mySpark Promises Android Tablet for Education
Canadian startup mySpark Technologies is promising a high-performance Android tablet for education later this year.
According to the company, the tablet, called the mySpark Education Platform, will be available in two configurations. Both will be built around a dual-core, 1 GHz processor and will sport a 10-inch screen, along with front and rear cameras, SD expansion, and wireless connectivity (WiFI and Bluetooth), with either 4 GB or 8 GB base internal storage. The system will also offer "stylus inputs and a docking station" to help with mobility.
The tablets will be targeted toward teachers, students, and administrators in both K-12 and higher ed. It will be designed to support collaboration through multimedia content sharing, group chat, and other features common to the Android platform, along with a tool called Ideabook that will allow students to store content for studying.
"We recognize the economic constraints facing today's students and school districts and are committed to building an industry-leading tablet at an affordable price," mySpark CEO Adrian Hartog said in a prepared statement released today. "Students today have technology wired into their DNA. The customized features we are building into the mySpark Education Platform will enable technological advancement in education and facilitate collaborative learning as well."
Hartog was senior vice president and general manager of the consumer products group at AMD. Steven Turner, senior vice presiddent and CTO at mySpark, also came from AMD, where he was vice president of handheld engineering.
mySpark said the Android-based tablet is slated to be released in the second half of 2011. Further information will be available here.