Datawind Not Blowing Smoke: $38 Tablet Coming To the US

classroom tools by Moheeheeko · 2013-12-17 07:18 · Score: 4, Interesting

With those being cheaper than most textbooks, I think we can see more e-textbooks being popular in the future.

Re:classroom tools by bobbied · 2013-12-17 07:31 · Score: 5, Insightful

Have you priced E-Text books lately? Maybe it's because I'm looking at college level stuff, but they get a LOT of money just to let you use their book for 6 months and a whole lot more to get the book forever. I just don't see that happening until the publishers back off the rental prices.

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"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Re:classroom tools by gstoddart · 2013-12-17 07:31 · Score: 5, Informative

Which will of course be FAR more expensive than the textbooks were.
I don't get the impression that e-textbooks ever actually save anybody money as the publishers just jack up the prices.
I knew someone who worked in a library, and they got all excited about e-books, only to realize they spent about 50% or more of the annual book buying budget to get it set up and get just a half a dozen e-books. They ended up with far far less than if they'd bought traditional books, because they'd have been able to buy hundreds of books for what they spent.
At the end of the day, it makes more money for the publisher, but a small community library got absolutely burned in the process, and only ended up with a handful of books, and limited benefit
I can't imagine school boards would fare any better.

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Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Re:classroom tools by Moheeheeko · 2013-12-17 07:36 · Score: 4, Informative

The last ebook I purchased for school was $20, compared to the print copy that was $210, then again that was 5 years ago
Re:classroom tools by plopez · 2013-12-17 07:47 · Score: 1

And since they are electronic they are so much easier to "Update". Oh, that's the old version. The {school board | stated education department | university managers} no longer certifies your old version. You'll have to get the new version.

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putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:16 · Score: 0

Not when an e-textbook is 400 like the paper one because it comes with a liscence/1 time key.
Re:classroom tools by steveha · 2013-12-17 08:17 · Score: 5, Insightful

I'm hoping to see a trend where professors or graduate students write new textbooks and just contribute them to the public domain. Inexpensive tablets plus free textbooks means inexpensive education.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4123035&cid=44658533
It's still early days with ebooks, really. The publishers want to keep the prices high, but the barriers to entry into the market are low. Free textbooks will disrupt the pricing model.

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lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:18 · Score: 5, Interesting

The last 'ebook' I bought was for an astrophysics class. A mandatory $190 license to access a textbook online for three months. By Pearson of course. No one should be pleased with how things are going.
Re:classroom tools by murdocj · 2013-12-17 08:18 · Score: 2, Insightful

Yes, because of course people will do hundreds of hours of work for free. Personally, I'm looking forward to the trend where random people send me enough money that I can retire.
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:21 · Score: 0

For MOST classes, you can get reused books for a pence. 10-40% on the dollar for a new book give or take depending on age of book.
Where they've got me in the past is first run of a book THAT semester (no used market)...
and "You need a key from the book to access the online portion of this class". Book was year(s) old... but the online code was a one shot and it didn't come with the used book. I touched the book ~twice? and did the rest via the online portion. Could have not gotten the book and saved ~$50.
Re:classroom tools by narcc · 2013-12-17 08:29 · Score: 4, Insightful

Yes, because of course people will do hundreds of hours of work for free.

They will, as it turns out. You'll find countless examples on the internet. Not everyone is as selfish as you.

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Required reading for internet skeptics
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:40 · Score: 0

Half of my physics graduate classes were taught with freely available online typeset notes, which by then were at about the level of a book. A lot of work is going into making open textbooks for introductory level classes, at least science and math at the high school level. At least in some subjects, that just leaves a gap in the middle to be closed.
Re:classroom tools by MBGMorden · 2013-12-17 08:50 · Score: 2

The problem is that SOMEONE will do that, but usually for most classes you don't just need a random textbook on the subject - you need a specific one that is normally chosen by the professor. Sometimes they have "incentives" to mandate a textbook from a certain publisher or sometimes they make a book that they wrote the mandatory textbook so that they get all the royalties.
I ended up buying a lot of my books at Half.com back when I was in school because I could get them cheaper used there (just had to make do without the book for the first week or so of class while I waited for it to come in). I also could generally sell my used books there for more than the campus bookstore was offering.

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"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Re:classroom tools by pepty · 2013-12-17 08:52 · Score: 1

Not so much now that textbooks are becoming a significant source of revenue for schools. At the university level I think students in the US can look forward to being required to purchase a copy of the textbook through a university-approved source if they want to stay registered in the class. Format won't affect the price much at all.
Re:classroom tools by pepty · 2013-12-17 08:55 · Score: 2

What happens when the department is told to fill the hole in its budget with revenue from textbook sales? Profs (in the US) are going to come under increasing pressure to use materials that generate revenue for their school.
Re:classroom tools by steveha · 2013-12-17 09:09 · Score: 4, Informative

Yes, because of course people will do hundreds of hours of work for free.
It would be deliciously ironic if you used a free software web browser such as Firefox to type the above comment.
Graduate students and professors need to "publish or perish". I'm hoping that at least some of them will use at least some of their publishing time to write free textbooks.
And, anyway, people are already writing books and giving them away. Take a look at BookBoon:
http://bookboon.com/en/textbooks-ebooks

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lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Re:classroom tools by roc97007 · 2013-12-17 09:20 · Score: 1

I suspect that used textbooks are quite a bit cheaper than new ebooks.
How would a used ebook market work, I wonder?

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Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 09:29 · Score: 1

The person I know who wrote a graduate-level text for traditional publication (several years ago) put in thousands of hours virtually for free --- the ~$2 royalties on each copy of a (at usual publisher price gouging) $160 textbook will never add up to anywhere near minimum wage, far less "senior world renowned scientist," returns. Virtually no one writing advanced/esoteric textbooks is doing so for retirement money, because there is no money there (only the lowest introductory level books, for multiple-hundred-person classes, rake in cash). With more options for e-books and self publishing available today, I suspect that text would have been done for free.
In short: yes, academics will put in hundreds, or thousands, of hours "for free," just because they think they can do a better job at teaching. Perpetual retirement cash-flow from royalties isn't everything, and is in fact nearly nothing for most of the textbook market (if you want money, be a scumbag big publisher, not a writer).
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 09:34 · Score: 0

I don't think you understand what "publish or perish" means. It refers to adding novel (new) work to one's field by publishing scientific papers in recognized journals. Writing textbooks is by definition rehashing existing knowledge and would detract from one's ability to publish actual new science, which is all that matters in a grant and prestige driven world.
Re:classroom tools by murdocj · 2013-12-17 09:39 · Score: 1

So everyone who doesn't donate hundreds of hours of work for free is selfish? Just out of curiosity, what do YOU donate?
Re:classroom tools by RobertLTux · 2013-12-17 09:39 · Score: 1

what should be done is for most STEM subjects most of the courses should have an available FREE Standard Reference Volume Set which is designed to be used to either Teach the subject or be useful to "PreTeach" a subject. An example for you is Electronics there should be a standard text for AC/DC ,Semiconductor and Digital.
Also the questions/workbook should always be separate AND AVAILABLE FOR REASONABLE COST.

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Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
Re:classroom tools by murdocj · 2013-12-17 09:43 · Score: 1

Sure, people give books away. I personally give both things and my time away. But we are talking about a wide variety of textbooks on a wide variety of topics that have to be really professionally produced. It is unreasonable (until the Marxist utopia arrives) to imagine that everything you want is going to be handed to you for free. Sometimes, you just have to exchange something of value for what you want.
Re:classroom tools by number17 · 2013-12-17 10:15 · Score: 1

At the end of the day, it makes more money for the publisher, but a small community library got absolutely burned in the process
This sounds like somebody's pet project and the procurement process failed.
Re:classroom tools by steveha · 2013-12-17 10:22 · Score: 2

The Marxist utopia never will arrive. Communism doesn't work.
But people do occasionally contribute their time to projects such as Firefox, Linux, or Wikipedia. (All it takes is for their satisfaction to be greater than the perceived costs to them.)
You don't have to tell me to pay for textbooks I want... I've been buying O'Reilly ebooks like a junkie lately. But there are a lot of kids who could use free textbooks if they were available, and mark my words, people will write those textbooks over time.
If even one free textbook of good quality was released per year, it wouldn't take many years before a basic education could be done with only free textbooks. And there are a lot of people in the world who aren't starving but are trapped in crushing poverty. Returning full circle to my original comment, I'd like to see OLPC focus on the education part and stop trying to make their own hardware. They can do more good by making educational software and writing textbooks, and trusting that mass-market mobile devices will be inexpensive enough and work well enough.

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lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Re:classroom tools by narcc · 2013-12-17 10:35 · Score: 2

The incredulity that the parent expressed at the very prospect of laboring exclusively for the benefit of others implies that he's very selfish. So selfish, in fact, that he cannot even comprehend the idea that others would act selflessly.

