Kno Tablet Aims to Replace Textbooks

2010 has been called the year of the tablet PC by many.  While most of these tablets focus on media consumption and portability, Kno, Inc. is trying something new.  Kno, Inc. is a new start-up company, and their first product is the Kno tablet.  The Kno tablet stands out from the crowd with its size as well as its increased usability when compared to other tablets.  Kno, Inc.’s website, Kno.com, states that they have “revolutionized the textbook, higher education, and learning itself in one crazy, bold move.”  This is true - the size of the tablet is definitely bold.

The Kno tablet is equipped with two 14.1” capacitive touchscreens which fold like a book so the user can use both screens simultaneously or fold one screen back to create a single-screen interface.  Each screen has 1440 X 900 resolution, making a crisp picture of any image.  The tablet weighs 5.5 pounds (the iPad weighs 1.5 pounds) and should get six to eight hours of battery life, each screen with its own battery.  It runs on a low-power Nvidia Tegra 2 graphics chip, helping the battery life, and comes with 16 gigabytes of built-in storage.  This is enough memory, the Kno website claims, to store eight semesters’ worth of textbooks, notes, and other documents.

Behind all of that hardware, the tablet uses a browser-based operating system with built-in productivity applications, such as a calculator, whiteboard, calendar, internet, and flash cards.  Application development will also be open, so any company could develop an application that a customer could then buy and install on their Kno tablet.

As it is noted in the article "Why Universities Should Make Textbooks Available on eReaders", years of carrying heavy books on one’s back can certainly take its toll – even on the younger, more healthy individual (dbReaders).  The Kno is obviously designed for a student market, and the company website is full of images of college students using the device. The large screens allow textbooks to be displayed without cropping or distorting the image in any way.  Also, the onboard applications allow note-taking either on a notepad or in the textbook itself.  These notes are then uploaded to a server, allowing a student to view the textbook from a computer later on with the notes intact.  Graphics can also be pulled into a notes section so that a student can study them later.

While no concrete price has been announced, the CEO of Kno has stated that the price should fall well below $1000.  While this may be a bit more expensive than other tablets or e-readers on the market, the benefit of large screens and note-taking capabilities make it more usable than other tablets slated for release.

While announcing the price, the CEO also made clear that the tablet would actually pay itself off within one or two years since digital textbooks are cheaper than printed textbooks.  Assuming the tablet is used upwards of two years by a full-time university student, the investment should pay off.  It also helps that Kno has negotiated deals with many publishers, and their website claims that 90% of higher education textbooks will be available on the device.

While there have been complaints about the Kno, most of them have been about size.  Devin Coldewey of Crunch Gear complained, “I’m sorry, but the entire point of this form factor is portability and ease of use.  How can you use it at all, when you’re too busy trying not to fall over from the weight?”  In the end, the success of the Kno tablet, and of Kno, Inc., will depend on how well it can justify its large size.  It is quite a bit larger than the Kindle or the Nook, so if portability is a factor to customers, the Kno may not catch on.  However, for what it is designed to do - read textbooks, take notes, and do anything else that a college student needs to do - it excels.