July 23, 2010

The Indian $35 tablet



The Indian government has been looking for a cheap computer so that every student, even the poorest, can afford a computer for themselves. The first proposed computer was developed by MIT and it cost $100 but the indian government rejected it because it cost too much. Now the newly proposed computer is a touchscreen tablet computer that vaguely resembles the iPad but only cost $35; that's 1/14th of the price of an iPad. The tablet will not use a hard drive to save hardware costs but instead it will use memory cards because the save space and are cheaper. There will be a solar power accessory for an additional cost that can recharge the tablet especially in the energy deprived sections of India. They hope to start production of this tablet in 2011 but there is currently no manufacturer that has finalized deals with this company but many have offered and at least one in China. This tablet will have 2 GB of ram, WiFi, Web browsing, PDF reader, and Video conferencing ability. This is still a prototype but I think if this was released in India and other developing countries, it could greatly improve their educational system and connecting them to the rest of the world.