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Required reading for internet skeptics
Re:classroom tools by sourcerror · 2013-12-17 11:08 · Score: 1

In my university (not in US) textbooks counted a lot for promotion, so basically every prof wrote their own, even if a satisfactory one already existed.
Re:classroom tools by pjt33 · 2013-12-17 11:17 · Score: 1

One of my lecturers set her own book as the text for her course, but handed out photocopies of the relevant chapters. Of course, I'm not sure whether her deal with the publisher allowed her to do that, and I didn't want to enquire too deeply...
Re:classroom tools by Immerman · 2013-12-17 11:18 · Score: 2

Also worth mentioning that even if no money changes hands it's not necessarily for free - academia if heavily vested in reputation, and having your book be the one that a generation of students learned from is a feather your cap.

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--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Re:classroom tools by ShanghaiBill · 2013-12-17 12:11 · Score: 4, Interesting

So everyone who doesn't donate hundreds of hours of work for free is selfish?
In my opinion, yes. Everyone should make time in their life to improve the world in some way.

Just out of curiosity, what do YOU donate?
1. I spend several hours a week teaching Scratch programming to 3rd-6th graders.
2. I volunteer as a math tutor at my son's elementary school for two hours per week.
3. I am a member of the "Ten Gallon Club" at the Red Cross blood center (80 one pint donations).
4. I have written several free educational apps for iPads and Android Tablets, and plan to write many more.
5. My wife and I funded a scholarship for two Naxi girls to attend a university.
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 12:46 · Score: 0

You know we're talking about people in school/university. Not only will they do hundreds of hours of work for free, but they will actually pay for the privilege!
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 12:48 · Score: 0

what should be done is for most STEM subjects most of the courses should have an available FREE Standard Reference Volume Set which is designed to be used to either Teach the subject or be useful to "PreTeach" a subject.
why does everything have to be free? if you want that then go ahead and start producing it or start paying people to produce it for you, nobody is stopping you so get off your fat lazy ass and do something instead of just being and whiny entitlist complaining that everything should be handed to you for free.
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 13:04 · Score: 1

Yeah, buy Indian version of printed textbooks FTW
Re:classroom tools by martas · 2013-12-17 13:56 · Score: 2

Oh my god, nothing has ever been more wrong than what you just said. It might be true in some tiny field I've never heard of, but in my areas many of the biggest names have books to their name. For someone who knows their shit to write a book is a great service to the community, because it consolidates knowledge and facilitates its use and transmission (be it for teaching or research).

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weinersmith
Re:classroom tools by Belial6 · 2013-12-17 14:03 · Score: 2

If he lives in the US like me, he DOES pay for it. We pay huge amounts of money for education. hundreds of thousands of education 'experts' are on the government payroll. Expecting the government to use the hundreds of billions of dollars that go into education to write a few books is not being a "whiny entitlist whiny entitlist complaining that everything should be handed to you for free".
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 15:41 · Score: 0

It would be deliciously ironic if you used a free software web browser such as Firefox to type the above comment.
Why? the main FireFox devs get paid, in fact they get paid by Google's funding of the Mozilla Foundation. If that funding stops then FireFox is dead in the water.
Linux is the same, it is the people that use it that make the most contributions to it, it isnt as though the entire thing is built by people who dont need it and dont use it, contrary to textbooks that is.
Re:classroom tools by exomondo · 2013-12-17 15:44 · Score: 1

At the end of the day, it makes more money for the publisher, but a small community library got absolutely burned in the process, and only ended up with a handful of books, and limited benefit
Wow that sounds like incredibly poor planning, if you set yourself on fire of course you're going to get burned.
Re:classroom tools by ph0rk · 2013-12-17 16:10 · Score: 1

Graduate students and professors need to "publish or perish". I'm hoping that at least some of them will use at least some of their publishing time to write free textbooks.
It is unlikely that a free textbook (or any textbook, really) will count for tenure, in either the social or physical sciences, barring very high level technical textbooks.

So, yes, they would be wasting their time unless already well established. That rules out grad students and early career professors.

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semantics are everything!
Re:classroom tools by Nyder · 2013-12-17 16:31 · Score: 1

Yes, because of course people will do hundreds of hours of work for free. Personally, I'm looking forward to the trend where random people send me enough money that I can retire.
Funny you'd say that at slashdot, where I'm sure quite a few programmers do open source projects for free.

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Be seeing you...
Re:classroom tools by symbolset · 2013-12-17 18:56 · Score: 1

And this is how you get that done.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.
Re:classroom tools by Nivag064 · 2013-12-17 19:02 · Score: 1

You never heard of Linux?
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 21:50 · Score: 1

You think living on the order of a century without donating 100s of hours to humanity ISN'T selfish? What kind of pig doesn't? 100 hours of useful uncompensated work per decade is less than one solid weekend per leap year. You've probably spent much more time playing video games or commenting on farts
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 23:27 · Score: 0

I wonder which country he comes from?
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 00:43 · Score: 0

Yes, because of course people will do hundreds of hours of work for free. Personally, I'm looking forward to the trend where random people send me enough money that I can retire.
My understanding is many textbooks are effectively written for free anyway. The royalties are so small the writer never even gets minimum wage.
Re: classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 01:59 · Score: 0

Maybe the people who are doing their work for nothing aren't as hungry as me.
Re:classroom tools by supercrisp · 2013-12-18 06:31 · Score: 1

Meh. I spend 40 hours a week after work teaching underprivileged children yoga. I volunteer to be a practice dummy at the police firing range. I've donated all my major organs to the Red Crescent, and I've sent my bones off to fertilize the roses at the local battered women's shelter. I developed a forty-two bazillion line software project intended to help developing nations coffee farmers integrate the principles of feng shui into outhouse production, and I have given up my own sex organs to be used by sex surrogates for elderly veterans. And I've accomplished all of this while taking care of my own family and my own job, up hill both ways, ten miles, in the snow, every day!
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 07:15 · Score: 0

Silly rabbit... You're reading this page on Slashdot because countless people volunteered to create Linux and Apache and a whole host of other free, open-source software.
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 12:54 · Score: 0

It would be deliciously ironic if you used a free software web browser such as Firefox to type the above comment.
Bad example. Mozilla is a non-profit, but they do, in fact, get paid to work on Firefox.
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 13:23 · Score: 0

guess you havent priced the paper versions they all are VASTLY overpriced-ran the FOH ops of my colleges offcampus bookstore during the early 90s and late 80s all the publishers went on a merger frenzy leaving only 3-4 different firms when you trace down the ownerships and then they jacked up prices.
Re:classroom tools by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-19 09:14 · Score: 0

It is true that some people are paid to work on Firefox. But it is absolutely true that people have done hundreds of hours of work for free on Firefox. Probably thousands.
Firefox is a sufficient example to disprove the contention that people won't do any work for free. The fact that much of the development work on Firefox is now paid for is irrelevant.

Capacitive or Resistive? by Hadlock · 2013-12-17 07:19 · Score: 1

That's a world of difference, Capacitive or Resistive is the difference between a budget and a usable tablet

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moox. for a new generation.

Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:29 · Score: 2, Informative

It has a capacitive display.
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/review-datawind-ubislate-7ci/1/190518.html
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:47 · Score: 0, Funny

Yes, for 38 dollars, you can expect a soul sensor. It senses your soul (locks on it, so no one else will cause any effects while you are using it), so water doesn't screw it up and it's also pin point accurate. Also it has a 100000 levels of force sensing, so you can draw as if you had a wacom. It will also calculate your taxes, fish for you, cook your dinner, do your work and lie for you.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by CastrTroy · 2013-12-17 07:51 · Score: 2

Personally, I would buy a $38 tablet provided it actually worked for a reasonable amount of time (1-2 years), and could do some basic tasks. I don't want to tote around my $500 tablet everywhere I go, but it would be nice to have a cheap device that I didn't care so much if I dropped it, or it got too cold and ceased to function. It doesn't have to be a replacement for the iPad or any other tablet at that price. People will buy an iPad (or similarly high priced tablet, like Galaxy Tab/Note or Surface2), as well as a cheap $40 tablet to take with them when they don't want to have something expensive on them. Same reason why many people who own a DSLR also have a cheap point and shoot. And same reason why I would buy that $15 Nokia phone if it ever sees the light of day. There are certain things people do where they don't want to be carrying around thousands of dollars of electronics.

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Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by unrtst · 2013-12-17 08:13 · Score: 5, Informative

Has no one here shopped online?
Here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3DC17C8972
It's $44. Granted, that's $6 more, but that's certainly in the same ballpark, and it has (arguably) better specs (dual core, dual cameras, android 4.2, etc).
Or here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0EJ-0019-00005
This one is just $34.99. It's only 4.3", but it has a 1.2GHz A8, and Android 4.2.
I don't know why this is making slashdot... 'el cheap-o tablets are already here in every form you could ask for. Most of the cheap ones sacrifice battery life first, which sucks, but corners must be cut if you're going to be the cheapest thing with a touchscreen... and in some cases, a short battery life is not a deal breaker (ex. car computer; kitchen wall mounted touch display; media controller; etc).
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by hawkinspeter · 2013-12-17 08:43 · Score: 1

A kitchen cookbook/recipe display would be a good use for this.

