$35 tablet computer in India aims to cater the poor
$35 tablet computer called Aakash or SkyApple iPad = $365. Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet = $199. Now...India's tablet computer at a measly price of only $35? Yes, you read it right.
Called the "Aakash" which means "Sky", the world's cheapest touch-screen tablet computer was recently launched in India at a priced of just $35.
During the press launch in New Delhi, Kapil Sibal, India’s minister for human resources development, handed out 500 Aakash tablets to a group of students, and invited them to test out the device.
Manufactured by UK-based company DataWind and Indian Institute of Technology (Rajasthan), the $35 basic touch screen tablet can be used for functions like word processing, web browsing and video conferencing. It has a 7-inch touch screen, Android 2.2 OS, a pair of USB ports, 256 megabytes of RAM and has a three-hour battery life.
The Indian government will make a pilot run of 100,000 Aakash tablets available to students and intends to deliver 10 million tablets to students across India over the next few years.
This moves tends to give digital access to students in small towns and villages across India, which lags behind its rivals in connectivity.
"The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide," Sibal said.
Called the "Aakash" which means "Sky", the world's cheapest touch-screen tablet computer was recently launched in India at a priced of just $35.
During the press launch in New Delhi, Kapil Sibal, India’s minister for human resources development, handed out 500 Aakash tablets to a group of students, and invited them to test out the device.
Manufactured by UK-based company DataWind and Indian Institute of Technology (Rajasthan), the $35 basic touch screen tablet can be used for functions like word processing, web browsing and video conferencing. It has a 7-inch touch screen, Android 2.2 OS, a pair of USB ports, 256 megabytes of RAM and has a three-hour battery life.
The Indian government will make a pilot run of 100,000 Aakash tablets available to students and intends to deliver 10 million tablets to students across India over the next few years.
This moves tends to give digital access to students in small towns and villages across India, which lags behind its rivals in connectivity.
"The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide," Sibal said.
Photo: AP /Gurinder Osan