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?

Unbelievable - and I mean that.

Impressive stuff

This.

Reminds me of the $100 laptop thing that dragged on for years and then ended up costing quite a bit more. Except for this one is ever less likely to happen than that.

Difference is the 100$ laptop didn't recieve a release date and the final product was not completed when it was announced. Intel partnered up with the initial manufacturer and later released a slightly more expensive device 188$. The origional 100$ laptop (Which later got priced higher) saw big success in some countries however estimates say the device sold only alittle over 1-million units to date. Also keep in mind that the manufacturer cut several corners such as not testing the unit well before launch.

The video and presentation clearly shows this device is not a prototype, its roll out is starting in November. Thats next month and the device is already in the hands of the Indian Government. It wouldn't make sense if the device was plagued with the issues of the hundred dollar laptop which in the end was a success.

It was the 100$ laptop that caused the creation of netbooks. Today the market is flooded with cheap net books I have seen them retail as cheap as 89.99$ on sale. So the device was definatly successful in the long term.

This tablet shows much more promise as the device is already tested and in mass production. Over a 1,000 units are already in the hands of students. With 500 given free at the launch event. The full roll out next month.

There is no turning back the device is already proven. It would be impossible for it to be plagued with the issues of the 100$ laptop!

This is really impressive!

Was talking about the $10 price tag.

The $60 price without subsidies is possible, it's just likely to be a rubbish device.

Also the $100 laptop did achieve things, just not a $100 laptop.

is this true!? - impressive

Really impressive device, and I can see its use, but it still won't actually be very good for usability...

The ten dollar price tag according to what I read and I saw on the news was assuming a very large order was made and the device was a smashing success. It was also talking about how India might further subsidize the device alongside with a cheaper production cost due to the high volume could see the device end up priced at around 10$ which is the end goal.

I won't comment on how great the device will be, its not going to be an I-Pad or PlayBook or such we already know that. But for even 60$ the device appears to be a very good deal and if the Indian Government and Datawind create a huge order and subsidize it properly a 10$ device would be mind blowing.

As for the 100$ laptop, it was a very good concept and did eventually lead to a 100$ Netbook. At least I have seen Netbooks on sale for as little as 89.99$ at last years Boxing day. That would never have happened if the 100$ Laptop hadn't been proposed and begun production. Of course I don't see 100$ Netbooks currently being sent over seas to the poor people as the 100$ laptop was intended they are being sold in wealthy markets. Sort of defeating the purpose of the cheap laptop altogether, but the device did eventually come about and achieve success via not only its direct sales success with the 180$ laptop but also all the laptops and NetBooks which followed their lead and created cheap affordable computing devices which was the initial intent of the whole program!