Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resources development in India unveiled a low cost personal computing device which, apparently, will be priced at INR 1500($35). If that’s not cheap, he expects the price to drop to $20 & eventually $10 when the device goes for mass production.
The touch screen based device will have built in keyboard, 2GB RAM, WiFi connectivity and a USB port. The device will run over a 2 watt power system to suit poor power supply areas.
The HR ministry has asked various IITs in India to set up research teams to address the challenges in achieving the low price.
Device Features:
* Touch-screen
* Video-conferencing facility
* Multimedia content
* Searchable Pdf reader
* Unzip tool
* Solar Panels (later)
The reason why we are calling it a “device” and not a tablet is because we do not know how capable it is and what OS it will run on. Moreover, with the history of embarrassments the Indian Government has with technology, its really hard to say if this device will ever see the light of the day. Even if it does, it is not sure if they will be able to meet the price challenge.
2 responses to “Indian Government builds INR 1500 personal computing device”
Impossible without hefty subsidy.
[…] has reviewed the $35 Indian tablet. The tablet runs on Android OS 1.6 and boasts great features considering its low […]