Moby: Marvell promises a 100 dollar tablet

A full tablet for 100 dollars - dream or reality? Some say it isn’t possible, but Marvell continues to believe in their Moby concept, running an Armada 600, with a possible market being education.

The mobile chipset manufacturer Marvell believes that they are ready to take on the challenge of providing a full tablet PC that will be a reference in design, for less than 100 dollars. Their Moby prototype, capable of supporting Full HD 1080p and Flash technologies could become tomorrows’ school bag.

Speaking during the Future for Publishing conference in New York, Weili Dai, co-founder of Marvell, stated that she is certain that a tablet could become the device on which school and university activities are conducted, substituting the kilograms of books which need to be transported thanks to access to a multitude of online sources.

To plead her case, the Marvell representative brought up the fact that children have to carry heavy school bags, leading to back, neck and shoulder pain. She also mentioned that digital content could be brought up to date a lot faster than printed school material.


A full tablet for 100 dollars
But for the tablet to find a place in the world of education, it has to be accessible to all. The latest generation models, carrying a processor adapted for mobile use, are for the moment positioned within the 400 to 600 dollar range.

Some companies have tried to bring 100 dollar tablets to fruition, with the results until now indicating that it isn’t feasible. This is what Marvell are attempting to do though with the Moby prototype which uses a conventional LCD screen, rather than e-paper screens better adapted for reading text.

This isn’t a product lacking features either: it will come with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity in addition to a GPS chip and FM Radio, all powered by the new Armada 600 range of processors unveiled at the end of 2009. The only information not specified was the screen size and the onboard operating system, which could be either Windows Mobile or Android.

Weili Dai stated that the pilot project would be conducted in the United States, with Moby tablets to be used in partnership with apprenticeship training in new media. Could and alternative use also be OLPC? (One Laptop Per Child - A project on which we find Marvell one of the most fervent supporters).