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You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by MBGMorden · 2013-12-17 08:54 · Score: 4, Informative

That "$44" tablet has a shipping price of $23.
Granted, shipping usually isn't free (even when listed as such it's built into the price of the item), but a $20+ shipping price is just a lie. They're building most of the item price into the shipping price to make it look cheaper.
Yes the 4.3" device is actually $35 shipped but at that size I consider that a touch screen media player rather than a "tablet".

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"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 09:00 · Score: 0

that first one is $67 not $44 (note the shipping charge)
I just bought one of the tabs. $37.99 with GOSF13 code to knock off $9.99 (the shipping amount)
this is "normal" price not use not sale price. you can buy a hundred of them at that price.
hopefully it will get rooted and playstore installed. should make a neat cash register replacement and be more than fast enough for that task.
Bonus if the headphone jack works with square up though I have my freedom pop phone with zero monthly cost for that :-)
I have yet to find a "regular" price tablet for under $60 excluding sub 5" units which are more music players not tablets.
I may drop by micro center to buy their nicer $40 tablet too but that is a "sale price" not a regular price.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by nerys · 2013-12-17 09:01 · Score: 0

was not logged in. now I am
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by morgauxo · 2013-12-17 09:22 · Score: 1

I miss resistive screens. Sure, multi-touch is nice but being able to draw or write with precision using a pointy stylus or even a finger nail was much more useful. Yeah, I know, there are so-called stylus for capacitive screens. They are so blunt though.. There just isn't any precision possible in a capacitive screen.
I thought it might be nice to combine capacitive and resistive sensors in the same screen. It could default to the resistive one for precision until it detects a second touch then the capacitive one would take over. It turns out there is a company out there with a patent on that. And yet... no products. Damn the patent trolls and the politicians that have supported them too!
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-12-17 09:59 · Score: 1

I miss resistive screens. Sure, multi-touch is nice but being able to draw or write with precision using a pointy stylus or even a finger nail was much more useful. Yeah, I know, there are so-called stylus for capacitive screens. They are so blunt though.. There just isn't any precision possible in a capacitive screen.
The way you do this properly is by adding a digitizer to that capacitive screen. There are numerous products that do so (e.g. Galaxy Note), and that give you all the advantages of both capacitive touch, and of a precise stylus.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by geminidomino · 2013-12-17 10:08 · Score: 2

I don't know if it was the crap hardware (it was Samsung, after all) or the crap software (it was a Samsung OEM Android, after all), but my experience with the Galaxy Note tablet was less than stellar, and they used, IIRC, a Wacom digitizer. For some reason, though, new out of the box, it suffered from horrible input lag.
Okay, I'll be fair. It was "bad" input lag which was graduated to "horrible" in the face of the $500 price tag.
Ended up returning it, getting a Transformer, and going back to waiting for a cheap-ish digitizer-equipped tablet for sketching.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-12-17 10:12 · Score: 1

Most digitizer issues are on the software side, and the problem with Android is that it's not actually designed with pen input in mind, so Samsung has to add their own hacks to the system to add support - and they're notoriously bad at modding Android.
Anyway, Note is just an example - it seems that digitizer is becoming par for the course for the new Win8.1 tablets, even the budget ones (like Dell Venue 8), which is a nice trend. And Win8 actually has proper pen input support, both as a standard input method (you can switch from pop-up keyboard to handwriting in any app), and in many stock apps like OneNote.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 10:14 · Score: 0

was not logged in. now I am
didn't need to shit. now I do
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by nurb432 · 2013-12-17 10:18 · Score: 1

You want an accurate stylus.. Ever hear of Samsung?

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---- Booth was a patriot ----
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 10:29 · Score: 0

I hate the scam of putting the "real" cost into shipping and handling. Every place I shop online (except amazon, in some cases) does not factor that in to the total cost. Then you have those TV ads where they say "get another one free, just pay separate processing and handling." Another one is the "includes standard labor" for install of carpet or the like where standard labor only includes step 1 of a 10 step process. Lately, we have had the scam where door-to-door solicitors have cheap product but say that you have to buy an extended warranty (although in that one, I just buy the cheap product and mail in the 3-day cancellation for the warranty since they cannot legally require you to purchase such a warranty).
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by adler187 · 2013-12-17 10:32 · Score: 1

Microcenter has been offering the A700 for $40 since November: http://www.microcenter.com/product/423567/A700_Tablet_-_Grey
Granted, it is in store only, so you need to live near a Microcenter to buy one.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 10:41 · Score: 1

That "$44" tablet has a shipping price of $23.
Granted, shipping usually isn't free (even when listed as such it's built into the price of the item), but a $20+ shipping price is just a lie. They're building most of the item price into the shipping price to make it look cheaper.
Yes the 4.3" device is actually $35 shipped but at that size I consider that a touch screen media player rather than a "tablet".
Newegg shows 3.99 for ground shipping that tablet to my zip code. Do you live in Alaska?
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 10:50 · Score: 0

Microcenter has a 7" Android tablet for $39
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Hadlock · 2013-12-17 11:46 · Score: 1

At some point I'm going to buy an uber cheap tablet to mount on the wall next to my bathroom mirror, and then write an android app that displays the time, weather, local traffic and RSS feed/slideshow of the morning's headlines

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moox. for a new generation.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by exomondo · 2013-12-17 15:47 · Score: 1

That "$44" tablet has a shipping price of $23.
So presumably this $38 tablet will be shipped for free?
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by symbolset · 2013-12-17 18:58 · Score: 1

To me this one is interesting simply because it's the Datawind. I can't wait to play with it when it arrives. I do have Nexus tablets, but as the low-end device to be made available to a billion students in India that alone makes it worth investigating.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by serviscope_minor · 2013-12-17 22:20 · Score: 2

displays the time, weather
I have this app in my bathroom that displays the weather. It runs on Windows (yeah I know Windows sucks). All I have to do is look out of it. It also has a touch interface. I can doodle on it when it's a bit misted up.

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by MBGMorden · 2013-12-18 02:51 · Score: 1

Read all the sentences in the post - not just the first. As stated, shipping always needs to be paid for, but shipping on a tablet shouldn't exceed $8 (and realistically will be closer to $5). Over $20 and that's not shipping - that's just moving major parts of the cost from one highly visible line item to another to make something look cheaper.

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"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by Reziac · 2013-12-18 06:16 · Score: 1

A few more direct from China:
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=7+inch+tablet
Mostly these are bulk sales only, but a few will sell individual units. (And I don't know what shipping from China costs, but I've bought small electronics, phone chargers and the like, from Hong Kong that were under $5 =including= shipping.)
BTW according to inside info from Apple, as of a couple years ago the actual cost to make an iPad in China was $38. (And would have been all of $6 more if made in USA.)

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~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by exomondo · 2013-12-18 09:53 · Score: 1

Read all the sentences in the post - not just the first. As stated, shipping always needs to be paid for, but shipping on a tablet shouldn't exceed $8 (and realistically will be closer to $5). Over $20 and that's not shipping - that's just moving major parts of the cost from one highly visible line item to another to make something look cheaper.
Well Datawind charges $50 shipping.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by vandamme · 2013-12-18 14:21 · Score: 1

I have a 7 inch Nextbook, $70 from Walmart, and it fits in my pants pocket and useable for email, web browsing and such. Beats lugging around a laptop, most of the time. Seldom do I want to edit videos sitting in an airport.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by geminidomino · 2013-12-19 01:15 · Score: 1

I'll keep that in mind, but it'll have to wait until the prices come down or the next model year comes out. I'm cynical enough of the whole thing now that I'm not going to pay hundreds of dollars for a digital sketchbook again, and have less than no interest in any other use for a Windows tablet.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-12-19 07:09 · Score: 1

I doubt the prices on Windows tablets are going to get much lower than they already are - 32Gb Venue 8 goes for $250 on Amazon (with Prime free shipping).
I agree that such things really have to be tested with an actual device before committing to buy. That's one of the few remaining uses for brick & mortar stores - going there and playing with those things to see if they actually work as advertised or not.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by morgauxo · 2013-12-20 06:53 · Score: 1

Why is a digitizer the 'proper' way to do it? Because the marketing people say so?
I had two resistive touch screen devices before the capacitive screen craze hit, a Sharp Zaurus and a windows mobile phone. The stylus was cheap and easy to replace but better yet, it didn't really have to be a stylus. Anything pointy but not so pointy as to leave marks would do. Actually, with a little practice I found I could do almost as well with my fingernail as with the stylus. I'm talking about writing and drawing here, not just pressing buttons. To be fair I did start cutting my right index fingernail to just a little bit of a point (not so much as anyone would ever notice it)
Why should I have to carry around some expensive second piece of hardware when my finger does the trick just fine with a resistive touch screen? Why should I be locked into Samsung? I just had a Samsung phone. It sucked bad, it locked up or slowed down almost constantly.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by morgauxo · 2013-12-20 07:01 · Score: 1

Seriously? So things are moving TOWARDS digitizer pens? I remember back when I was a kid in the 80s instead of touch screens there were light pens. They were super expensive and only a few places I knew of had them. Then there were touch screens but they only responded to the touch of a pen that had a wire going back into the device. I'm not sure exactly how those worked, capacitance between the pen and the screen I guess.
Then finally we had actual touch screens. All you had to do was touch it, with your finger if blunt was ok, use a piece of plastic with a pencil-like point if you wanted precision.
Now we are back to the damn pens all because people want to pretend they are living in the world of Minority Report with their multi-touch pinch zoom? Come on! I want something that is designed to USE, not something that is designed to SELL.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-12-20 08:16 · Score: 1

Why is a digitizer the 'proper' way to do it? Because the marketing people say so?
Because resistive UIs suck at responsiveness. Anyone who used a resistive and a capacitive screens knows that. It's precisely why e.g. Windows Mobile was so stylus-centric - because with resistive screens, you pretty much had to use a stylus. Or at least something sharp, like your nails. Or cuss every time you try to press a touch button and it wouldn't register.

