The Indian government is soliciting participation from Taiwanese Tablet PC makers in a bid to push down the price of its second Aakash tablet PC to $35, according to Digitimes .
The Aakash currently costs $50 to build. The Android 2.2 device is powered by 366 MHz Processor and 256 MB RAM. It features a 7-in, 800x 480 resistive touch screen.
The device is being assembled by UK-based Datawind, with 10 to 20% components sourced from Taiwan; 8,000 units having been shipped so far to students for trial.
The Aakash tablet is currently being offered only to post-secondary students.
Datawind launched a commercial version of the product, called the UbiSlate, with a cellular modem, in November.
The UbiSlate, which is now completely sold out, was priced around $60 including 12 months of warranty, with internet access across mobile networks priced at $2 for 2GB.
A follow-up version of the device is planned, with international bidding, earlier scheduled in December, but now postponed to January.
The government hopes to ship 200 million units of the next Aakash version over the next few years.
Tablet PCs are considered media consumption devices suitable for streaming videos, browsing the net, reading ebooks and social networking.
The Indian government's push of the device as a student learning aide that will compensate for lack of adequate schooling facility is difficult to understand, as are its ambitious plans to sell 200 million devices.
Comments
Post a Comment