Malaysia's Youth To Soon See Their Own 7" 1Mpad Android Tablet

Does the world really need another Gingerbread-based tablet? Well, North America probably doesn't, but other parts of the world could sure use it. Talk of India reaping a sub-$100 tablet has been circulating for years now, and this week Malaysia is jumping into that fold with a lot more than just vaporware. The country has proudly announced the arrival of its first branded slate, the 1Mpad. It's a pretty common 7" form factor that looks a lot like the hardware surrounding the original Galaxy Tab.

The country is delivering this with one thing in mind: educating its youth. It's a great idea, and some 5,000 of the units are now being offered up. At first, end users outside of the education sector can pay around $315 for one, but there are over 1 million students that are hoping to see them in the classroom soon. According to the plan, they'll be offered to students at a discounted rate, enabling students to get a discount when purchased via their student card. It'll ship with 3G broadband, a Messenger application and a software suite that's to be determined.


With the XOPC and this, we sure hope we're closing in on the era where all students can at least have hope to getting their hands on technology at an early age.