Tablet startup Kno has jumped into one of the hottest consumer electronics product categories of the year but the company is counting on two things to set it apart from the competition: a clear focus on students as potential consumers and a massive 14-inch screen size.
“From the students’ perspective you need the real estate to completely see a single page of a textbook without scrolling,” says Osman Rashid, co-founder and CEO of Kno, “and you need enough room to make notes around the
Kno launched the single screen tablet on Monday. In June, it showed off a dual-screen device that would have two 14-inch LCD touchscreens that fold in like a book. Both the single screen and dual-screen tablets are expected to start shipping at the end of the year. There’s no word yet on pricing.
Meanwhile, here’s a closer look at the features of the single screen tablet.
The Kno will run on an Nvidia Tegra processor and have a capacitive touchscreen. It will also come with a stylus to write notes or draw on the device. The device isn’t lightweight though. The massive 14-inch screen pushes its weight up to 2.6 lbs. Compare that to the 1.5 lbs of the 10-inch Apple iPad.
Rashid says the heft is unlikely to become a strike against the device. The Kno tablet can hold up to 10 semesters worth of content, or 25 to 35 books. That will make the 2.6 pound-device lighter than a backpack filled with half as many paper books, he says.
The Kno divides its home screen into three tabs: ‘My Apps’, ‘My Courses’ and ‘My Library.’ Under the apps tab, the tablet, which runs a version of embedded Linux operating system, has a browser, notebooks, news apps and a RSS reader. Kno plans to release a SDK (Software Developers Kit) so independent programmers can create applications for the device.
The ‘My Courses’ tab features all e-textbooks sorted by the semester. The company plans to have its own bookstore where students can download textbooks from.
Overall, e-textbooks from the Kno bookstore will be about 30 percent to 40 percent cheaper than their hardcover versions, says Rashid.
The Kno will have a battery life of six to eight hours and with a one-hour charge time.
“We are not trying to replace a laptop,” says Rashid. “Instead we are trying to improve on it by making it better for students.”
See Also:
Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Authors: Priya Ganapati
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