Kno Dual-Display Tablet Gets Funded: Launch By End Of 2010

The Kno dual-display education tablet is on track for a launch before the end of 2010, after the company announced it has secured $46m in new funding.  According to Babur Habib, CTO and Kno co-founder, the company will begin "beta testing this fall and ultimately for the first customer ship later this year."

Unfortunately what could still be the biggest stumbling block, price, is yet to be announced.  Looking at the hardware, it's hard to imagine how Kno could come much underneath their apparent sub-$1,000 predictions: the two 14-inch capacitive touchscreens alone are going to add significantly to their costs.

[via GigaOM]

Press Release:

Kno, Inc. Secures $46 Million in Equity and Debt Financing

Revolutionary Digital Textbook and Learning Platform Aimed at Education Market Gears Up for First Customer Product Ship

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kno, Inc., a groundbreaking digital textbook and dynamic learning platform for students, today announced it has secured $46 million in the company's latest round of Equity and Debt financing. Andreessen Horowitz, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, was the lead investor with Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital also participating. The company plans to use the new capital to continue its product innovation and assist with the first shipment of product later this year.

"We are thrilled by the support from Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital to help us continue to deliver on our product roadmap and ultimately deliver on our vision to bring innovative digital technology to the world of education."

"Kno is gearing up to launch the first digital device that we believe will fundamentally improve the way students learn," said Osman Rashid, CEO and Co-founder of Kno, Inc. "We are thrilled by the support from Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital to help us continue to deliver on our product roadmap and ultimately deliver on our vision to bring innovative digital technology to the world of education."

Kno, short for knowledge, is a ground breaking learning platform that blends a unique two-panel, touch-screen tablet, digital textbooks, course materials, note-taking, web access, educational applications, digital media, sharing and more into a powerful and engaging educational experience not available on any other tablet or eReader on the market today.

"We are strong believers in the disruption of untapped markets and education is a prime example of a sector in need of digital innovation," said Marc Andreessen, Co-Founder of Andreessen Horowitz and Kno Board Member. "Kno is poised to lead the market with its digital textbook and learning platform and we are excited to be part of the revolution."

"The Kno will propel education into the 21st century with an all-in-one device and learning platform that gives students access to digital textbooks, course materials, email, video, the web and more, and enhance their learning experience," said Babur Habib, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Kno, Inc. "We plan to use the infusion of capital to get the Kno into the hands of students for beta testing this fall and ultimately for the first customer ship later this year."

According to the newly released "E-Textbooks in Higher Education" report from Simba Information, a leading authority in market intelligence in the publishing industry, E-textbooks are growing at an estimated compound annual growth rate of nearly 49% through 2013, when they will account for more than 11% of textbook sales.

And, according to Forrester Research, tablet sales in the US will go from 3.5 million units in 2010 to 20.4 million units in 2015, a 42 percent compound annual growth rate. Starting in 2012, tablets will outsell netbooks, a device commonly used by many college students today.

About Kno, Inc.

Kno, Inc. is fundamentally changing the way students learn, by offering new ways to digitally consume, organize, create and share knowledge. Kno is a transformative two-panel tablet that artfully blends the intuitive experience of the conventional textbook with a rich digital world of video, note-taking, sharing and more. Its open platform encourages publishers and developers to create and distribute innovative education applications and content. Kno, Inc. was founded in May 2009 by Osman Rashid, co-founder of Chegg and Babur Habib, a consumer electronics veteran. Kno has a world-class management team from Apple, Cisco, HP, Intel, TiVo, Chegg and Palm. The company has received funding from Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Floodgate, Ron Conway, Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital and is based in Santa Clara, California. For more information go to www.kno.com and follow Kno at: http://twitter.com/GoodtoKNO.