Well a Canadian Tech company was hired by the Indian Government and other Indian businesses to produce a tablet computer similar to I-Pad 2 which the average Indian citizen could afford. The Canadian company put every ounce of energy and inginuity into developing the most powerful cost effective tablet computer ever built.
Today it was unveiled as the The Aakash tablet or "sky" in Hindi. The Tablet will be available at two different prices to the general public. The most expensive price will be for everyone at a retail cost of 60$ but the Indian Government is subsidizing the tablet for students with a retail price of only 35$. However that is not all the Canadian company Datawind has said that if enough units are ordered they can produce and retail the device even cheaper. The end goal is to retail the device at under 10$ in India if the Government and corporations purchase enough of them.
Of course at 10$ the device is not the power house of I-Pad 2 or even in range of the majority of the competitors. However it is still a tablet device and at as low as 10$ it is a lot of bang for your buck. The 7-inch tablet is equipped with 256MB of RAM, 800-by-480 pixel resolution and 2GB flash storage. The device runs the Android 2.2OS and a 660 mhz processor which has been called "Decent"
The device is expected to launch in other poor regions around the world very soon after the Indian roll out in November. Shortly after releasing in many burgeoning markets an improved slightly more expensive version is expected to hit stores in US and the UK, to everyones surprise Canada is not listed officially yet and nobody knows whether the device will be sold in its home country.
The slightly improved and more expensive model will feature GPRS - general packet radio service, enabling the device to be used as a cell phone and adding functionality not available in the cheaper version. No word on the retail price of the high end model or the end goal retail price.
We all know that a few years ago computer companies raced to create 100$ laptops for sale and use in third world countries. laptops like the OLPC XO-1 found a lot of success in some countries and other cheap laptops raced into the market. India is also known for fostering the creation of budget products for its impoverished population such a super cheap cars and other electronic devices.
Do you think this tablet will benefit the third world? At 10$ or even the starting retail price of 35$(60$) is this worth picking up if you live in India or a poverty stricken market? Would you be interested in the higher end model planned for the US and UK if priced similar to the Indian pricing? Could the device find success where dozens of tablets currently fight for their very survival?
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
