India unveils Rs 1,500 tablet PC

The government proposes to give the tablet computers to students at half the price.
The 7-inch touch screen access-cum-computing device, popularly known as $35 PC, was launched by the Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, almost five years after the idea was first mooted by the ministry.

Named Aakash, the price of the tablet PC has now gone up the widely quoted $35 price tag. While the manufacturing cost of the device reached $37.98, its price now stands at $49.98 (Rs 2,276) after adding transportation, warranty and other costs. While the device will cost the government Rs 2,276, the HRD ministry will of­fer a 50 per cent subsidy to st­udents.

Initially, the tablet PC will be distributed among post-secondary students from class 9 onwards through their institutions, under the 12th Five Year Plan. The first lot of one lakh tablets for post-secondary students will be made available to states at Rs 1,750 per tablet till the end of this year.

“Our ultimate aim is that in the coming years this tablet sh­ould cost less than $10. Da­tawind has said that if an order of one million units is placed, the cost of the tablet (to the government) would be Rs 1,750 ($35), on which the government will offer a 50 per cent subsidy (while giving it to students),” Sibal said here after unveiling the device.

The government hopes that it will be able to bring down the cost of the device to as low as Rs 500 (about $10) in future. “As we will scale up manufacturing capacity, the prices will fall. My target is to provide ta­blet for $10 to our children in the coming years,” Sibal said. Though the low cost tablet com­puter has been developed specifically for students with the aim of bridging the ‘digital divide’ between the rich and poor, a commercial version of the device is also expected to hit the market in November with a retail tag of Rs 2,999.

At its launch ceremony, the device was distributed among 500 college students to get feedback from them.

The tablet PC has been developed and manufactured by DataWind Ltd, a Canadian company, at a plant in Hyderabad in partnership with IIT-Rajasthan.

India unveils Rs 1,500 tablet PC

New Delhi: India unveiled a Rs 1,500 (around $ 30) tablet PC designed specifically for students.

"If more companies decide to manufacture a similar device, prices will come down automatically," Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said after unveiling the low cost-access-cum computing device here.

The device would be made available to students in 2011.

When the ministry floated the concept of a low cost laptop some years ago, officials said it would cost Rs 500 ($ 10). It will now cost about three times the initial projections.

The ministry expects the prices to drop to Rs 1,000 ($ 20) and reach Rs 500 ($ 10) as innovations are introduced.

The device, no bigger than a conventional laptop, is a single unit system with a touch screen and a built in keyboard along with 2GB RAM, Wi-Fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas.

"This is real and tangible and we will take it forward. Sun will rise for the Indian students in 2011," he said.

The ministry also invited private players to produce similar low cost computers.

"When we started the project, the response from the private sector was lukewarm. Now many are willing to join the innovation," Sibal said.

The ministry started its efforts by holding discussions on this concept with a group of experts at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Bombay, a ministry official said.

The low cost tablets will be distributed in institutions by the HRD ministry. The final price will depend on the transportation cost.

"We will give some subsidy on the device. As far as transport is concerned, if the transport cost in less, the government can bear that as well," Sibal added.

students laptop for Rs.1500 | Indian govt. has released Tabl

Hyderabad boys develop Ave, an Android tablet PC at 12,999

Kulbhushan Lal, ThinkDigit.com 

A new tablet PC enters into the fray, iPhone 4S becomes the costliest smartphone in India and Motorola RAZR makes its debut in India. All this and more news from the world of gadgets and gaming.

Teenagers Sareddy Chiman Prakash and Nikhil of Hyderabad have developed a tablet PC called 'Ave'. Ave tablet PC will be launched in the market at a price tag of Rs 12,999.

The tablet was unveiled by Andhra Pradesh Information Technology and Communications Minister, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, in Hyderabad last week. It will be manufactured by a UK-based company, Sareddy Technologies, which is owned by Prakash's father.

The Ave tablet runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a 7-inch display. The tablet has an internal storage of 8 GB, which can be expanded up to 32 GB. On connectivity front, the Ave tablet supports 3G and Wi-Fi facilities.

The launch of the Ave comes days after the Indian government launched its ultra low-cost tablet called 'Aakash'. The Aakash tablet, commercially available for Rs 2,999, was aimed to help bridge the ongoing technology boom with the rural India. Of late, we've seen a series of low-cost tablet launches.

Beetel Teletech recently launched Beetel Magiq II for Rs 9,799, while Reliance launched its 3G Tab for Rs 12,999.

We had recently reported that DataWind and Reliance Industries Limited are prepping an ultra low-cost 4G tablet, which will be priced between Rs 4,000-5,000.