INDIAN DEBUTS WORLD’S CHEAPEST TABLETS

In September last year it was reported that India had come out with the prototype of a touchscreen tablet PC said to cost only 1/14 the price of an iPad. And it seems they are really serious about it.

Yesterday, India launched its much-anticipated “computer for the masses”, saying that it is an effort to meet Indian’s hope to get its 220 million children online and to lift the rural poor out of poverty.

The world’s cheapest tablets known as Aakash (translated as Sky) are developed by budget manufacturer DataWind.

The Aakash tablet is being sold for $45 to the general public, with subsidised $35 (approx. 1,700 Rupees) versions selling to students and teachers.

The Aakash is equipped with an Android 2.2 OS, 7-inch touch screen, a pair of USB ports, and 256 megabytes of RAM, according to the New York Times. Sounds really not bad for only $35.