India Develops World's Cheapest Tablet

[Alvas.]

India already has the World's Cheapest Car, the World's Cheapest Water-Purifier....and much more.

And now, India has the World's cheapest Tablet too -

It seems like the Indian government is all set to push modern technological gadget out to the masses; first it was the $10 laptop and now they are advancing towards tablet PC.

While the Apple iPad is yet to launch in India, this latest gadget: Sakshat, is the cheapest tablet that is expected to go on sale by next year. Price? Well, 35 bucks and you get to fiddle around with the tablet, forever.

To sweeten the deal, the Human Resources Minister of the Union of India present in the event also added that the they are working with private manufactures to bring down the tablet price even further, at around $20 apiece.

Specifications of Sakshat Tablet

Although unconfirmed, from what we know: Sakshat tablet is touch sensitive, powered with 2GB RAM, connects to Wi-Fi, has USB support, has a built in keyboard — and uses the Linux platform. The best part, for the students in India, is the tablet bundles 500 web based video courses connecting 8500 colleges across the country. Another 1100 courses are in the making. Really, what more do you expect for $35?

But at one point, it is hard to digest the fact that for $35 (INR 1500) you can buy this tablet. I reckon the low-price is due to the rigorous cost cutting and heavy customization efforts put in, as this tablet mainly functions to execute simpler task to meet the needs of end user.

Can the Sakshat tablet stand strongly amidst the tablet war? Or is it too underpowered to be given any attention?

-Source

Another Source

[Huckleberry Pie]

Besides the fact that it uses Linux to cut licensing costs, it does seem like an exploitable toy to tinker with, like the Linux-powered Leapfrog Didj and Explorer, which also costs probably as much as that tablet.

[Alvas.]

The ones you mentioned cost probably not as low as this one, since this is the cheapest. Its touch sensitive...and has around 2GB of ram for just 1500 INR($35) and they have promised us the costs to come down to at least $20,$10.

[_Ray]

Besides the fact that it uses Linux to cut licensing costs, it does seem like an exploitable toy to tinker with, like the Linux-powered Leapfrog Didj and Explorer, which also costs probably as much as that tablet.

Haha, the Didj runs on Linux? My brother has one but he seldomly uses it anymore . . .

Is it possible to hack it and do cool Linux things with it?

[Huckleberry Pie]

Yep, it does, and there were efforts in porting apps and games like Quake and a couple more to it.

As for the tablet I would like to see it being sold in more places besides India. Being that it runs on Linux and that it's dirt cheap makes it quite attractive.