India preps a $35 tablet designed by a British firm

INDIA is preparing to unveil a $35 tablet device developed by British outfit Datawind.

India has announced several low-cost computing devices in the past but this time it looks like the Aakash, translated as 'sky', will be not only shown off to the press but made available to 100,000 students in a pilot run over the next few months. The subsidised device will be sold to students in a bid to increase India's take-up of technologies such as the internet.

Kapil Sibel, India's Telecoms and Education Minister told journalists last week, "Soon, a $35 computer will be made available to every child in school. The tablet shall help enhance the quality of learning of children." Cynical Indians who have been treated to vapourware announcements before will likely wait to see the finished product before getting their hopes up.

India desperately wants to catch up with the other BRIC nations when it comes to internet use. Reuters claims that 40 per cent of Chinese citizens have access to the internet compared to just eight per cent of Indians. In the same way that certain British government departments bang on about how fast broadband could increase economic growth, the same can be said of India.

Few details have been released about the Aakash, though the device will run Google's Android operating system. It will be interesting to what technology can be punted into a tablet that will sell for just $35, however it's unlikely that the sky will fall on Apple's Ipad just yet. µ