When the story of the 7” iPad clone first appeared in my inbox, I was thinking of doing a story on current tablet trends. It seems everyone is out to get their iPad clones on the market, especially as the back-to-school season gets under way, and the holiday season approaches. But after thinking more about the purpose behind the 7” iPad clone, I began to consider the implications it had for the education sector, as well as for mobile app developers.

When it comes to education, certain devices are hailed as problem-solving gifts to dole out to students, particularly when that device is priced far below the average consumer electronic piece of hardware, making it more accessible in developed and developing countries alike. Bill Norton uncovered the 7” iPad clone during a trip to Kenya, noting its uncanny resemblance to the popular Apple device. The clone is priced right at $50, and is designed for use in the education sector. It’s only upon further investigation that you discover the device is in fact, not made by Apple at all.

Aside from the “cool factor,” this likeness to an Apple iPad is almost irrelevant for the rest of my article. I found this is probably a good time to discuss the potential behind Android’s mobile platform towards the development of education-specific applications. It’s a direction Google has been pursuing for some time, among other areas of vertical growth within Google Apps. And coupled with inexpensive devices, such apps could prove themselves quite useful for eager students, especially as interest in tablets grows.

As Google Apps continues to gain in adopters, their cloud-based features become more appealing to shrinking budgets in IT departments and education administration. One byproduct of this is the creation of tools that work in tandem with Google Apps, aiding in installs, filling in voids and adding on features.

As with other platforms, especially those offered by Google, this subset of third party developers are building out an economy all their own, addressing niche needs of those that could benefit greatly from their gap-filling capabilities. Some, such as CloudSherpa, are designed for use with Google Education apps, among others. It’s an important consideration as Google expands its Apps and mobile Android platform, and encourages more devices to be manufactured around these offerings. It’s equally as significant for publishers and developers seeking additional business opportunities.

This all drives more innovation and business opportunities around cloud-based storage and enterprise services, which is a major area of interest for hardware and software companies. Major players like HP and Dell are investing a lot of time and money in virtualization trends, targeting enterprises and private sectors in particular. For mobile devices on the high and low end of the price spectrum, we’re sure to see a lot of development in this area overall.