The Making of Pinig Kids Tablets: Act 2, Scene 1
Choosing the Hardware for the Pinig Kids Tablet
Wait! Hang on. This is not a lesson in microeconomics! Having concretized our vision of providing customized tablets to different segments of people, we decided to begin our journey with kids tablets. (Read about why kids tablets and creation of our logo).
This phase of our journey began with identifying the right device. For this, we had to first understand price sensitivity in the Indian market. In other words, we needed to know how much parents would be willing to spend on an educational device for their children. We spoke to parents, took surveys, did a competitor analysis and read up a plethora of different reports online. This helped us identify the price range, within which our complete model would need to be planned.
We wanted to provide the best device possible in the identified price range. We wanted kids to have a wonderful experience with the tablet. Our objective was to make learning fun, and this could not be achieved without kids thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Parameters that Defined the Tech Specs We Chose
Here’s a look at the reasons for our decisions surrounding the hardware for our kids tablet range:
The Back: Although plastic would have been cheaper for us, we opted for a metal back. This makes the tablet more durable — not only does a plastic surface scratch more easily than a metal surface, metal also protects the internal components better. Moreover, metal is much more effective at dissipating heat than plastic. And, of course, metal makes the tablet looks classier than plastic. We didn’t want to compromise on the look and feel of the device, just because it was going to be handed over to kids.
Screen: The greatest apprehension about providing a kids tablet was the impact of screen time on the eyes. So, we did all we could to minimize eye fatigue. For this, we chose the following parameters for the screen:
· A large 6.9 inch size
· High Definition (HD)
· The best resolutions in its category (1280 x 720 pixels)
· IPS display technology (ensures colors appear consistent when viewed from different angles)
· One Glass Solution (OGS)
Speed: Kids are impatient. To meet our objective of providing great user experience, we had to choose a powerful processor. In fact, we opted for better processing power than was available in the kids tablet category in India.
· 1.3 GHz (means the clock beats 1.3 billion times per second, making the communication between the processor and the tablet’s memory super fast)
· Quad Core (means that there are four internal processing cores, helping you get things done quickly)
Dual Camera: The front camera is 2MP. While this is the best in the kids tablet category, we chose a low resolution for the front camera so that video calling would not create problems with the bandwidths available across the country. We imagined kids having video calls with grandparents or maybe parents while they were traveling on work. The back camera is 5MP, with LED flash.
Connectivity: Initially, we had decided on a wifi only device, especially considering the tech specs being provided by competitors. Remember the survey we had conducted? A look at that revealed a fairly high percentage parents who wanted to share the device with their kids. Moreover, some parents of older kids wanted a calling device so that their children would not demand a separate smartphone! Also, most working parents wanted their children to be able to reach out to them, whenever necessary. Hence, our decision to offer a dual SIM tablet, with 2G calling and 3G.
Android: Since Android is open source, we could create a “mother” app for the kids tablets. This app would allow us to troubleshoot any software issues remotely and also upgrade the app package as kids got older, without having to get the device to our service centers. Moreover, we wanted parents to have the flexibility to download other apps from Google Play, as desired.
