Thai government looks to provide one tablet per child

With election season heating up in Thailand, the ruling Pheu Thai Party is looking to deliver on one of its biggest campaign promises -- to provide every student in the country with a tablet computer.

The process has been slow going, but according to Thai news provider the Bangkok Post, the government plans to make headway in February when it purchases 900,000 tablets for schoolchildren.

The Bangkok Post reports that three Chinese tablet manufacturers -- Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo® -- are competing to provide the technology to the Thai government at about $75 per tablet. In total, the initial phase of the process is expected to cost 2.2 billion baht, or around $70 million, and will put tablets in the hands of primary schoolchildren around the country.

Under the government's proposal, tablets would have to be WiFi-enabled, come with a storage capacity of 8 to 16 gigabytes and include a 7-inch touchscreen.

This isn't the only effort being made to supply children with tablet computers. In November, the nonprofit project One Laptop Per Child revealed that it might begin delivering tablets rather than laptops around the world, citing the mobile device's longer battery life and greater portability.