In China It’s the Red Pad One
The Red Pad One
Red Pad One | Fresh off the egging incident in China over the iPhone 4S we have news that a new tablet is now available in China as well. The Android tablet known as the Red Pad One will not be available to the thundering masses though. Only card carrying Communist Party members can get this piece of technology with its attendant cost being about twice that of an Apple iPad at $1,600 US.
It appears though that the Red Pad One is meant to be less about productivity and playing games than an attempt at further control. That control would be of blogs, which as of late become a big thorn in the side of the Communist Party in China and are amassing power. Why do we say that? The new Red Pad One comes with apps that allow the user, in this case a communist party member, to check on blogs, newspapers and if a particular journalists credentials have government accreditation. China regularly sensors these blog sites to as they say “Safeguard the public”.
Bloggers Not Happy With Red Pad One
Upon hearing of the cost of the new Red Pad One many of the blogs began to heap criticism upon it. One blogger asked if it was the god of toys and further stated that they should throw in a free iPad for the price. Yet another blogger wondered how happy the taxpayer would be that $1,600 or 9,999 Yuan of public money was used this way.
Adding to the unusual features of the Red Pad One is an upgrade app that gauges public sentiment on the internet and can be purchased for 1/3rd the cost of the Red Pad One. This app in itself looks like something our politicians here in the states could use in this election year.
With over 500 million internet users and growing in China control is likely to be a major concern in the Communist party. The recent egging over iPhones, unrest over housing costs and the inability of people to move freely in their own country will give the leaders challenges if they are to keep a cap on things.
As the average citizen begins to enjoy the freedom that more items like the May 2011 release of the iPad2 are providing, it will become increasingly difficult to put the genie back in the bottle. I’m sure this isn’t the end of this story. Stay tuned.
Red Pad One – Yahoo! News Search Results
2 comments on “In China It’s the Red Pad One”
Just dropping in to show some love…I thought you had a well written post here. Keep up the good work!
It looks like Android is bowing to the communist party with this tablet. It almost looks as if they made it just for them. This isn’t going to have much success in the overall Chinese market though. Chinese are crazy about Ipad. I know many who own one, but have never met one who owns an Android tablet.
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