Why should I have to carry around some expensive second piece of hardware when my finger does the trick just fine with a resistive touch screen?
Usually, if a device has a digitizer, it has a stylus in the box (so you don't pay extra for it), and it also has some place to stow it away.

Why should I be locked into Samsung? I just had a Samsung phone. It sucked bad, it locked up or slowed down almost constantly.
Who says anything about being locked into Samsung? There are plenty of manufacturers who do digitizer-enabled phones and tablets these days, on various OSes.
Anyway, digitizer is certainly the most popular way to achieve this, but it's not the only way. The other option is to actually make capacitive screens that let you use pencils and ball pens (or something similarly sharp and conductive) on them without damaging the screen. An example of that approach is Sony Xperia Z Ultra, but I suspect we'll see more of it, now that the coating they use is on the market.
Re:Capacitive or Resistive? by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-12-20 08:21 · Score: 1

I remember back when I was a kid in the 80s instead of touch screens there were light pens. They were super expensive and only a few places I knew of had them. Then there were touch screens but they only responded to the touch of a pen that had a wire going back into the device. I'm not sure exactly how those worked, capacitance between the pen and the screen I guess.
The pen detected the passage of the CRT electron beam beneath the tip and sent a signal. Because CRT timings are well-known, it is therefore possible to sync the pen signal against them and determine which point of the screen it signaled at.

Then finally we had actual touch screens. All you had to do was touch it, with your finger if blunt was ok, use a piece of plastic with a pencil-like point if you wanted precision.
You had to mash it if you wanted to make sure that the press registered on the first go. And don't even get me started on swipe scrolling, which was an exercise in extreme frustration without a stylus.

Now we are back to the damn pens
Well, first of all, touch is still there, so no - we're not "back".
Second, Modern digitizer styluses are far less bulky than light pens of old (most are slender than your typical ball pen), and are not attached to the device. They also have many genuine benefits compared to resistive screen + sharp stick - they can determine pressure much more precisely, and also angle of the pen, which means that strokes are captured far more accurately - which matters a great deal when you're drawing something, for example.

Cheap Smartglass Controller by sporkboy · 2013-12-17 07:20 · Score: 3, Funny

After MS clears you out for an XB One, you can buy a cheap tablet for their Smartglass "second screen" app.

Re:Cheap Smartglass Controller by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:22 · Score: 1

After MS clears you out for an XB One, you can buy a cheap tablet for their Smartglass "second screen" app.
Microsoft would support Android? I find that unlikely .. Microsoft has almost never supported anything but their own stuff.
Re:Cheap Smartglass Controller by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:48 · Score: 2, Informative

Almost never except these apps including the one GP mentions. Seriously, did you not google?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Microsoft+Corporation&hl=en_GB
Re:Cheap Smartglass Controller by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:18 · Score: 1

They had a smartglass app for android and ipad dating back through the 360 days, and an updated one version for both platforms now. What are you smoking?
Re:Cheap Smartglass Controller by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 10:54 · Score: 1

Are you retarded? There's over two dozen MS apps on the Play store.
Re:Cheap Smartglass Controller by dkman · 2013-12-18 03:09 · Score: 1

It sucked $BODY_PART when I last tried it. Granted, it's been awhile, so I would hope it's been improving since then. I was just trying to use it as a remote while using Media Center since the regular remote will go to sleep (so not very taxing), but it failed miserably at being able to mimic the controller commands. Yes, it would have been awesome if done right. I will give it another shot next time I watch something.

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Always late by evilviper · 2013-12-17 07:25 · Score: 4, Interesting

Datawind is always late to the party. They make big annoucements about incredibly inexpensive items years in the future to generate interest. Then by the time they're actually selling something, everyone else has passed them by. Even now, you can pickup a tablet with similar specs from walmart for $50. By the time we see any DW tablets on the shelves, several companies will be selling $40 tablets, or better.

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Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant

Re:Always late by luther349 · 2013-12-17 08:16 · Score: 1

yep the specks there using are currently around the same as a 50$ android phone.
Re:Always late by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 15:06 · Score: 0

I'd be curious to know where you can buy a similar spec android phone for $50 unsubsidized.
Re:Always late by symbolset · 2013-12-21 12:04 · Score: 1

I had decided to buy this tablet as soon as it became available in the US long ago. I ordered it before just before /. found out it was shipping on Monday. Of course like you, I had heard they have had trouble meeting demand in India and figured I wouldn't see it until after Easter. I have it here in my hand now, as it was delivered three hours ago.
It's a nice tablet. I would not mind them using these at my kids' school. Heck, I wouldn't mind using this at school myself if I didn't already have a Nexus 7.
I have no idea how they managed to sell this for $40.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.

Paper by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:28 · Score: 0

It seems we're getting closer to replacing paper once and for all.

Re:Paper by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-17 07:37 · Score: 1, Insightful

It seems we're getting closer to replacing paper once and for all.
So, someone has invented a cheap digital data storage method that will last thousands of years?
There's a reason tombstones are still big-ass etched stones, and not digital displays, you know.

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Paper by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:42 · Score: 0

It seems we're getting closer to replacing paper once and for all.
So, someone has invented a cheap digital data storage method that will last thousands of years?
Paper lasts for thousands of years? I mean the kind of paper used in most books...
Re:Paper by Em+Adespoton · 2013-12-17 08:28 · Score: 1

...of which my 20-year-old paperbacks are already starting to disintegrate, and that's not even taking into account the bindings.*
The good thing about digital books is that it's trivial to "rebind" them when the reader dies. Not so easy with paperbacks.
*My older paperbacks are actually in much better shape, but novel publication appears to have moved to a cheaper paper and binding glue around 20 years ago.
Re:Paper by Minwee · 2013-12-17 08:31 · Score: 1

So, someone has invented a cheap digital data storage method that will last thousands of years?
No, but someone has invented something cheap that stops working when it gets rained on and can't be repaired when you damage it.

There's a reason tombstones are still big-ass etched stones, and not digital displays, you know.
And there's also a good reason they aren't made of paper.
Re:Paper by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-17 08:58 · Score: 1

So, someone has invented a cheap digital data storage method that will last thousands of years?
No, but someone has invented something cheap that stops working when it gets rained on and can't be repaired when you damage it.
A hard drive? Oh, no, you said cheap.

There's a reason tombstones are still big-ass etched stones, and not digital displays, you know.
And there's also a good reason they aren't made of paper.
... as well as a good reason why the information plate bolted to the side of the Voyager probe isn't made of paper, either.
Look, I ain't saying that paper is the be-all-end-all of communication methods; I'm just pointing out that anyone who thinks digital electronics will be a replacement for paper anytime in the near future is dreaming of pipes.
TL;DR version: sure, paper might suck, but digital storage sucks more.

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Paper by MBGMorden · 2013-12-17 08:58 · Score: 1

Regular paperbacks are generally of noticeably higher quality than "Mass Market Paperbacks" (which are the small-ish versions sold in most supermarkets and such).
The Mass Market variety aren't really designed to last. They're meant to be read once or twice (if ever) and if they tear up after that just toss them.
If you're buying a book for a collection you want to buy a higher quality version.
That said - I'm not sure why they charge what they do for the better versions. Barnes and noble puts out very good quality hard-cover versions of some public domain books for less than $10. That's generally less than the price difference between the MMPB and the hardcover version of most books, so you're actually paying a lot more than just the additional materials cost there.

