Religion and technology have traditionally been at odds. Whenever somebody creates a new innovative technology, somebody somewhere is going to say it’s of the devil. It’s just the nature of things. One Christian group is hoping to buck that trend, however, and appeal directly to the technology obsessed masses.
Family Christian, a company that deals in wholesome family friendly products, is now selling a tablet called edifi. It’s an Android powered tablet that’s all about the Bible and family-friendly programming. Speaking to Fox News, technology supervisor for Family Christian, Brian Honorable, says that the tablet came about as a way to “offer our customers the ability to use our Holy Bible application.”
The edifi tablet definitely has the Bible, in 27 languages no less, but what else can it do? It features the Family Christian Reader app so that you won’t have to expose yourselves to the evils of the modern publishing industry. Other apps include a browser with pre-installed safe search, Christian Internet radio and movie playback capability. While the tablet doesn’t have Google Play, user reviews indicate that you can download apps from third party Android app vendors.
The actual hardware behind the machine isn’t too shabby for its asking price of $149. It features a 7 inch touch screen at 480×800, 8GB of internal memory that can be expanded to 40GB through SD cards and HDMI output up to 1080p. The actual innards, while a mystery, are reportedly similar to that of the Kindle Fire.
Despite the number of Christians in the U.S., you would think the edifi serves a niche demographic. Most of my Christian friends are happy with their iPads or Android tablets and wouldn’t even give the newest competitor a chance. He wouldn’t cite sales numbers, but Honorable did tell Fox News that sales have been strong. It’s impressive enough that a small Christian company was able to make a tablet, so I’m willing to accept that it’s at least probably profitable for them.
If you find yourself in need of some digital salvation, the edifi might just be what you need. You can pick it up from their online store or at one of Family Christian’s many retail locations.
Check out the promotional video which features odd choices such as music from Sister Act and a video clip from Wall-E. I would have figured they would use VeggieTales instead, but to each their own.