India will witness the debut of the world’s cheapest tablet computer, Aakash, on Wednesday. The device, to be made available for $35, will go on sale in December.
According to reports in the Indian media, the cost of making the device is close to double the sales price. “The difference will be subsidized by the Indian government as part of the an ambitious plan to make information and communication technologies an integral part of education,” India’s Economic Times reported.
The newspaper also reported that 100,000 tablets have been ordered initially and about a million pieces will be produced in the next stage if the pilot works well.
The device will be manufactured by Datawind, a UK-based company run by Suneet Singh Tuli, a Canadian of Indian descent. “It will cost as much as a vegetarian meal for two at a five-star hotel in Delhi,” Tuli was quoted as saying in a news report. “We wanted to show the world when China can break price points, India can do it better,” he added. Datawind’s other products include PocketSurfer2, an ultra-thin device to surf the web.
The new tablet will run on Google’s Android platform. It will have WiFi connectivity for accessing the web and cloud storage. The device comes with 256 MB RAM, a 2 GB SD memory card, a 32 GB expandable memory slot, and two USB ports.
This device is said to be the brainchild of Kapil Sibal, the man who holds the dual portfolios of telecom and human resources in the current Indian government. Initially showed off as a $10 laptop, the device has changed its form and is being launched as a tablet now.
The history of this tablet is not without its controversy. Sibal has been criticized for the delay in delivering the device. Arguments have been put forth in favor of and against of the upcoming device.
Whatever the background, as India braces for the launch of this cheap device, competition among tablet manufacturers will surely heat up and it will ultimately benefit the consumers.
Some of the most inexpensive tablets currently available in the Indian market are:
- Magnum Pepper tablet – $99
- Wespro ePad – $162
- Beetel Teletech’s Magiq – $182
- Mercury’s mTab – $192
- iberry 7 inch – $142 (upcoming)
- iberry 10 inch – $303 (upcoming)
