it shipping. Over the
years we've heard lots of "cheap tablets coming" stories, but the final
product turns out to be vaporware, or nearly useless.

~~~
testing12341234
It appears to be available right now

[http://ubislate.us/product.php?prodid=1](http://ubislate.us/product.php?prodid=1)

~~~
andrewflnr
It looks like it has some weird custom skin.

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programminggeek
Tablets are getting cheap enough that branded tablets are going to be more of
a common thing, especially for like trade show gifts and things. Remember how
people used to distribute (or still do) software/presentations/sales materials
via USB sticks or CD's? At some point it will be cost effective to give away a
tablet with your stuff preloaded on there and with your company branding on
it.

I can see this happening with custom enterprise type apps that have a tablet
component. Take a sub-$100 tablet, get your brand on it and have it load into
your app by default or something. Sort of like kiosk tablets.

~~~
squozzer
Roger that. AutoZone uses an iPad in their stores for yeoman duties. And today
I checked into a potential employer's office on a kiosk tablet.

Some other vertical markets -- car diagnostics, tuners.

~~~
xerophtye
In Pakistan, a lot of the classier places use tablets as menus.

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ChuckMcM
This is an interesting price/inflection point. I agree that it's a "toy"
tablet and unlikely to have much utility for regular applications, but an 800
x 480 screen for $38? That is a pretty good deal :-). Scrape a serial port off
the USB connector and voila, very nice display for your robot or other
throwaway project. I could, for example, see using one of these next to my
RaspPi which streams music and have it show a 'now playing' and perhaps album
art on it.

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swatkat
UbiSlate is the commercial version[0] of Akash tablet[1]. Akash was developed
for enabling e-learning in schools and colleges, and promoted by government of
India.

[0][http://www.flipkart.com/tablets/tablets-with-call-
facility/d...](http://www.flipkart.com/tablets/tablets-with-call-
facility/datawind~brand/pr?sid=tyy%2Chry%2Cadj)

[1][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aakash_(tablet)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aakash_\(tablet\))

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discardorama
A $38 tablet with WiFi is not a bad deal. An Arduino + WiFi alone is higher
than that. This tablet includes a 800x600 display too. If the components are
of decent quality (i.e., the caps don't pop after a few weeks of use) then it
could be pretty sweet for hobbyists.

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dustcoin
They are charging $10 shipping per device, even when multiple units are
ordered at once, so it is essentially a $48 tablet, a 26% increase.

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narrator
We're finally there! Everyone in the whole world can have a computer now. Now
the whole OLPC thing is a software problem.

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IanDrake
What was intended to be affordable computing for the poor will probably become
disposable computing for the middle class.

~~~
jerf
You know this isn't an 'either/or' thing, right?

~~~
IanDrake
I'm not making a moral judgment, just an observation based on how many people
here expressed interest in buying one..or more.

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mwal
There's a pretty great $129 tablet (marked down from original retail price of
$149) already available in the US: [http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hisense-
Sero-7-Pro-7-Tablet-Quad-C...](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hisense-
Sero-7-Pro-7-Tablet-Quad-Core-Processor-with-8GB-Memory-M470BSA/25427874)

I bought one for the grandparents. It's a clone of the V1 Nexus 7 in terms of
specs, feels like a high-end tablet and has some pretty great reviews. Only
problem is it's out of stock online - you can only get it at Walmart stores.

~~~
utopkara
Plenty of sub-$100 tablets in walmart. I didn't even know about that segment,
and it is already super crowded.

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markus_wandel
I have experience with a "Yeahpad Pillbox 7" or whatever it's called, with
similar specs. Cost me $60 CAD even, mailed from Hong Kong a year ago, so a
price point of US$38 for one now is believable.

They work fine as long as you don't expect too much. For example, installing
the Facebook and Gmail apps on mine made it frustratingly slow each time it
was unsuspended since these (relatively) bloatware apps - for such limited
hardare - could take up to a minute to settle down. Similarly, Google Chrome
is slower than the stock android browser on there, and for most practical
surfing I use Opera Mini, which does most of its rendering server-side and
works as well on this hardware as anything.

Youtube and Dailymotion videos play fine, although the Youtube app takes its
time to start up. The weird media player that came preloaded can play full-on
1080p H.264 videos effortlessly. I don't know how they do that, must use some
clever hardware acceleration.

But on the whole, just don't expect that "Android is Android". These are
minimalist web surfing tablets, not pocket supercomputers.

~~~
markus_wandel
I should add that the web interfaces to Facebook and Gmail work just fine in
Opera Mini.

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csmatt
I think the android project is starting to move toward optimizing for lower
performing devices in an effort to get the OS in more hands. If that's the
case, it may make a usable $38 tablet more feasible.

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dharma1
this is great. they should preload it with offline version of Khan academy.

Half gig single core this year, next year they will do 1gb dual core for the
same price, etc. Still out of reach for those surviving on $2/day, but will
put self-improvement and education opportunities in the hands of millions
more. Won't be long until almost everyone on the planet has access to a
computer

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rowanseymour
Can't imagine it'll be popular in the US, but these are exciting times for
developing countries. Here in Rwanda the government has embarked on a noble
and ambitious plan to give OLPC laptops to every school child. AFAIK they've
been charged about $200 per laptop. It sounds like this tablet comfortably
beats that on price and performance.

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jiggy2011
If this is $38 and includes a touchscreen then I wonder how much it would cost
to produce a similar device but with a DVI-out and a USB port instead? In
other words a sub-Rpi priced desktop.

I suppose the hardware would struggle to drive a 1080p display.

~~~
beagle3
You can already buy lots of Android devices with an HDMI out and USB for
$30-$40 - MK802, MK804, MK808. They easily drive an 1080p display, some can
even drive an 2160 display if you have one.

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wiradikusuma
Since people most likely hand this out to kids, I hope --just because it's so
cheap-- it's also safe for them (e.g. no easily detachable small parts, not
using dangerous chemicals).

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kumarski
If they haven't 'killed' the asian market, why bring it to the States?

Insights anyone?

~~~
xerophtye
In Asian markets, cheap tablets aren't news at all. You could even get one for
$30. But the society in general doesn't trust such low-end products. Asians
are very skeptical. Yes, loads of peoples still buy them. But no one would
choose this over a high end device just because of the price. If they happen
to beat the IPad sales, it's not because people find this more attractive than
the ipad, it's just that those people can't afford to buy an ipad but would
still like a piece of the game.

So it's not exactly a competitor of main stream tablets, its more of a niche
product. And in US they are trying to be "disposable". Aiming for more niche
markets like schools. It's a pretty good strategy. In fact they are more
likely to get more sales in US because as you can see, a lot of people here
are considering buying it. In India, most people would see the price and would
stop reading. They wouldn't even bother with the specs. Inherent skepticism.

DISCLAIMER: Not criticizing indians or asians in anyway. Just explaining a
cultural phenomenon

