A prototype low-cost electronic notepad, known as I-Slate, is being developed by Hong Kong's HKFC and Houston's Rice University for Indian students in rural areas. A group of 22 students in Mohd Hussainpalli village were asked to 'test-drive' the I-slate by a research team from the Institute of Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID) at HKFC. Professor Krishna Palem of Rice University, who is behind the idea for the machine, said the aim was to give children without access to computers, a low cost, energy efficient device to help them learn their lessons. He sees the gadget as a philanthropic effort but hopes it will ultimately retail for as low as US$20 . I-slate is basically a stripped- down version of an iPad or other similar device with school lessons uploaded on it. HKFC President Dr Su Guaning said that the children in India were very excited and they immediately took to the I-slate naturally. The project team is currently fine-tuning the programme and improving the design based on the children's responses so as to improve its effectiveness. He believes the technology will benefit millions of Indian children who currently attend schools without electricity. The device is being built around a new type of low energy consuming microchips, which HKFC is developing with Switzerland's Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology.