The $35 Tablet

Image via Wikipedia

Yes, its no longer a rumour. There is infact a $35 tablet, waiting to be released to the masses. The minister for human resource and development (HRD), Kapil Sibal, was on Gadget Guru this week where he unveiled the cheapest tablet on the planet.

The tablet is apparently decently powered with 2GB of RAM and running Android. The touchscreen is (perhaps as expected) a resistive one. The OS isnt sluggish and thats mainly because of the hardware that has been put in.

And yeah, it gets better. In time, the minister hopes, due to rising competition and demand, the price of this tablet would come down to $10! Now when did one get last hold of $10 tablet?

All is not hunky dory though. First of all, the tablet, because of its no frills design, does look ugly and dated. Finesse is something which you cannot expect from this device. The device lacks a hard drive and although this is primarily the reason why its prices have been kept low, I doubt if this is something which will be appreciated. The presence of resistive touch also does complicate matters and spoils the fun of the touchscreen experience. Also the tablet in its current form and price is meant for educational institutions and its students. The mass market version might be priced higher.

Finally, its a mixed bag to be honest. Mediocre functionality/quality of hardware vs extremely low price. The choice as always lies with the consumer.