Chip maker to take on iPad with $99 tablet
Apple-beating mini Marvell?
Chip maker Marvell - the company that acquired Intel's ARM-based processor portfolio back in 2006 - is to pitch a low-cost tablet to students.
Dubbed the Moby, the device will provide 1080p video playback, always-on - Wi-Fi rather than 3G - internet connectivity, gaming-capable 3D graphics, e-book reader software and support for Adobe Flash content.
And it'll only cost you $99 (£65), Marvell said.
Aimed squarely at the education market, Moby will major on offering textbook downloads, the semiconductor firm said.
But it said little about Moby's technical specifications beyond the fact the tablet will run on a Marvell Armada 600 processor clocked to a "gigahertz-class speed". The company said Moby will also contain Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, have an FM radio receiver and a GPS pick-up.
Versions will be available based on Google's Android, but Marvell will also offer Windows Mobile-powered Mobies too.
"Actual size and weight vary by configuration, but Marvell's ultra thin and light Moby tablet is expected to hold a full year's worth of books but weigh less than half of one typical textbook," it added.
Marvell said it will donate one Moby for every child in the US District of Columbia Public School system, but it gave no timescale for the programme - or for Moby's wider release. ®
COMMENTS
Pro: Resolution :) Con: Flash :(
I really like the sound of a Full HD (1920x1080) tablet. The iPad just doesn't have enough resolution. (However, I suspect that the Full HD comments in their release are just buzz-words and nothing to do with the tablet)
As for Flash, god knows what the Marvel processor can do, but IE froze for 20 seconds to render the Flash content on the Marvel front page, and this is on a year-old dual-core desktop!
$99
I'm guessing this price is subsidized by the wireless companies? 'Cause if this price is JUST the device I can't fathom how one could produce anything that size that isn't held together with twine and rubber bands.
$99?
It sounds way too good to be true. Even if there is a real device coming, that's just too cheap.
There are just some things worth spending extra money on. I'd rather spend $200 on it and get a much better product; it would still kill the iPad for value.
Cheap crap is still crap.
If it's real, I'll be in the queue
Frankly a netbook flattened out to a basic tablet, yeah why not? Losing the keyb and hinges will reduce cost, touchscreen will increase it, etc - there'll be a sweet-spot. I doubt it's at $99, unless that's factoring in a subsidy for educational use, but I could see a simple mono touch-sensitive slate being pretty cheap to make in any kind of volume. You could certainly make them for $99 and have money over for shipping, a mars bar, and a cup of tea.
