India's 35-dollar tablet will come out 11-Jan-2011
India will launch its much anticipated ultra-cheap tablet PC, the Sakshat, on 11 January 2011, the ministry of Development has announced. The tablet, which will cost no more than 35 US dollars (or 27 euros), is aimed at students and low-income groups in India. The announcement of the launch date came as a surprise to many, as some experts say a PC this cheap is simply impossible.
India's Development minister Shri Kapil Sibal (pictured, with a prototype of the tablet) looks determined to turn this project into a success, despite the criticism. "We are constantly customising the device to the needs of our target groups, students in particular," Mr Sibal told reporters earlier this week. "So the machine simply does what the user requires. This has enabled us to keep the price as low as possible."
Sceptical
But even with a launch date now set, many people remain sceptical about the Sakshat project. "There is no 35-dollar PC," says Satish Jha of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project in India, which distributes cheap laptops in schools in India for approximately 100 US dollars per laptop. He told RNW: "It is not clear who is producing the device. The government can always buy any number of pieces and subsidise it and ask any manufacturer to create it. Such a product can only be sold at a subsidised price."
Realistic?
Mr Jha also wonders whether it's actually up to the government to create this kind of technology. "To try to do this without a track record of virtually any product seems impossible," he says. "It raises questions about the ability of those behind the project to understand how technologies evolve and how products get created. We hope they'll be a little more realistic about the expectations they generate."Watch a promotional video of the Sakshat here (story continues below):
With its 35-dollar price tag it will be the cheapest computer in the world, but Mr Sibal thinks the price could go down even further. "I expect the price will gradually drop down to 20 dollars and ultimately to only ten dollars," he said.
Rural areas
If successful, the Sakshat provides internet access to millions of Indians who until now, simply couldn't afford even the cheapest PC. It is part of the Development ministry's drive to bring technology to low-income groups, especially in rural areas.But the Sakshat may not be what some people in these target groups actually need, Mr Jha warns. "The Sakshat is aimed at universities. During the course of our OLPC project, we have discovered that what's good for university students may not be good for schools. What is good in privileged environments may not work in the villages and for the underprivileged. Hopefully the decision makers will keep those two tracks separate."
Mobile banks
Another example of bringing technology to low-income groups is the government's scheme to introduce "mobile banks" to all parts of India by 2015, as announced by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday. Customers will have access to bank services through specially equipped vans that will travel to even the smallest villages.Incidentally, India - one of the world's fastest growing economies - is making a name for affordable consumer products. In 2008, the cheap Tata Nano car was introduced with only a 2,000 dollar price tag attached to it (6,000 dollars in Europe). Despite initial reservations from the automotive industry about the success of the project, it is still the world's cheapest car.
