TORONTO - Among the dozens of new tablets expected to be released this year in competition with Apple's iPad and Research in Motion's PlayBook will be a budget-priced Canadian device targeted specifically at students and schools.
MySpark Technologies, headquartered just north of Toronto, plans to launch its tablet in North America and India this spring, with an aim to have them carried into classrooms by September.
The mySpark tablet, which is based on Google's Android platform, will be available in two models, with one expected to be priced between $200 to $250 and the other around $300 to $350.
CEO Adrian Hartog, who worked at ATI Technologies Inc., and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., before forming the new company, said the tablets are being priced well below established competitors to appeal to cash-strapped students and educators, as well as price-sensitive buyers in India.
"I think we're pretty comfortable that we can deliver solutions at those prices with reasonable profitability, we tried to be aggressive," Hartog said, adding that the company didn't skimp on hardware.
The specifications include a 25-centimetre screen and a dual-core one gigahertz processor with graphics and media acceleration. The screen responds to touch and a stylus because "all the feedback we've gotten is note-taking is very important," he said.
The company has some operations based in India and the sales potential there made it a launch market, Hartog said.
"They're a huge population and they're very focused on education as a kind of transformative factor in their whole economy," he said. "Education is viewed very, very highly there."
Built into the tablet will be a number of apps to let students browse digital textbooks and ebooks, search within them, and mark them up with notes. Collaboration tools will also let students and teachers view or work on the same content, Hartog said, and the devices can also tie into the school's IT or learning management systems.
"We'll also work with the schools to provide custom integration that they may need that's particular to their environment," he added.
Hartog imagines students will be able to access their schedules, marks and report cards on the tablet.
Users will be able to download any other apps available on the Android Market, although Hartog does expect that some buyers -- perhaps parents or schools -- will want to lock down the tablets so they're strictly used for schoolwork.
The company is currently working on its third-generation prototype and expects the final product to be ready by the end of the month.
