Am sure most of you have seen this but thought would share anyways... quite an impressive accomplishment...equivalent to a Nano for the IPAD market...well done!
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UPDATE (7.20 p.m. IST): This blog was updated with quotes from officials and more details about the Aaakash tablet. Scroll to the end for tech specifications.
After over a year’s wait since a prototype was first shown to reporters last year, proud Indian officials publicly unveiled the world’s cheapest tablet computer on Wednesday.
The device, widely known as the “$35 tablet,” is being seen not just as a valuable educational tool for graduate students, but as a milestone in India’s development from a tech services country to one that innovates and develops original products.
At least that’s what Indian officials and hardware developers at the New Delhi launch appear to be hoping.
DataWind Ltd. Chief Executive Suneet Singh Tuli, whose company is manufacturing the product, said at the launch that along the way he heard a lot of skepticism, including that “it can’t be done by Indians.”
“This is a made-in-India product,” said Mr. Tuli. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this.”
The tablet, which was developed in partnership with IIT Rajasthan, actually costs closer to $50 – the government is paying 2,250 rupees each for the first 100,000 batch of them, according to DataWind. Previously it was referred to as the Sakshat tablet, but now it’s being called “Aakash,” or “sky.”
Mr. Tuli said at the launch that the goal is to get the price down to $35, and eventually maybe to $10.
A clearly overjoyed Kapil Sibal, the human resources development minister, whose ministry oversaw the development of the device, billed it as India’s as a gift to the world’s children – and an anti-poverty tool.
“Today we demonstrate to the world that we will not falter in our resolve to secure our future for our children,” he said. “Let me not limit the achievements of this great enterprise to only our children…this is for all of you who are disempowered.”
IIT Rajasthan director Prem Kalra, also at the launch, said India would one day be known as a “hardware hub,” rather than a software hub.
About 500 students from government engineering schools were at the launch and were among the first to get their very own Aakash devices. These students will be field-testing the devices and will have to provide feedback within 45 days, for the next version.
Suyash Katiyar, a 21-year-old student who was at the launch, said he was pleased to see icons for developer tools and Facebook on the main screen, as a well as the option to use a QWERTY keyboard. He did say at first brush it was a little slow and the “resistive” touchscreen meant that he had to press quite hard at times. This could make fast-paced five-fingered typing a little difficult.
Aakash will only be available to Indian graduate students, but there will be a commercial version, too. Called UbiSlate, it will cost around $70.
Mr. Sibal warned the audience that some tech watchers might mock the device but he suggested that Indians should say this to naysayers: “It is not the device that is crude, it is your comments that are crude.”
Technical specifications:
Operating system: Android 2.2
Screen: 7″ resistive
Processor: 366 MHz + HD video co-processor
RAM: 256 MB
Flash memory: 2GB + 2GB Micro-SD (expandable up to 32 GB)
USB ports: 2
Network: WiFi (GPRS & 3G options)
India Elated Over ?$35? Aakash Tablet
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gulfIndian
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India Elated Over ?$35? Aakash Tablet
A tablet with such specs designed and manufactured in India at $35 or even at $50 is certainly an achievement, something we can all be proud of.
India Elated Over ?$35? Aakash Tablet
This evening BBC (America) reported the story as a $60 computer !!