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"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Re:Paper by formfeed · 2013-12-17 09:05 · Score: 1

So, someone has invented a cheap digital data storage method that will last thousands of years?
There's a reason tombstones are still big-ass etched stones, and not digital displays, you know.
Gosh, you might just have stumbled on the next big thing.
You know these annoyingly bright, giant, color led displays along the highway? Imagine that integrated into a tombstone, showing the dearly departed smiling and waiving and if someone walks by, serving them with some ads: "Don't do what I did. Call a qualified electrician."
Re:Paper by nedlohs · 2013-12-17 09:09 · Score: 1

Not all of them http://www.vidstone.com/ProductsGeneral.aspx?productID=26
And I'm pretty sure none of the books I have on my bookcases are big-ass etched stones either. I also suspect there's a better chance of one of my e-books still existing in 2,000 years than one of my paperbacks. I doubt either will, but the paperback is more likely to become ash in a house fire or mush in a flood than the file.
Re:Paper by Em+Adespoton · 2013-12-17 09:12 · Score: 2

Regular paperbacks are generally of noticeably higher quality than "Mass Market Paperbacks" (which are the small-ish versions sold in most supermarkets and such).
The Mass Market variety aren't really designed to last. They're meant to be read once or twice (if ever) and if they tear up after that just toss them.
If you're buying a book for a collection you want to buy a higher quality version.
That said - I'm not sure why they charge what they do for the better versions. Barnes and noble puts out very good quality hard-cover versions of some public domain books for less than $10. That's generally less than the price difference between the MMPB and the hardcover version of most books, so you're actually paying a lot more than just the additional materials cost there.
You're paying copyright fees. With the $10 books, the content is usually public domain, so you're only paying for the price of printing and cost of materials. When you're buying a paperback, you're purchasing the right to read the work for as long as the book lasts (which has been getting shorter and shorter on the mass market paperbacks). With the higher quality hardcover books, often printed on acid-free paper, you're purchasing the right to read the same content for as long as copyright lasts, barring accidental (or intentional) destruction of the book.
Look at the Peterson's Field Guide for a paperback* that bucks this trend, and has a price to reflect it.
*It's not really paper, as they use cotton and plastic in the material as well -- this is a book designed to be dropped in a duck pond or snagged on brambles and come out none the worse for wear.
Re:Paper by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 09:25 · Score: 1

...that will last thousands of years?
There's a reason tombstones are still big-ass etched stones...
Even those "big-ass etched stones" don't last thousands of years, outside of dry environments like Egypt. Take a stroll through an old* cemetery and you'll find tombstones that are less than 500 years old that are unreadable.
* Note for Americans...you pretty much have to leave your country to find one.
Re:Paper by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-17 09:28 · Score: 1

So, someone has invented a cheap digital data storage method that will last thousands of years?
There's a reason tombstones are still big-ass etched stones, and not digital displays, you know.
Gosh, you might just have stumbled on the next big thing.
You know these annoyingly bright, giant, color led displays along the highway? Imagine that integrated into a tombstone, showing the dearly departed smiling and waiving and if someone walks by, serving them with some ads: "Don't do what I did. Call a qualified electrician."
I can appreciate any innovation that makes reality more like an episode of Futurama.

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Paper by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-17 09:39 · Score: 1

Not all of them http://www.vidstone.com/ProductsGeneral.aspx?productID=26
Ha, what a trip! $1500 for an LCD panel ($2400 if you opt for the 5 year anti-vandalism warranty)? Proves the old adage, 'a fool and his money are soon parted.'
Really, if you absolutely had to memorialize someone that way, you'd be better off buying one of those $20 commercial digital photo frames, wiring it to a solar panel, and drilling a couple mounting screws into the stone monument (which would have the added advantage of removable parts, since something will eventually fail).

I also suspect there's a better chance of one of my e-books still existing in 2,000 years than one of my paperbacks.
Then you have far more faith in digital storage media than I. FWIW, to this day they're digging up perfectly preserved, 2,000 year old scrolls in Mesopotamia. Your electronics will not last that long, and one good, solid solar flare is all it would take to completely wipe out all digitally stored media the world over.

I doubt either will, but the paperback is more likely to become ash in a house fire or mush in a flood than the file.
If you store them properly, then yes, the paperback books will still exist in 2,000 years. The e-books on your Kindle? Well, if you turn it off RIGHT NOW there might be a few read/write cycles left by that point in time, but the leakage from the battery will have rendered the entire thing a useless lump of minerals long before, no matter how well you store it.

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An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Paper by ArbitraryName · 2013-12-17 09:42 · Score: 1

Regular paperbacks are generally of noticeably higher quality than "Mass Market Paperbacks" (which are the small-ish versions sold in most supermarkets and such).
Not anymore.
Re:Paper by couchslug · 2013-12-17 11:33 · Score: 1

"It seems we're getting closer to replacing paper once and for all."
Mod up "Funny".

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"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Re:Paper by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 11:50 · Score: 0

It seems we're getting closer to replacing paper once and for all.
So, someone has invented a cheap digital data storage method that will last thousands of years?
There's a reason tombstones are still big-ass etched stones, and not digital displays, you know.
Because grave robbers, meth addicts and crack heads would steal them?

Comic book reader. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:28 · Score: 1

Amazon's kinder reader app will let you read electronic comics, but not on a desktop (DRM disallows it), and on the handheld devices it *does not zoom*. Ridiculous!

I believe Google's reader will allow zoom, but the tablet is very expensive. If this will serve as a cheap electronic comic book reader that supports zoom, I'm in.

Re:Comic book reader. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:43 · Score: 0

With that resolution? Good luck. I find the Kindle Fire's 1024 x 600 7" screen a real chore with comics.
Re:Comic book reader. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:18 · Score: 0

Because this is aimed at comic book readers? not everything needs that level of detail.
In fact... most stuff doesn't. I'd get a few of these for family. Much better of a young'un breaks THIS vs breaking a $400+ iPad or Nexus.
Re:Comic book reader. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 09:24 · Score: 0

Totally missed seeing that comment he replied to, didja?
Re:Comic book reader. by Optali · 2013-12-19 01:15 · Score: 1

Much better of a young'un breaks THIS vs breaking a $400+ iPad or Nexus.
EXACTLY what I was thinking. Makes a lot of sense.

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-- 29A the number of the Beast

Jeez..I can't even ship something for $38 anymore by JoeyRox · 2013-12-17 07:28 · Score: 1

Economies of scale I suppose...

NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · 2013-12-17 07:31 · Score: 1

Picture every nurse in a hospital with one in their pocket. Picture 3rd graders taking spelling tests with these. Picture every coffee-shop waitress with one. Picture these replacing smart thermostats and TV remotes, anything with a reasonably sophisticated (i.e. > on/off) UI.

Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by Russ1642 · 2013-12-17 07:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

Picture them all with a device made by someone else.
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · 2013-12-17 07:42 · Score: 1

The manufacturer/specs don't matter nearly as much as the $38 price point. THAT'S the big deal here.
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by mythosaz · 2013-12-17 07:56 · Score: 1

The price point of the device isn't the factor for adoption of devices in clinical settings - it's doing "simple" tasks like making sure they're secure and audit-able.
Your auditors don't like, "The vendor said it's safe," or "We probably didn't lose any."
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by BitZtream · 2013-12-17 08:05 · Score: 1

Great, so now all those people are standing around waiting on their shitty tablets to redraw the screen ... taking several times longer and being less useful than if they'd just used pencil and paper to take their notes. Proven fact, you'll remember it better by writing it than typing it. I don't know anyone who can type faster than I can, yet most waitresses with any experience can jot down notes on the tab faster than I could type it.
I don't want a 7" TV remote, thats fucking stupid. The TV is a display, why the fuck do you have a display on your remote? Because you've over complicated it to the point of stupidity.
My thermostat has had a LCD display for 7 or so years already, and it'll run months on a set of double A batteries ... why would I want this thing anywhere near my thermostat? So I can have shitty laggy controls because some moron took a chip intended for running a specific task, through a big fat general purpose OS on it ... than limited it back to one task, for which its pretty shitty at doing since the OS interferes with everything.
These tablets are shit. They are not useful to anyone due to their crappy performance compared to the massive OS flung on them.
Just because you have some hardware that technically CAN do something, doesn't many anyone will want to use it for that purpose, nor does it mean the device is actually a good idea for that purpose.
This thing is a POS and useful for very little other than making Android look like shit, and frustrating people who buy this shitty tablet expecting something like an iPad and get something like a coleco vision

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Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by wonkey_monkey · 2013-12-17 08:05 · Score: 1

Also things like "has the screen got high enough contrast that I can tell a tumour from a not-a-tumour?"
(not that I'd expect these to be primary diagnostic devices, but still)

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systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:14 · Score: 0

My thermostat has had a LCD display for 7 or so years already, and it'll run months on a set of double A batteries
Why the hell does your thermostat run on batteries when it has to be wired to a power source anyway to trip the furnace/AC relays?
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:23 · Score: 0

then there are $25/$35 RPi with no screen, no case, no power supply...
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by foobar+bazbot · 2013-12-17 08:24 · Score: 1

I don't want a 7" TV remote, thats fucking stupid. The TV is a display, why the fuck do you have a display on your remote? Because you've over complicated it to the point of stupidity.
Or maybe because you want to browse the program guide and configure the DVR without interrupting the show you're currently watching? (Before you say just pause it, consider that in family situations, someone else may be watching TV, or playing a game, and it may be deemed inconsiderate to interrupt their entertainment just because you feel like frobbing the remote. Doesn't apply to everyone, but it's a legitimate use case.)
Granted, these days one should just use a HTPC instead of a TV+DVR, but the same argument for being able to control your HTPC without interrupting or obscuring the display still applies.
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by 0123456 · 2013-12-17 08:27 · Score: 1

