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India Launches $35 Tablet
Many readers have submitted stories about a new $35 tablet computer released today in India. The Aakash (meaning sky) has been handed out to 500 students for an initial trial run, if successful a $60 commercial version will hit the shelves later this year. The Aakash computer runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), has a 7-inch touch screen, 256MB of RAM, 32GB expandable memory slot, two USB ports, and weighs in at only 350 grams.
So it's a $35 tablet that costs $60 then?
Yeah, just like the iPad is 7inch iPhone.
For you/we Americans, 350 grams is a fraction under the weight of a 12 ounce can or pop/soda.
(weird note: the can of Coke in front of me says caffeine content is 46mg/12 fl oz. Way to go and mix your units!)
So, will they outsource their tech support to America?
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
Sounds like it will have a wholesale price in quantity of $35 then get marked up to $60 for retail which is about right considering the specs. If it actually appears at retail anywhere in the world around that price you know the thing is probably legit. If not, it is just a scam on the Indian govt. We have Solyndra so we can't laugh.
Democrat delenda est
I don't know about "Long live China" as most of the stuff they make falls apart. We'll see about India.
Nobody cares what the CAPTCHA for your post was.
Seriously, tablets are about to go crazy selling. In addition, it appears that Linux is about to be EVERYWHERE.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Apple decides to file a patent suit claiming "the corners are round."
And it can't make calls.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
There's a local remaindering shop which has the Pandigital tablets for $79.99.
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Hi,
I would like to provide a background for this. The tablets are an endevaour by the Indian Government to reach out to the farmers as a means of communication to advise them about crops and similar kind of work. It is NOT meant to compete on the market with other tablets for normal functionality. I guess, the most important function would be video streaming to show tutorial videos on how to handle crop and inject them with pesticides and such and may be stream other lectuers. To get a background on what kind of exercise is this and wonders its necessity, you might like to visit NPTEL where free lectures are made available by IIT faculty on various college courses (both undergraduate and postgraduate). Due to the population, it is very difficult to reach students and farmers individually so this is the type of "distance education".
For example, in this age also audio lectures are transmitted over radio for anyone to listen by the Indira Gandhi Open University for people who want to study on their own but cannot attend a college as there is probably none in the region they can try to reach.
As it may or may not be common knowledge, software patents per se, are not valid in India. You can patent your code, not your idea (which is pretty pointless). There are certain workarounds the legal system as usual is the case. But ideas and software algos are not patentable per se. So patent encumbered thing might not be a really big issue here. I don't know about resistive or capacitive touch screens though.
How successful it is we all are sceptical (due to corruption and all the issues). But this is the main idea behind it. If it succeeds we would be very happy.
For that price $60 ($35 definately) this could be revolutionary.
You're hitting a price that anyone for whom this would be beneficial can afford it. Any office worker could send the doc they've been working on and take it to a meeting. Any foreman can take it out to show a worker without worrying about someone's hammer mis-swinging and smashing the screen (can be replaced).
Places where you wouldn't want to risk an expensive tablet getting damaged- you can risk one of these.
Currently most people unless they are rich, technophiles, or show-offs don't have a tablet. At this price the trend will reverse. EVERYONE will have a tablet. You don't need to be a tech-lover, rich, or snobby.
Those who can afford the expensive Kindle Fire- and the iPad will still do so- because they are much better- but now there is a tablet for everyone... and the world will doth rejoice- because now everybody can be cool.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
It is real- it is currently being made. It is being made by a real company- a western company in an eastern factory. It really is currently being sold for $50 in India to the gov.
Whether the price will drop to $35- who knows- they're talking about selling it for $60 in the US (almost double the $35 price-tag) - but that is still HUGE news.
This will do for the tablet what the assembly line did for cars. It's not just for the rich and the upper middle class anymore. The working man can afford one too- and so can his dog.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
[ ] Really crappy
[ ] "You've got to be kidding me!" crappy
Even from TFA:
You can already get really cheap chinese android tablets on EBay, and they're almost usable. Except for the touchscreens on them. At this price point, you can't get adequate enough quality for real use.
Only if you're lazy. I thought this was a geek site?
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Chinese factories turn out stuff like this all the time. I have traveled to the South Pacific and you can get a basic smart phone for $20--made in china. They won't sell in the western world for that because they can sell the same piece of junk for $120, or "bundle" it for $20 with a term contract. In most countires in Africa where average household expenditure is less than $300, cell phones are prolific--this certainly is not because people are spending a years worth of wages to buy a phone. Companies will charge what the market will bear.
the above is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect that of the little voices in my head
What's more retarded than either, is an idiotic slashdotter sitting in his mom's basement, gorging on big mac and diet coke, typing stuff which he doesn't know shit about.
