Friday, July 23, 2010

India Develops World's Cheapest Tablet (Rs 1500 / $ 35)




"The sun will shine on Indian students in 2011" - Kapil Sibal

In a move which is set to take the wind out of the sails of companies planning to tap the tablet computer market, specially of players who are bundling this device with educational content, the Minister of Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal unveiled a hand-held computer in New Delhi on Thursday which will be available for students from next year at a cost of $35 or roughly Rs 1,500.

The wi-fi-enabled, seven-inch wide touch screen device, which is yet to get a name(might be christened 'Sakshat' ), is the result of continuous research and development by professors and experts at the Indian Institute of Science(IISc), Bangalore and Indian Institutes of Techonolgy (IIT). The device developed by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) forms part of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT).



Form Factor 10 inches long and 5 inches wide
Display Around 7 inch (diagonally)

Features
1. 2GB RAM
2. 7 inch wide LCD touch screen
3. Track pad
4. Embedded webcam
5. Microphone
6. PDF reader
7. Open office
8. Scilab
9. Linux platform
10. Possibility of installing suitable filmware upgradation
11. Multimedia Content Viewer (supported formats : pdf, docx, ods, adp, jpeg, gif, png, bmp, odt, zip, avchd, avi, ac3, xls )
12. Media player capable
13. Internet browsing with flash plug-in
14. video web conferencing
15. Cloud computing option
16. Remote device management capability
17. Wireless communication for audio/video input and output

Connectivity
1. Two USB ports
2. Fixed Ethernet port
3.
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g wireless connectivity

Power Options
1. Conventional battery
2. Solar Power option for energy strived Indian villages
3. Powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas

Memory Options
1. 2 GB RAM
2. External hard-disks through USB ports
3. Memory card slots (high possibility)

Availability Early 2011 through Higher Educational institutes
Initial Manufacturing place Taiwan


If the government can find a manufacturer, the Linux operating system-based computer would be the latest in a string of "world's cheapest" innovations to hit the market out of India, which is home to the 100,000 rupee ($2,127) compact Nano car, the 749 rupees ($16) water purifier and the $2,000 open-heart surgery.

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