Why the hell does your thermostat run on batteries when it has to be wired to a power source anyway to trip the furnace/AC relays?
Because they don't want to put in a transformer or DC->DC convertor to reduce that voltage to 3V to run the thermostat, when you can just spend $0.50 on batteries every couple of years?
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:39 · Score: 0

Amen,
We wanted a simple (and cheap) tagblet to use in the kitchen since my wife now has all here recipes on-line.
It's a pain to run back and forth to the computer, and hard to see on a phone (plus I don;t like having my expensive
phone near boiling water and sauce and such). local micro center had a deal for an $80 tablet on sale for $40.
I grabbed it cause I thought a normally $40 tablet is crap, but this one might be passable.
I had very low expectations - just display a damn web page.
I returned it 2 days later. The thing was unbearable slow, the screen was horrible (not display but actual
usability - touch response and lag). I damn near threw it through the f'ing wall.
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by painandgreed · 2013-12-17 09:25 · Score: 1

The manufacturer/specs don't matter nearly as much as the $38 price point. THAT'S the big deal here.
Hardly. being able to do the work and reliability are what's important in the settings you originally described. These things are cheap, and they are going to be cheap in all the bad ways besides price also. There are already tablets out there that are cheaper. Using these rather than something more expensive will cost more money in the time it takes for them to complete work (assuming they can even do the work) than spending the extra time. Breakdowns and replacements are also a consideration in the professional world. I'd be that it would be cheaper all round to give the nurse and 3rd graders in your example all iPads to get work done faster, break less often, and deal with replacements. One of the first things you learn in the professional world is that "cheap is expensive".
Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by Dogtanian · 2013-12-17 10:46 · Score: 1

The TV is a display, why the fuck do you have a display on your remote?
"Yo Dawg".

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Re:NOW we're talking "ubiquitous" and "paperless" by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 03:29 · Score: 0

Pro tip. It's not a tumor.

Cool by mark-t · 2013-12-17 07:32 · Score: 1

Okay... the price per square inch is great... now just make one with a 14" diagonal (ie, about a4 or letter size) with the same resolution and at the same cost per square inch (so about $160 or so for the tablet) and I'll be all over it like maple syrup on pancakes.

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File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'

Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:40 · Score: 0

I prefer granulated sugar and nutmeg on my pancakes
Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:41 · Score: 0

The price per square inch is not linear. The bigger surface, the more possible errors and discarded screens. Otherwise we would be having retina 40" screens long ago.
Re:Cool by mark-t · 2013-12-17 08:07 · Score: 2

A 40 inch diagonal screen has more than 16 times the area of an an ipad mini, which wouldn't exactly be very cheap.

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File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Re:Cool by Minwee · 2013-12-17 08:32 · Score: 1

That's probably because you've never had real syrup.
Here's a tip -- The good stuff isn't made from corn.
Re:Cool by MBGMorden · 2013-12-17 09:02 · Score: 1

I've had real maple syrup, and I'll admit that it tastes better, but it certainly doesn't taste better ENOUGH to warrant costing about 16x as much as the cheap stuff.

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"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Re:Cool by mark-t · 2013-12-17 10:51 · Score: 1

It's only about 5 times the cost, actually.... and yes, it's well worth it.

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File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'

Other OS? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:33 · Score: 0

How difficult is it to install another version of Android on devices like this? I would love to use something like this as a console-on-the-go, but would hate to deal with advertising crap while I'm trying to do work.

Re:Other OS? by CanHasDIY · 2013-12-17 07:39 · Score: 2

How difficult is it to install another version of Android on devices like this? I would love to use something like this as a console-on-the-go, but would hate to deal with advertising crap while I'm trying to do work.
http://www.xda-developers.com/
Your answer should be contained within.

--
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese

Android 4.0 = worthless by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:34 · Score: 1

Android 4.0 is totally worthless. Try again when you can do 4.2 and run google play store apps. I've been burned by this on a $70 tablet. Never again.

Garbage by ilsaloving · 2013-12-17 07:37 · Score: 5, Insightful

I've purchased two barrel-bottom-scraping androids so far (not this model), with the expectation that that should be able to satisfy very basic needs like ebook reading.

I was wrong.

These 'landfill android' devices garbage in every possible way. Battery life is so poor that you can't even even expect it to last a day on stand by. Yet performance is so poor that you have to wait a good several minutes just for the damn thing to boot up, so forget about quickly pulling it out while on the bus to read a few pages.
And the wifi is so bad that it can't pick up a signal unless you have a router in the very same room, and even then you somehow don't get full bars.

The only use I can see for this class of devices, is in BDSM scenarios:

Master - Check my email, slave!
Slave - Yes Master, thank you master! Oh, I can't connect to the server!
Master - Are you telling me that you're failing me, you miserable wretch?
Slave - Nuh Matha! Ih I puf mah tong oh he corneh, wifi worgs!
Master - Good slave! Now play Words With Friends!
Slave - *whimper*

Re:Garbage by gstoddart · 2013-12-17 07:59 · Score: 1

LOL, my brother bought something in that family ... when you turned it off, the clock stopped, so it never had the slightest idea of what the time was unless you set it every time you turned it on.
And, as you said, it had horrible battery life, was seriously underperforming, flaky wifi, and was generally not very good.
Granted, that was a few years ago, but one does worry about these low-end devices and just how useful they'll actually be.

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Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Re:Garbage by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:00 · Score: 0

Rich-people problems... unless you bought your cheap devices in the last 3 months, chances are this will be better as the bottom-end specs for these things go up constantly.
On a related note, the CNX guys tlooked for the cheapest tablet (including the shipping). $44 all in, crazy.
Re:Garbage by bill_mcgonigle · 2013-12-17 08:05 · Score: 1

FWIW, I bought some of the $59 units NoMoreRack is selling (for video chat between grandparents and kids) and aside from a terrible viewing angle on the screen, they're no worse than my 3 year old phone. Wifi seems fine, boot time is reasonable, Hangouts works, Netflix is claimed to work.

--
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Re:Garbage by ElectricTurtle · 2013-12-17 08:43 · Score: 1

I visualized that as badly captioned tumblr pr0n and was highly amused.

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I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
Re:Garbage by CastrTroy · 2013-12-17 08:50 · Score: 1

when you turned it off, the clock stopped, so it never had the slightest idea of what the time was unless you set it every time you turned it on.
So does the Raspberry Pi, but those seem to be selling quite well, and people are quite pleased with them. I have enough devices that can tell me the time. Sure it would be nice if it kept proper time, but I don't see how that's essential to many of the things you may want to use a tablet for. The GameBoy doesn't have a clock either. Didn't stop us from having tons of fun playing games on it. If it can do games, reading, and play videos, none of which require a clock, or even network connectivity, it would be a great device to have for many situations. Not to replace the iPad, but to have in conjunction with an iPad.

--

Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Re:Garbage by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:50 · Score: 0

Last year for Christmas I bought my (then 5 year old) daughter a cheapo Chinese knockoff tablet. It was great for her needs, but didn't last long. The issue I had was totally my fault though. The power cord got damaged and the replacement I bought was not correct, so it fried the device. :(
Next time I'm going with a Nexus 7 for her. Good quality, low price, certainty for updates.
Re:Garbage by symbolset · 2013-12-17 09:19 · Score: 1

Also, Wireless charging means she can't break the connector.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.
Re:Garbage by Godwin+O'Hitler · 2013-12-17 09:45 · Score: 1

I had a generic Android tablet (with jellybean) before I bought my Asus Fonepad.
The only showstopper was battery life. Everything else was perfectly acceptable and it was an absolute breeze to root.
But the battery life was pretty dreadful -- an *absolute maximum* of 5 hours with all connectivity disabled and minimum brightness screen, whereas the Asus runs all day and night without even thinking about those things.

--
No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
Re:Garbage by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 10:02 · Score: 0

It seems to be a kind of lottery.
My Generic Jellybean 7" Android Tablet(tm) was ~$70 - more expensive than this UbiSlate, but a dual-core 1.5GHz Rockchip based and 1024x600.
Worked just fine, had pretty nice display even at minimum brightness, and even played some of recent-ish AAA 3D games thanks to Mali400 GPU. It lasted for 12-14 hours as a reader (on minimal brightness and net turned off) and ~4 days in standby.
Pity it was rather fragile when it fell off the nightstand and cracked the screen. Gave it to my nephew who was willing to get a working tablet for ~$20 - that's how much a compatible touchscreen from Alibaba cost him (yay, generics!)
TL;DR: if you dig around the review sites, you can get a tablet that *is* worth its low price tag in full.
Re:Garbage by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 13:15 · Score: 0

Agreed. The one I tried can't even handle yatse.
Re:Garbage by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 13:18 · Score: 0

You get what you pay for, its junk, useless junk! Why do people fall for that "It will be decent enough shit?"
Re:Garbage by dkman · 2013-12-18 03:18 · Score: 1

I agree that the bottom feeder android tablets might as well be made by apple. The user experience can be so off-putting as to sour people's vision of android. That said, they do have their place. If it's "good enough" to do what you want it to do then it's great for the price.
The key to better battery life is to drop it into airplane mode unless you need the connection. I leave it on in airplane mode, then turn off airplane mode when i pick it up, use it, then drop it back into airplane mode, turn the screen off and put it down. It will last for days if you do that.

