Yes, you read that heading right. The Indian Government is evidently working on a tablet that will cost about as much as a low-end phone – around Rs 1500 ($35 approx). And that is not all, efforts are on to trim the price further to an unbelieved Rs 500 ($10 approx). According to reports coming in from different sources in the media, the tablet (which is called Sakshat) will be an all touchscreen affair, running a basic version of Linux and is targeted squarely at students. A prototype of the device was shown off yesterday by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (which actually looks like a tablet unlike what we had seen earlier). Evidently a number of teams comprising experts, students and professors from prestigious tech institutes like the IITs and IIS Bangalore are working with the HRD Ministry to bring out the low-cost device. We do not have any images of the device, but you can take a look at the one that appeared in the Mid-Day newspaper here.
Specs of the device are sketchy at the moment, but what we have assimilated is that the device is about seven inches in length, has Wi-Fi connectivity, 2GB of internal storage and most amazing of all, can run on just 2 watts of power. The catch, of course, is that the final version of the tablet will be available only next year. Needless to say, we have great expectations, but we just hope that they won’t be belied, because judging by what we have seen, Sakshat could be just what students need – a low-cost computing device that allows users to do most basic tasks with minimum fuss.
Update: Image added!
Wow,thats great news. Can’t wait to get hold of one!