14 DAY TRIAL // All end-users have undoubtedly heard, seen or learned in some other way of the futuristic view of students going to school with nothing but a portable database, like a tablet PC, which can remove the need for any sort of textbooks. Marvell seems to be especially interested in this idea of the future, as it is evident from the fact that it has just announced plans to bring about a tablet meant to achieve this very purpose. The device is called the Moby and will supposedly weigh half as much as a typical textbook while bringing notebook-level benefits for only $99.
The company did not give out many details on the specs of the product, considering that it is only in the “initiative” stage. However, Marvell did say that, ultimately, the product would be an “always-on, high performance multimedia tablet featuring live, real-time content, 1080p full-HD and 3D media, and full Flash Internet.” The device will be powered by one of the company's own ARMADA 600 Series System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms and will probably measure ten inches.
“Education is the most pressing social and economic issue facing our country and our times. I believe the Marvell Moby tablet can ignite a life-long passion for learning in all students everywhere,” Weili Dai, Marvell's co-founder and vice president and general manager of Marvell Semiconductor's Consumer and Computing Business Unit, said. “Marvell's goal is to fundamentally improve the way students learn by giving them more efficient, relevant - even fun tools to use. Marvell's Moby tablet recognizes that every student learns differently and so it delivers an array of media choices for different learning styles.”
No doubt, at least to students, this project sounds interesting, especially since it promises Full-HD 3D and an always-on Internet access at less than $100. It was revealed that the slate would support both Android and Windows, but, unfortunately, the exact battery life expectancy has not been mentioned. No pricing and eventual availability details are known at this time.