Posted on 10/05/2011 10:17:09 AM PDT by MBT ARJUN
India has launched what it says is the world's cheapest touch-screen tablet computer, priced at just $35 (£23).
Costing a fraction of Apple's iPad, the subsidised Aakash is aimed at students.
It supports web browsing and video conferencing, has a three-hour battery life and two USB ports, but questions remain over how it will perform.
Officials hope the computer will give digital access to students in small towns and villages across India, which lags behind its rivals in connectivity.
At the launch in the Indian capital, Delhi, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal handed out 500 Aakash (meaning sky) tablets to students who will trial them.
He said the government planned to buy 100,000 of the tablets. It hopes to distribute 10 million of the devices to students over the next few years.
"The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide," Mr Sibal said.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Good for them!
,b>Specifications</b>:
Hardware:
- Processor: 366 Mhz. Connexant with Graphics accelerator and HD Video processor
- Memory (RAM): 256MB RAM / Storage (Internal): 2GB Flash
- Storage (External): 2GB to 32GB Supported
- Peripherals (USB2.0 ports, number): 1 Standard USB port
- Audio out: 3.5mm jack / Audio in: 3.5mm jack
- Display and Resolution: 7” display with 800x480 pixel resolution
- Input Devices: Resistive touch screen
- Connectivity and Networking: GPRS and WiFi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g
- Power and Battery: Up to 180 minutes on battery. AC adapter 200-240 volt range.
Software:
- OS: Android 2.2
- Document Rendering
* Supported Document formats: DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP
* PDF viewer, Text editor
- Multimedia and Image Display
* Image viewer supported formats: PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF
* Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV, WMA
* Supported video formats: MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, FLV
- Communication and Internet
* Web browser - Standards Compliance: xHTML 1.1 compliant, JavaScript 1.8 compliant
* Separate application for online YouTube video
- Safety and other standards compliance
* CE certification / RoHS certification
The tablet also comes with a 12-month replacement warranty.
The Aakash tablet also has support for Wi-Fi connectivity and includes a microphone and stereo earphones.
The Aakash tablet is in fact DataWind’s UBISlate 7 tablet. Weighing 350 grams the tablet has 256MB RAM and an internal storage of 2GB Flash memory.
The tablet will also be commercially available from November at a price of Rs 2999
Is the $35 the ultimate cost or the price after subsidy? I’d be curious to know what the ultimate cost is, to really understand how it stacks up to more conventional units.
Two cheers for Linux, by the way, which makes it all possible.
I believe it will be sold at a regular price of $60 to the public at large.
I read somewhere that its comes around 50$ without subsidized.
I want one!!
The original.........
That looks just like my Pandigital..........
It has the same processor that runs an ATM.
I’ll believe it when I can buy it. Sounds pretty cool though.
Those are actually decent specs for the price. Tablets in general are going to be dirt cheap within a few years, IMHO.
Abacus Tally Machine?..........
I’m hopeful, but also still remembering my Mom’s advice of “You get what you pay for”. Hopefully these tablets won’t end up having the lifespan of a pet store goldfish.
Even that one was first made in China.
Says it uses Android.
Not according to WIKI. It was first used in Mesopotamia, 2700-2300 BC, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been simultaneously discovered elsewhere.
From wiki:
The earliest known written documentation of the Chinese abacus dates to the 2nd century BC.
I am not a big fan of the cheaper touchscreen technology used, but if I can plug in a $5 USB kb and $5 mouse, that’s a neat little system.
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