Kabil Sibal confirms 1 million pieces of $35 tablet to be released till 2011

[ViruRulez]

I believe you all know about the $35 tablet PC announced by Kapil Sibal last month and which took the whole tech world by storm saying it is not possible. I also thought it was a political stunt but Kapil Sibal was on Gadget Guru show yesterday with the tablet himself. The shows hosts checked it out and it was using the Android OS and worked very well. The touch screen tablet has got 2GB RAM, webcam, WiFi, USB port, virtual keyboard, video compatibility, ebook reader etc. and all of them were said to work very smoothly except for the touchsceen which seemed a bit buggy. Sibal promised on the show and committed that he will have 1 million of the tablets dispatched to educational institutions for a subsidized price of only Rs. 750 (50% subsidy on $35) within next year i.e. 2011. He says if needed some modifications can also be done and Microsoft has also offered their Windows CE for the gadget if required. However, he said the retail price would be more than $35 but he said he plans the tablet price to reduce even further with mass production. I was also skeptical but his confidence really makes me believe that the tablet actually exists and might be released next year. It would be incredible if it can actually be produced for $35 price and if can actually be given to educational institutions for Rs.750 . Check the video of Gadget Guru where Kabil Sibal came with the tablet PC here: term9FQsYdA I wont believe 100% till it is released next year at that price but it seems more believable after this interview and not just a publicity stunt.

[ViruRulez]

Those who do not know about it can check the first announcement related news about a month ago at:

India on Thursday unveiled a prototype tablet computer that would sell for a mere 1,500 rupees, or $35, with the price possibly dropping even further as R&D efforts continue. Kapil Sibal, the country's Minister for Human Resource Development, showed off the super-cheap touch-screen device in New Delhi as part of a push to provide high-quality education to students across the country. The tablet also comes with a solar-power option that could make it more feasible for rural areas. The Linux-based computer at first glance resembles an Apple iPad and features basic functions you'd expect to see in a tablet--a Web browser, multimedia player, PDF reader, Wi-Fi, and video conferencing ability. It has 2GB of RAM (but no hard disk, instead using a memory card) and USB ports and could be available to kids from primary school up to the university level as early as next year. Students from several branches of the Indian Institute of Technology co-designed motherboards for the computer, which the ministry would like to see dropping to $20 and possibly getting as low as $10. Sibal called the as-yet-unnamed device India's answer to MIT's famed OLPC laptop aimed at children in developing nations, which started off five years ago with a projected cost of $100, but ended up going for $200. In May, Marvell Technologies announced that it would partner with the OLPC foundation to create the hardware for a proposed OLPC tablet, currently named the XO-3, that would go for around $100. But while the extremely low price of India's newly unveiled tablet is generating much hoopla, the gadget still faces hurdles before it lands in the public's hands. "This is just a prototype," education expert Zubin Malhotra told Newsxlive. "We need to find people who will be able to manufacture these devices at these price points and continue to develop them going forward." The tablet is part of a larger initiative aimed at improving India's educational system through technology. Nearly 8,500 colleges in the country have already gotten broadband connectivity, according to the Ministry for Human Resource Development, and some 500 Web-based and video courses are available for upload on YouTube and other online portals, with more in the works.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20011536-1.html

[ViruRulez]

And here is the latest article from Cnet after confirmation:

Remember that $35 tablet out of India we told you about last month? If you want to see the much-talked-about prototype in moving color, a gadget show on Indian television just featured an exclusive hands-on that could help dissipate some of the skepticism about the device. "Everybody actually said, 'It cannot happen, a $35 tablet,' and not only does it exist, it works and it works brilliantly," said Rajiv Makhni, co-host of the show "Gadget Guru," who took the computer through its paces with show cohort Vikram Chandra and then talked all aspects of the gadget with Kapil Sibal, the country's Minister for Human Resource Development and the same guy who officially unveiled the super-cheap touch-screen device. Aimed at the country's students, it's being called India's answer to Nicholas Negroponte's famed OLPC laptop. While originally presented as a Linux device, the prototype on the show runs on Android (and handles the operating system "fairly smoothly," the surprised Gurus say). It has a virtual keyboard, camera, full video capability, Wi-Fi for browsing that the Gurus found to be "simple and quick," an e-reader, and 2GB RAM. They say the touch screen is a bit slow to respond. All in all, though, they call it a "fairly impressive little package," particularly for the price, and a game changer for India and possibly beyond. "We really didn't think it would be as functional as we have found it be," Chandra said. The tablet is part of a larger initiative aimed at improving India's educational system through technology. It will originally be delivered by mid-2011, subsidized, to higher-education institutions for the estimated $35, Sibal said. (He acknowledged that it will surely cost more at retail.) Fast-forward to about 2.5 minutes into the vid for more dish on the tablet's specs, as well as future plans for the gadget.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20011536-1.html

[ViruRulez]

Found two more videos of the review though it is the same video cut into parts First one is a 2 minute review of the tablet. Check this video review of only 2 minutes duration by the Gadget Guru hosts. tdGowVXNeiQ Second one is the video of the rest of the discussion stNSPWixhUQ One Laptop Per Child is also offering their technology for this free of cost now though the OLPC founder has also told that the tablet should not be restricted to India and should be available outside too.

[achilles]

This is unbelievable, amazing and surreal. I'm sure the Indian Computer Industry, on hearing the news, went :yay: and :aha: Kapil Sibal is talking. I'm sure that we will meet the deadline.

[panesarv]

WOW awesome stuff. Makes me feel proud.