Use some brains - the reason this is being produced is not to "desperately imitate what happened decades ago". It is to provide millions of poor students an opportunity to buy their own tablet/computing device.
Somebody hooked up a GSM modem to an iPad? I'll admit, that's pretty damn l33t. Got a source?
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Lazy and a strawman argument! Is there anything you can't do?
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
I dunno, I wrote my TUG 2003 paper on a pen computer running Windows:
http://www.tug.org/TUGboat/tb24-2/tb77adams.pdf
And I program scripts, and HyperCard-like things using it as well:
http://mysite.verizon.net/william_franklin_adams/portfolio/interfaceconcepts/proportionbar.zip
http://mysite.verizon.net/william_franklin_adams/portfolio/interfaceconcepts/proportionbar.app.sit
And it's very useful for drawing --- I draw up plans for woodworking projects among other things:
http://www.3riversarchery.com/images/Contest2010/WilliamAdamsTakeDownCase.jpg
It helps of course, that I'm using a full-fledged Tablet PC (to be specific a Fujitsu Stylistic 4121 w/ daylight viewable display --- I also use it as a map viewer when travelling).
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Imitating is fine and does in fact produce lots. It's what students spend years doing - replicating work that has already been done. Or do you think that each computer science student is forging new ground in finite automata and that physics students are developing the mathematics needed for relativity?
There's a huge difference between knowing that something can be done and knowing how to do it. There's a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it. If you want to build on it and make advances replicating what has already been done is the best first step. It's how you build up the know how and experience - with the huge advantage that you actually know it is possible.
When I heard the BBC story this morning, the interviewee (in India) was worried that the tablet was so under-spec'ed to be unusable. How much speed and memory do you need to run a passable e-reader? If they can use it for basic math, science, and language instruction textbooks, it will be a win. If they can run the arithmetic learning app that I've seen on the iPad2 commercials -- where the kids use their fingers to write the answers to addition/subtraction programs -- it will be a win. The logistics of supplying hundreds of millions of textbooks to all the various schools must be a nightmare. If each student can bring his/her tablet to school, they can download the books they need. And not the old, fraying books from 1985, either.
There's been plenty of discussion about the tablet over the last year and a half. Much conjecture about whether it would happen ( http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/07/india-35-tablet/ ). But what struck me most when all the jabber started was the enthusiasm of one minister: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10740817 .
I know you're talking about some kind of VoIP system (SIP, IAX, and a variety of proprietary system can all work on an iPad). But they're not practical as a cell phone replacement outside of North America and some places in Europe. I really wish they were, but they aren't, and region-specific solutions aren't really solutions.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
It's $35 after government subsidy. It's been a government research program to close the tech gap between the rich and the not-so-rich.
Force someone to recognize that the Ipad is a giant Ipod Touch, not a giant Iphone?
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
They don't sell in the west because those phones are poorly designed pieces of crap that don't work properly, have terribly battery life, and break after a couple of months of gentle use.
I read the internet for the articles.
This has roughly the same extremely mediocre specs as most of the cheap Chinese tablets. I wonder if this company will comply with the GPL, in contrast to the vast majority of Chinese vendors who either hold the kernel sources ransom (after giving you a binary) or refuse to release them at all.
with an $60 commercial pricetag, it's not even cheap anymore, as you can get an even better one (better specs) for around the same price if you shop a bit around..
I got lost too :(
This might be an insignificant piece of shit compared to iPad, Galaxy Tab or Kindle for folks living in rich countries in North America,Europe and parts of Asia. But imagine what this could mean to billions living in the third world countries in Africa, Asia and South America . Some what crappy, yet an affordable tablet running Android 2.2.... Something better than nothing.
I would pay $35 for an alarm clock with an adjustable face, on which I can check my email, and that I can use to write myself quick notes or check a web page. I'd probably buy five of them to put all over the house.
The company that makes them is based in Montreal so I can only imagine what kind of support you're going to get...
Tabernac! To confighur is so heazy, you just press un bouton!
The OLPC cost $400 because you were buying two devices. the second device was your donation through the Give One Get One program. It was the only way you could buy them.
The reason the devices cost $200 each was because the OLPC suffered a bit of feature creep and bad pricing projections on components.
