{"id":10629,"date":"2011-10-07T02:10:12","date_gmt":"2011-10-07T02:10:12","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-10-07T02:10:00","modified_gmt":"2011-10-07T02:10:00","slug":"India-launches-world-s-cheapest-tablet-computer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=10629","title":{"rendered":"India launches ‘world’s cheapest’ tablet computer"},"content":{"rendered":"

India on Wednesday launched its long-awaited “computer for the masses”, unveiling a $46 tablet device designed to bring the information technology revolution to tens of millions of students. DataWind, the Canada-based manufacturer, said the government was buying 100,000 of the tablets at 2,276 rupees ($46) each to be given away for free to university and college students. The price of what has been dubbed “the world’s cheapest computer” should fall to $35 and could even be hammered down as low as $10, DataWind said at the launch in New Delhi. The computer has a seven-inch (18-centimetre) touchscreen, Wi-Fi Internet function, a multimedia player and 180 minutes of battery power.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Called the “Aakash” (“Sky”), the stylish, locally-made device uses an Android 2.2 operating system and has an external 2GB storage card and two USB ports.<\/strong> “Our goal was to break the price barrier for computing and Internet access,” DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said. “We’ve created a product that will finally bring affordable computing and Internet access to the masses.” “It ($35) is a viable number, on our way to $10 also. Maybe not today but in time. That’s the goal,” he added. The release of the Aakash has been hailed a major success for India, which is also famous for the Tata Nano – the world’s cheapest car, priced at about $2,500.<\/p>\n

But experts warned the tablet device might struggle to live up to expectations with its limited 256-megabyte random access memory (RAM). The computers will at first be distributed through universities and colleges rather than sold at shops, and the long-term marketing strategy remains unclear. Commercial manufacturers are hoping Indian customers will leapfrog personal computers to buy tablets, as millions did by buying mobile telephones instead of waiting for a landline. Apple’s internationally-popular iPad computers costs a minimum of $600 in India, with competitor Reliance Communications selling a rival tablet device at about $290. The Aakash is part of a push to increase the number of students in higher education and to give them the technological skills needed to further boost the country’s recent rapid economic growth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SOURCE<\/a>
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