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I refuse to sign

uhh... by Connie_Lingus · 2013-12-17 07:45 · Score: 1

well...if $38 is too rich for your blood..there is always this..

http://www.dhgate.com/product/lenovo-lepad-a2207-lenovo-idea-tab-a2207a/178135882.html#s1-14-1|1005834550 ...AND it's Lenova!

--
never bring a twinkie to a food fight.

Re:uhh... by Minwee · 2013-12-17 08:35 · Score: 3, Funny

AND it's Lenova!
No good. I'm holding out for a genuine Sorny, Panaphonic or Magnetbox.
Re:uhh... by lytlebill · 2013-12-17 15:33 · Score: 1

That's a wholesale number. The $30 figure is the per-unit price, and looks great to the consumer until you realize the lot size is 50 units at a go. Most folk are less inclined to spend $1500 on a tablet (though I certainly wouldn't be surprised to hear stories of folk accidentally doing so). The upshot is you'll have plenty of spares.

Not garbage in EVERY way... by SuperKendall · 2013-12-17 07:45 · Score: 4, Insightful

Devices like these, and the equivalent devices in the phone arena, help keep Android "market share" figures nice and plump!

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"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Re:Not garbage in EVERY way... by phantomfive · 2013-12-17 07:56 · Score: 1

Do they? How many have been sold? You do have numbers before making that claim, right?

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Re:Not garbage in EVERY way... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:37 · Score: 0

I suspect it's more that device manufacturers are able to produce super cheap tablets and run an OS name that people recognize. That is, I doubt it's a malicious plot by the Android overlords, it's much more likely that it's just a market opportunity that no other OS will allow. Apple and MS sure as hell won't let just anyone release a tablet under their flag. Now, you might argue that the only reason Android has such permissive licensing is to foster this very market... but arguing that someone is maliciously open sourcing their software is sort of an interesting claim.
Re:Not garbage in EVERY way... by SuperKendall · 2013-12-17 08:40 · Score: 0

I totally agree with your point, just noting that they have an additional benefit to the Android ecosystem as well even if using them is not a good experience.
I mean if you can make a super cheap tablet why not try and see if people will bite? Some people will also probably find some use for it.
On a die note MS will let anyone release a Windows8 tablet, you just have to license Windows...

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Re:Not garbage in EVERY way... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 10:20 · Score: 0

Whatever you say, iSheep.

There's already a $49 Kindle by destinyland · 2013-12-17 07:46 · Score: 1

Amazon's selling Kindles today for just $49

http://www.beyond-black-friday.com/2013/12/17/amazon-discounts-kindles-to-49/

Granted it's a one-day Christmas promotion, but it just shows they can drop prices pretty low. (Especially since they're hoping to make it all back with ebook sales...)

Re:There's already a $49 Kindle by afidel · 2013-12-17 08:02 · Score: 1

Yeah but that's an ebook reader, not a tablet.

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There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.

Re:uhh...shit by Connie_Lingus · 2013-12-17 07:46 · Score: 1

...whoops didn't notice that minimum order...

never mind.

--
never bring a twinkie to a food fight.

It's about time by Animats · 2013-12-17 07:48 · Score: 1

There have been $30 tablets available in Shentzen for a year. Most have an Allwinner ARM SOIC, which is a very cheap part yet quite powerful. It costs $1100 to move an entire shipping container from Shentzen to Los Angeles. Not clear what the hold-up has been.

Tablets will be sold in bubble-packs at the drugstore.

Yeah, landfill devices indeed. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 07:50 · Score: 0

Another commenter mentioned that in their past experience, the bottom of the line Android tablets were not really useable.
I could not agree more. I was shocked at how much was lost by shaving off a few dollars. I really enjoy the term the person used, too about "landfill" devices because I have seen that happen with people. My first thought was "Oh cool, I'll put this on the fridge of the coworking space I work at!" but as soon as I read his comment all the horrible problems with budget Android devices came flooding back and I realized even putting it on fridge, constantly plugged in, probably wont' work.

I think they'll do well, though, cause heck, without reading that other comment to refresh my memory, I had put out of mind just how bad budget tablets are. I was ready to say "I'll buy one!" and get burned all over again.

Implications for OLPC by steveha · 2013-12-17 07:51 · Score: 1

The One Laptop Per Child project should change its focus from hardware to software. Whether this tablet is suitable for kids, or some other tablet, they can count on inexpensive Android tablets being available.

Could kids use these things for reading textbooks? Yes. Could kids run educational software that drills them on math and other subjects? Yes. Could kids even watch movies, look things up on Wikipedia, learn to touch-type with a USB or Bluetooth keyboard? Yes, yes, yes. Tablets like these are adequate for learning.

Will OLPC ever achieve massive economy of scale by making its own branded devices? Signs point to "no". Wikipedia reports that OLPC has shipped over 2.4 million laptops in its first 6 years; in comparison, Wikipedia reports that the Google Nexus 7 tablet sold over 4.5 million units in its first year, and over 7 million to date (less than 2.5 years).

I understand that OLPC has several goals, and that one of the goals is that OLPC devices be repairable. But a school could literally buy three of these DataWind tablets for the cost of a single XO-4! Suppose someone made a bundle of a DataWind, a protective case and a keyboard; that should all come in for less than half the cost of an XO-4. Never mind repairs, just buy twice as many of the things.

OLPC should make Android software, and lesson plans for teachers, but shouldn't build their own hardware anymore.

--
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely

Re: Implications for OLPC by gmuslera · 2013-12-17 08:06 · Score: 1

If well olpc has released tablets already for learning mayor be not the best option, they are mainly content comsumption devices, not so much for creation as school children need (at least, not all kinds, specially if involves writting).
Also, better that they can work for 4+ hours on battery, cheap tablets are not great in that area.
Re: Implications for OLPC by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-19 12:12 · Score: 0

I bought an OLPC XO-1 computer. Battery life was... disappointing. Less than three hours.
I don't know if the newer OLPC products are better, but clearly OLPC considered short battery life to be adequate. My Nexus 7 tablet gets at least twice the battery life of the XO-1 despite costing less. (Both theoretically cost $200 but due to inflation the Nexus 7 nets out to costing less.)
In the early days, OLPC had a visionary dream that their laptops would be so power-efficient that they could be used for hours by children who had to use muscle power to charge their batteries. That never happened. All the OLPCs are used in areas that have electricity, at least some of the time.
I'm pretty sure we could go to http://alibaba.com/ and buy off-the-shelf cheap tablets plus off-the-shelf cheap solar chargers and equip each child with tablet, charger, keyboard, and protective case, all for less than the cost of an XO-4 tablet.
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/cheap-cell-phone-solar-charger.html
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=android+tablet
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=tablet+keyboard+case

So what? by DrXym · 2013-12-17 07:52 · Score: 1

Alibaba is filled with tablets retailing for this sort of price. I assume Datawind just made a bulk purchase and is selling them for a small margin.

Re: "Early next year"?? Missing Christmas? by billstewart · 2013-12-17 07:54 · Score: 1

It's a consumer product. They'll sell a lot less of it if they introduce it in January than if they'd gotten it out Dec. 1, much less pre-Black-Friday.

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Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks

tablet lower res than phone by erice · 2013-12-17 07:58 · Score: 1

Tablets are just big smart phones. Bigger allows for a bigger screen and bigger (longer lasting) battery.

800x480 was a mid-range phone more than three years ago. Mid range and high range phones have more pixels now.

It is possible that this device has a decent battery but, at $50,I'm skeptical of that too. So, why should anyone buy this tablet instead of a three year old smart phone on eBay?

My experiences with Android 4.0 by billstewart · 2013-12-17 07:59 · Score: 1

I've got a Coby 10" tablet running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (i.e. really vanilla, with no manufacturer's software value added.) It'll run Google Play Store apps just fine.

The main thing it's missing is a program to sync the calendar with MS Outlook or at least accept iCal events; it really really wants you to sync its calendar app with Google Calendar, and I'm not going to sync my $DAYJOB calendar with Google. The free Play Store apps to do this haven't been very reliable, and $30 is more than I want to gamble for a commercial program that may not be any better.

--

Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks

Re:My experiences with Android 4.0 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:17 · Score: 0

You got lucky. Android 4.0 and 4.1 require explicit manufacturer support to run the GP store, but GP store supports all 4.2 devices.
Coby obviously did whatever was necessary on your device, but Visual Land doesn't. Avoid Fry's Visual Land tablets even if they're free.
Re:My experiences with Android 4.0 by ArbitraryName · 2013-12-17 09:50 · Score: 1

I'm not going to sync my $DAYJOB calendar with Google.
Why not, exactly?
Re:My experiences with Android 4.0 by billstewart · 2013-12-17 12:39 · Score: 1

Because my $DAYJOB calendar has a lot of proprietary information in it. Since it's Outlook, that often includes documents attached in calendar appointments, but even without that, meeting announcements about "lets talk about how to fix the $FOO problem with $NEXT_PROJECT" aren't something we'd trust to an internet-based cloud service without specific contracts in place.