The idea was that volume sales would bring pricing down more closely to the $100 level. I will mention that both Microsoft and Intel tried their best to derail the project*
[*] - http://news.cnet.com/Negroponte-Windows-key-to-OLPC-philosophy/2100-1016_3-6215837.html
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
Occupy Wall Street Movement wants Americans to make $20/hour (whether they work or not), so providing tech support for a $35 device at over $20/hour would be a neat trick.
You can't handle the truth.
...time now, just check this out:
Since the Indian model are planned to be sold commercially for 60 bucks, with those poor specs...check out these android pads for 79 bucks:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/7-touch-screen-lcd-google-android-2-2-tablet-pc-w-wifi-camera-tf-arm-v5-349-79mhz-70053
I've seen the same tablet, sold for 59$ when they have specials, so it's certainly possible. And this one is feature ladden.
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
Here's the specs:
--7-inch resistive touch screen = stylus, not fingers
--Android 2.2 "Froyo"
--800-x-480-pixel resolution
--366mhz cpu
--256mb ram
--2gb internal storage
--microSD
--two USB ports
--3.5mm headphone jack
--2100mAh battery that can last up to 3 hours
--does NOT have access to Android Market
Here's a dozen detailed photos of the device
It's not impressive by any means but then again it's not suppose to impress those of us with an iPhone or latest Droid in our pocket, it's designed for the 1+ billion Indians who have never even been on the internet and for first time internet usage I think it'll be fine at that.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
that sounds exactly like the phones they sell here.
Imitating is fine and does in fact produce lots.
Imitating is fine and does in fact produce lots.
...Ahh look!!! A lot!!
Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
You mean China didn't 'borrow' one of these and start reverse engineering one yet?
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
> Have you ever noticed how everybody in the world is getting cell phones that are cheap--practically disposable, even--and yet perfectly functional?
Every actually priced a cell phone? Didn't think so. You are paying a lot more than you think for that shiny toy, they just figured out you will swallow $200 up front and finance the rest over two years a lot better than $499 up front. Or did you think cell service alone is why your bill is as high as it is? Ever wondered why people with 'good credit' who can qualify for a contract phone pay more than the poor schlubs with their TracPhones? It is because the TracPhone is crap and you are making notes on an expensive phone. If you bring your own phone and look for the deals (because they don't want to publicise the notion) you can get monthly service at reasonable rates. T-Mobile just started selling a plan at Wallyworld for $30/month that gives you 5GB of 4/3G data, unlimited 2G after that, unlimited text and a hundred minutes of talk, device not included. Most people are getting a $30/month surcharge just for data or to be allowed to buy a smartphone if they are on contract.
That said, if one knows where to look on eBay you can find Android phones at reasonable prices now, just don't expect to find a current, name brand, flagship one for less than a few hundred.
Democrat delenda est
It's called "lying". You can tell when politicians are doing it because their lips are moving.
Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
The $2K car wa not too reliable.
unfortunately you can only move the cursor at right angles, and if you shake it then the black and white screen goes blank
thanx india ......Really its lot more in just $35 (£23)
in web hosting, when you speak about a 'dedicated server' or 'vps', it means linux mysql php apache 99.9% of the time. back in early 2000s there was considerable windows market and companies were offering these as revenue items, but afterwards all of them dropped it as a revenue item, and it became a niche item. wasnt worth to sell it. very big boys took up that niche slack and are offering them as revenue items since then. but it only feeds the very big ones.
even in datacenters that do wholesale and retail for dedicateds and vpses you will be hard pressed to find any offers than linux flavors.
www.hetzner.de
www.liquidweb.com
www.softlayer.com
and, the lower level companies use these racks of dedicateds to resell hosting, sometimes hosting 100s of sites on one box or unit of rack. and these are also exclusively linux. recent popular one is centos. so, whenever you are visiting any site that is not a megacorporation site, chances are 99% that you are using a linux server.
Read radical news here
Kind of like the towel in Hitchhiker's.
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
It's a similar spec to my Nokia 770 (a bit better, but close), which I got in 2005. The RRP was $359.99. Moore's Law says the price of transistors ought to halve every 18 months, so if the other components follow a similar curve I'd expect to be able to get it for a tenth of the original price five years later. It's now a bit over six years later, but presumably some of the parts were already about as cheap as they can be without a major breakthrough in mass production techniques. Actually, the most impressive thing is how bad the battery life is. It comes with a third more battery capacity than the 770 yet the battery doesn't last as long...
