If the giant, oversized, heavy, dual-screen Kno tablet doesn’t appeal, then maybe the smaller, cheaper, iPad-like single screen Kno tablet will.
Kno isn’t really targeting its dual-screen tablet at mainstream consumers. Instead, it’s being targeted at students who want to replace their laptop and their textbooks with one, universal device capable of fulfilling both roles. But its newly-announced tablet, revealed at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier today, is a clear attempt to increase its appeal and up potential sales.
The new Kno tablet will be a single-screen device very similar to the Apple iPad. However, the screen will still be 14.1-inches across, meaning it’ll still be a beast in tablet terms. And the idea remains the same: giving students the opportunity to ditch their textbooks and leave their laptops at home.
The original dual-screen Kno has been criticized for its hefty size and weight (a truly arm-aching 5.5 pounds), which whether it’s “the most powerful tablet anyone has ever made” or not does seem a little over the top. This new tablet will at least cut that in half immediately. And it’ll still come with the same software and marketplace offering digital textbooks.
Kno co-founder Osman Rashid said:
Even though the Kno pays for itself in 13 months, the smaller up front investment of the single screen version will allow more students to use our learning platform.I’m left wondering why any students would actually choose the larger model. Does anyone actually need 28.2-inches of touchscreen estate to play with? Especially when millions seem perfectly content with the 9.7-inches of goodness offered by the iPad. And if anything Apple is looking at shrinking the screen size rather than enlarging it.