--

Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks

Re:Jeez..I can't even ship something for $38 anymo by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:00 · Score: 0

If you buy $35 or more you get free shipping. Hey its 38 bucks made it :)

Sounds like a possible "disruptive technology" by dpbsmith · 2013-12-17 08:02 · Score: 1

...the kind that starts out regarded by the established players as almost a joke, who ignore it because its not what the important customers are asking for, just some bargain-hunting fools... then the low-end, joke product develops its own specialized market, gradually improves, starts eating the lunch of the big guys, and somehow they fade away.

The Ford Model Twas regarded as such a piece of junk the "Ford joke" became a genre in itself, and people published entire BOOKS of nothing but Ford jokes. "Does your Ford make a racket?" "Oh, no, only when it's running" etc.

--

"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!

RAM? by jzarling · 2013-12-17 08:21 · Score: 1

I didnt see a spec on RAM - anyone know what it ships with? I recently bought a Samsung Centura which has very similar specs as this tablet, and it has left me wanting.

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It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.

Re:RAM? by Minwee · 2013-12-17 08:44 · Score: 1

It's 512M, so don't expect much from it.

Plenty of links if you just search by SuperKendall · 2013-12-17 08:23 · Score: 2

It's obviously true just from browsing numbers alone... but there's articles like this that say the same thing (in the phone/phablet world).

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Re:Plenty of links if you just search by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:54 · Score: 0

In response to your title and the statement that they aught to just search: that's not how burden of proof works.

More storage than an iPad by timeOday · 2013-12-17 08:39 · Score: 5, Insightful

It has a MicroSD slot. Funny how only low-end devices are expandable these days.

Won't someone think of the beowulf clusters of tho by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:42 · Score: 0

All of you snotty punks these days, with your Big Data this, your Cloud that, your NoSQL the other.

It's no wonder global warming has failed: you've left behind your true roots in obscure geekery, and given it all up for marketing pitches.

You all deserve to be garbage collected. All of you.

"London-based Datawind it will begin selling"... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 08:48 · Score: 0

...will IT? What does that even mean? Why is the word "it" in there?

ewaste by dgp · 2013-12-17 09:25 · Score: 1

Whats the industry ratio of circuit boards manufactured per month versus circut boards recycled per month? The eWaste stream is worth thinking about and should be included in the price of electronics. Maybe tablets shouldnt be $38 because so many of them will get thrown away, with their toxic components in a landfill that eventually leaks into the groundwater.

Re:ewaste by gl4ss · 2013-12-17 16:31 · Score: 1

dunno about usa but in eu you pay tax on it... I've been paying recycling related taxes on all my electronics for a loooooong time now.
there's not that much anything in a tablet that size anyhow, compared to say a 15 year old monitor or a tv.

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world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.

FIVE HUNDRED TWELVE MEGABYTES OF RAM by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 09:27 · Score: 0

My Android 2.3 Smartphone has more system memory. Sounds like another technology "journalist" got snookered into putting out a press release for a publicity hungry executive. Or maybe he (or his publication) got compensated for it. Either way, stupid or corrupt, the result is that the race to the bottom gets glamorized. Ugh. Who am I kidding, I've never thought tablets were worth the cost of the boxes they ship in. You need a real computer to get real work done, unless your "work" consists entirely of leafing through Twitter feeds and Facebook walls while sipping a Latte at Starbucks.

Re:FIVE HUNDRED TWELVE MEGABYTES OF RAM by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 17:33 · Score: 0

And your Android 2.3 Smartphone costs less than $38 ??

Games that use a clock by tepples · 2013-12-17 09:39 · Score: 1

The GameBoy doesn't have a clock either. Didn't stop us from having tons of fun playing games on it.

That's because they had to put the clock in the cartridge. Games that make heavy use of the clock, such as Animal Crossing, had to wait for the DS that had its own clock.

If it can do games, reading, and play videos, none of which require a clock, or even network connectivity

A reliable clock is needed for making sure that the (agreed-upon) rental period for your rented video hasn't expired.

If you know someone who runs a store by tepples · 2013-12-17 09:42 · Score: 1

If you know someone who runs a store, then buying a lot of 50 for $80 a piece and selling them as an impulse buy for $99.95 might bring in some sales.

Patents by tepples · 2013-12-17 09:43 · Score: 1

Not clear what the hold-up has been.

Patents perhaps? Microsoft owns exclusive rights in the FAT file system and Exchange protocol. That and possibly import duties, which in some countries are known to exceed 100% of the declared value.

Physical size matters too by tepples · 2013-12-17 09:45 · Score: 2

So, why should anyone buy this tablet instead of a three year old smart phone on eBay?

Because not everybody likes to squint at tiny text.

$39 Azpen by log0n · 2013-12-17 10:09 · Score: 1

Microcenter already sells a $39 Azpen A700 with the exact same specs. What am I missing?

Re:$39 Azpen by log0n · 2013-12-17 10:10 · Score: 1

(with capacative screen)

XBMC Controller by itsphilip · 2013-12-17 10:48 · Score: 1

I could see this as a good XBMC remote or alarm clock that shows weather when you get up or news if you made a nice stand for it. Maybe something to use in the bathtub or on the toilet to read stuff or the kitchen for recipes. Places where if it gets dirty or ruined who cares.

"runs on"? or "runs" by fatphil · 2013-12-17 13:05 · Score: 1

> The $38 7-inch touchscreen UbiSlate 7Ci tablet runs on Google's Android 4.0

Since when has hardware "run on" software?

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863

Re:Cost of doing Business... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 14:16 · Score: 0

Cheap is not always expensive!

Re:Bet on Paperless by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-17 14:24 · Score: 0

That is correct the price needs to be divided by 38 at the least to be mass market, but digital electronics will replace paper!

unnecessary and inferior by slashmydots · 2013-12-17 16:27 · Score: 1

I set a world record in a game with over 10,000,000 players with this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834686016
And it has a dedicated GPU and 1GB of DDR3. Not 512MB of DDR3 or 1GB of DDR2 like others.

So you want to write a textbook? by westlake · 2013-12-17 16:43 · Score: 1

Yes, because of course people will do hundreds of hours of work for free.

They will, as it turns out. You'll find countless examples on the internet. Not everyone is as selfish as you.

But many are being subsidized for their work online --- or hope to see a payoff down the road.

Writing a book of any kind is a major accomplishment that relatively few can claim. Anyone who learns that you're a published book author will be impressed. Similarly, if you use your textbook in one of your classes, your stature with your students will rise. You'll also gain name recognition among psychologists because most textbooks are referred to by the author's names rather than the title.

Writing Phase: 2 to 4+ Years. Writing has two meanings. Narrowly, it refers to composing the words in the text, including multiple drafts and several rounds of peer reviews and revisions based on the reviews. Broadly, writing also includes all the necessary reading of sources, compiling references, conceptualizing illustrations, and designing and writing features (e.g., boxed material), learning exercises, review sections, and further resources for students.

Writing a Psychology Textbook: Is It For You ?

Re:"London-based Datawind it will begin selling".. by manquer · 2013-12-17 17:35 · Score: 1

it is supposed to be London-based Datawind said it will begin selling"... As in TFA, poor summary as usual

Re: "Early next year"?? Missing Christmas? by symbolset · 2013-12-17 19:02 · Score: 1

The product is targeted at the India K-12 market. Approximately a billion students will pass through there over the next decade, and the idea is to subsidize half so the student pays only $20 - or in some cases nothing. I think they'll be OK on volume.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.

Funny how the Hateboys don't get out of bed... by Uberbah · 2013-12-17 22:52 · Score: 0

...when Apple's competitors ship devices that don't have SD slots or tool-less replaceable batteries.

Funny how only low-end devices are expandable these days.

Funny how that wars with the lack of Ogg Vorbis support in the "I Don't Give A Shit" department for the vast majority of consumers.

Not much new here... by Shirley+Marquez · 2013-12-18 06:24 · Score: 1

Cheap tablets are already selling for under $50, like the Azpen model that Micro Center has recently offered for $40. The Datawind tablet has similar specs.

Tablets, meh by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 10:25 · Score: 0

They should try using this cheap ARM hardware to make a miniature Linux netbook, non-touchscreen to make it cheaper. LXDE/Openbox, Midori or maybe Firefox, Abiword. Use somewhat better hardware than this and I bet you can get something that runs decently and retails for less than $100.

BitCoin/LiteCoin/Alt-Coin Wallet for $40!?? Sweet! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-12-18 12:49 · Score: 0

Disposable devices that can trade digicoins...

I'm all for it!

Can't wait to buy/sell gold/silver/whatnot on the corner with digicoins using one of these!

Android? by Bust0ut · 2013-12-19 16:19 · Score: 1

Somebody remind the Ubuntu team to "stay the course".

--
He is crazy if you think about it; I am not.

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Datawind Not Blowing Smoke: $38 Tablet Coming To the US

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