If it has bluetooth, I'd be pretty tempted. The 770 with a folding bluetooth keyboard is great as a little device for running vim that fits in a pocket. It's underpowered for most things, but as a machine to take to write articles with while sitting in a cafe, it's great. At $35, it's basically disposable. If it breaks, I'll only be upset if the data isn't backed up...
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
My ipad makes calls just fine, never touched one have you.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Yeah, Apple did. that's what the 3G part of the 3G model is. a GSM modem in there. Uber 1337!
using skype or other IP telephony app I make phone calls from mine all the time.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Not going down this road again, see here:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2461378&cid=37615968
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
it's designed for the 1+ billion Indians who have never even been on the internet and for first time internet usage I think it'll be fine at that.
1 billion noobs released all at once onto the interwebs... what could possibly go wrong?
What is even more retarded is assuming that "desperately imitate what happened decades ago" was referring to India producing the tablets rather than China launching a space station.
Some people is scared that developing nations are getting access to education tech while in some places (USA, France and others) government is about to pay students to go to school and make good grades.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929454,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/nyregion/19schools.html
A $35 tablet that can replace $500 worth of textbooks educational material / year?? How do they dare!?
I recently bought a cell phone accessory through ebay for 50 cents, no shipping charge. The material arrived safely in a padded envelope from Hongkong. Leave alone the postage or the cost of the material, the nice envelope itself will cost more than 50 cents in the United States. So it is no wonder Indians can make a tablet for $35. I am sure eventually we might be able to buy them for $35 and free shipping from India.
I just had a guy here doing a repair on my floor. He almost left his phone, and we got to talking about them. He was complaining that his iPhone was starting to flake out and that he was going to have to get a new one. I showed him my phone, which is about 5 years old and works fine, and that my wife and I share minutes and we spend about $60 a month between us. He said he spends something like $200 a month on his.
So you buy an expensive phone and pay $200 a month to use it, and when it breaks you just go get another one.
He was also complaining about his iPad2 he bought, how hard it was to use, and how it didn't do stuff like it showed in the commercials.
We've really turned into a society of very obedient consumers.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
My 4 dollar tablet will be released soon!!!!!
* Retail version will sell for $5495.99, but as the first "Real" $4.00 tablet you should order a lot of them.
/* TODO: Spawn child process, interest child in technology, have child write a new sig */
skype's no good?
Why does everyone keep saying that resistive touch screens don't work with fingers? I can tell you first hand that they work with fingers, stylus, or anything else vaguely pointed. My phone (Nokia N900) has a resistive touch screen, and I use my fingers on it every day. Sure, fingernails or a stylus work better than finger tips, but there isn't anything stopping you from using your finger tips. I personally consider a resistive touch screen to be a feature, not a disadvantage.
Using a stylus makes a small screen seem larger because you aren't covering up such a large portion of the screen with a fat finger. This also allows for smaller user interface elements which increases screen real estate for content.
Capacitive touch screens are the ones with limitations. You can't use a normal stylus on a capacitive touch screen.
do they have one with a 600 MHz CPU for $100? that would be real news. I look at tablets on there occasionally but have yet to be motivated.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Skype's a toy - nothing wrong with having it but it can't be relied on to replace a cellular connection. The only protocols that could replace a cellular connection are SIP and perhaps IAX.
The problem is that Skype gives the user even less control than a regular cellular connection. A SIM card is device-agnostic. You put one into a phone with the right specs and you're on. A Skype client can be denied service at any time, even if you're on an open OS - for example outdated Windows clients were kept from connecting at one point until they upgraded. Other OSes were unaffected. The same could happen on any platform, and if you don't get an upgrade you're screwed.
This way if for business reasons, Skype decides that their client for the iPad or whatever you're using (even, in theory, something like the N900) should no longer be able to make calls to anything but Skype users or remove the capability entirely, there's nothing you can do.
With SIP on the other hand, SIP is device-agnostic, it's an open protocol so trying to identify a client platform would be useless, and there are many SIP providers to choose from, and what you can do with SIP is limited by little more than your imagination. If we all switched to SIP tomorrow, voice calls would be as free and open as emails. SIP providers allow you to link SIP to the existing phone system, but that's just legacy tech as far as SIP is concerned.
IAX is just as open and gets around the problem of SIP being designed for an ideal IPv6 world where every device is connected straight to the Internet - IAX runs on a single port so the traffic doesn't get mangled by half the firewalls and NAT devices out there. It's just not as popular.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Hi, How is it Indian? Isn't the company that developed them based in the UK?
it can't be relied on to replace a cellular connection.
kinda like AT&T then?