India launches “world’s cheapest” tablet computer

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India launched what it dubbed  the world’s cheapest tablet computer today, to be sold to  students at the subsidised price of $35 and later in shops for  about $60.
Most of India’s 1.2 billion people are poor and products  such as Apple Inc’s iPad are beyond the reach even of  many in the fast-growing middle class.
“The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and  ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital  divide,” Telecoms and Education Minister Kapil Sibal said.
The government is buying the first units of the lightweight  touch-screen device, called Aakash, or “sky” in Hindi, for $50  each from a British company which is assembling the web-enabled  devices in India.
A pilot run of 100,000 units will be given to students for  free, with the first 500 handed out at the launch to a mixed  response. It supports video conferencing, has two USB ports and  a three-hour battery life but some users said it was slow.
India has a reputation for creating affordable products that  are easy to use and sturdy enough to handle its rugged  environment — from Tata Motors’ $2,000 Nano car to  generic versions of pharmaceuticals.
Two years in development, the paperback book-sized Aakash  may help the government’s goal of incorporating information  technology in education, although critics were doubtful of its  mass appeal.
Despite being a leader in software and IT services, India  trails fellow BRIC nations Brazil, Russia and China in the drive  to get the masses connected to the Internet and mobile phones, a  report by risk analysis firm Maplecroft said this year.
The number of Internet users grew 15-fold between 2000 and  2010 in India, according to another recent report. Still, just 8  percent of Indians have access. That compares with nearly 40  percent in China.
The Aakash is aimed at university students for digital  learning via a government platform that distributes electronic  books and courses.
Testing included running video for two hours in temperatures  of 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) to mimic a  northern Indian summer, said DataWind, the small London-based  company that developed the tablet with the Indian Institute of  Technology.
Rajat Agrawal, executive editor of gadget reviewers BGR  India, said the 660 mhz processor from U.S. company Conexant  Systems was “decent” for the price, but warned the machine  seemed slow and the touch screen not very agile.
“Because of the price there is a lot of excitement,” he  said. “People might use it initially but if it is not user  friendly they will give up within a week.”
After first giving them out for free, the government aims to  sell them to students for $35 next year. A retail version will  be sold in Indian shops for about $60.
The device uses resistive LCD displays rather than a full  touch screen and connects via wireless broadband. DataWind CEO  Suneet Singh said future versions would include a mobile phone  connection, making it more useful in rural areas.
The launch last week of Amazon’s Kindle Fire shook  up the global tablet market, with its $199 price tag and slick  browser a serious threat to Apple’s iPad.
Like the Kindle Fire, the Aakash uses the Google Android  operating system.
Some of the mainly middle-class technology department  students at the event said it needed refinement but was a good  option for the poor.
“It could be better,” said Nikant Vohra, an electrical  engineering student. “If you see it from the price only, it’s  okay, but we have laptops and have used iPads, so we know the  difference.”
Some 19 million people subscribe to mobile phones every  month, making India the world’s fastest growing market, but most  are from the wealthier segment of the population in towns.