The $35 computer soon to be unveiled

**harrybarracuda** · 28-09-2011, 06:12 PM

NEW DELHI: The much-awaited $35 computing-cum-access device, to be made available to students right from primary schools to universities, will be launched on October 5.

"The computer will be launched next month," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said at a function here. "This is not just a dream, it is a reality," he added. Officials in the Ministry said the low-cost device will be launched on October 5.

Sibal said the name has already been finalised for the device and will announced at the launch. He, however, did not elaborate about the the device, which is being billed as the cheapest computer globally.

The computer will bring in immense benefits to the students and will be connected to the net and perform "all the functions that any other computer can perform. That's an enormously empowering tool", he said.

Sibal, who gave away the first IGNOU-instituted Rajiv Gandhi International Prize for technology in education development to Azim Premji in recognition of his foundation's role in the education sector, said IT has come to play an important role not only in the education sector but in other sectors as well.

He said while it gives scope to a child to transcend boundaries and acquire knowledge using the net, IT can also be used to root out corruption from the country.

"Much of the talk of corruption that we have had in the recent past will be dealt with through initiative of IT. What we need to do is to ensure the scope of human intervention which is the scope of all corruption is dealt with and IT plays an important role in finding solutions and we are in the process of doing it," he said.

The Minister, however, expressed concern over the quality of teaching in educational institutes and teachers, regretting that "we just don't have that quality teachers out there".

"For the last 64 years, we have felt that we just don't have that quality teachers out there. So one of the big initiatives of the 12th Five Year plan is going to be a mission on teacher education. "This is what we are proposing to the Government in 12th plan to make it a very central mission in one its many missions," he said.

The prototype of the low cost computing device which Sibal had unveiled in July last year is likely to be a 5/7/9 inch touchscreen gadget. It would be packed with internet browsers, PDF reader, video conferencing facilities, open office, sci-lab, media player, remote device management capability, multimedia input-output interface option, and multiple content viewer.

**dirtydog** · 28-09-2011, 06:29 PM

Is this one like the Thai $99 one that never made it?

**harrybarracuda** · 28-09-2011, 07:00 PM

The OLPC thing? Dunno.

**harrybarracuda** · 05-10-2011, 08:25 PM

5 October 2011 Last updated at 13:06 GMT

India launches Aakash tablet computer priced at $35

Millions of students will have access to the tablets, officials hope

India has launched what it says is the world's cheapest touch-screen tablet computer, priced at just $35 (£23).
Costing a fraction of Apple's iPad, the subsidised Aakash is aimed at students.
It supports web browsing and video conferencing, has a three-hour battery life and two USB ports, but questions remain over how it will perform.
Officials hope the computer will give digital access to students in small towns and villages across India, which lags behind its rivals in connectivity.
At the launch in the Indian capital, Delhi, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal handed out 500 Aakash (meaning sky) tablets to students who will trial them.
He said the government planned to buy 100,000 of the tablets. It hopes to distribute 10 million of the devices to students over the next few years.
"The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide," Mr Sibal said.

The Aakash has been developed by UK-based company DataWind and Indian Institute of Technology (Rajasthan).
It is due to be assembled in India, at DataWind's new production centre in the southern city of Hyderabad.
"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."
The company says it will also offer a commercial version of the tablet, called UbiSlate. It is expected to hit the shelves later this year, retailing for about $60.
Usability questions Mr Sibal says the device will enhance learning in India.
Experts say it does have the potential to make a huge difference to the country's education, particularly in rural areas where schools and students do not have access to libraries and up-to-date information.

Mr Sibal (right) hopes the tablet will end the 'digital divide'
But critics say it is too early to say how the Aakash will be received as most cheap tablets in the past have turned out to be painfully slow.
"The thing with cheap tablets is most of them turn out to be unusable," Rajat Agrawal of technology reviewers BGR India told Reuters news agency.
"They don't have a very good touch screen, and they are usually very slow."
Critics also point out that an earlier cheap laptop plan by the same ministry came to nothing.
In 2009, it announced plans for a laptop priced as low as $10, raising eyebrows and triggering worldwide media interest.
But there was disappointment after the "Sakshat" turned out to be a prototype of a hand-held device, with an unspecified price tag, that never materialised.

**harrybarracuda** · 06-10-2011, 01:54 PM

Android 2.2 no less. Now that's going to get Android into the hands of a lot of potential customers (and developers!).....

India produces £30 tablet computer

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

An Indian student with the supercheap 'Aakash' tablet computer(AP)

India has unveiled a cheap tablet computer saying it would deliver modern technology to the countryside and help lift villagers out of poverty.The computer called Aakash, or "sky" in Hindi, is the latest in a series of "world's cheapest" innovations in India.
Developer Datawind is selling the tablets to the government for about 45 dollars (£30) each, and subsidies will reduce that to 35 dollars (£22) for students and teachers.
Datawind says it can make about 100,000 units a month at the moment, not nearly enough to meet India's hope of getting its 220 million children online.
Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal called the announcement a message to all children of the world.
"This is not just for us. This is for all of you who are disempowered," he said. "This is for all those who live on the fringes of society."
Despite a burgeoning tech industry and decades of robust economic growth, there are still hundreds of thousands of Indians with no electricity, let alone access to computers and information that could help farmers improve yields, business start-ups reach clients, or students qualify for university.
The launch - attended by hundreds of students, some selected to help train others across the country in the tablet's use - followed five years of efforts to design a £6 computer that could bridge the country's vast digital divide.
"People laughed, people called us lunatics," ministry official N.K. Sinha said. "They said we are taking the nation for a ride."
Although the goal was not achieved, the Aakash has a colour screen and provides word processing, web browsing and video conferencing. The Android 2.2-based device has two USB ports and 256 megabytes of RAM. Despite hopes for a solar-powered version - important for India's energy-starved hinterlands - no such option is currently available.

Read more: India produces £30 tablet computer - Technology & Gadgets, Life & Style - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

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