After three years of work, engineers in India have succeeded in developing the world’s cheapest tablet laptop.
The device will cost Rs. 1,500 – roughly the equivalent of $35. That’s an incredibly cheap price when measured against the cost of the only other widely available tablet PC on the market, Apple’s iPad, which will run a consumer nearly $500 for its lowest-end model. Compared to the price of other consumer laptops, which can range from around $300 to more than $2,500, the device could change the face of technology in the developing world.
Perhaps most importantly, a $35 computing device could be an enormous boon to nonprofits dedicated to providing computers for schoolchildren in impoverished countries who often lack access to bathroom facilities, electricity and running water – let alone access to the internet or word processing.
In 2005, Nicholas Negroponte of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a $200 laptop, at that time the cheapest device available. Negroponte recently announced his success in creating a $99 laptop made for his nonprofit group, One Laptop One Child, that can run Google’s Android operating system. The price is expected to drop to $75 by 2011, but so far, nothing can compete with India’s impressive achievement.
"This is our answer to MIT’s $100 computer," human resource development minister Kapil Sibal told the Economic Times at the device’s unveiling.
The $35 prototype – which Sibal eventually hopes to sell for only $10, and which India’s government will subsidize for students – is capable of word processing, web browsing and video conferencing. For a small additional fee, it also has an available solar-power option that will be enormously useful in rural areas that do not always have access to electricity.
According to the Associated Press, India is already home to a number of stunningly cheap innovations, such as a $16 water purifier, a car that costs less than $3,000 and, perhaps most impressively, open-heart surgery that costs only $2,000 – without insurance.
If they decide to embrace Sibal’s device, nonprofits like One Laptop One Child could benefit handsomely from such innovative and low-cost design. One Laptop One Child states on its website that its mission is "to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child," something the $35 laptop seems prepared to deliver.
[...] webmaster@technorati.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
[...] webmaster@technorati.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
[...] webmaster@technorati.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
It seems unfair that the United States, as other countries in the World, should have to compete with others elsewhere where very cheap labor is their primary advantage. Yet complaining about our house getting flooded won’t make it any drier. Only our hard work will do that, and only the ingenuity and savvy of the American people will see us through.
In facing the challenge, let us not forget that we still excel in the important areas of education, technology, individual freedoms, the arts, entertainment, elective government, our courts, natural resources, and yes, even our health care. Moreover, labor costs should eventually reach an equilibrium across the globe, since people and their needs are the same across the globe.
Yet, an even greater challenge lies ahead, and with far greater consequences than cheap computer technology: This is the abundant energy from the sun, and our constantly improving ways to capture it and store it the form of hydrogen. Thus while the sun for centuries had dried-up huge lands, it is about to make them vibrant with cheap electricity for industry and living.
By the time we take notice, the geopolitical implications will be beyond anybody’s control. For those of us who are accustomed to having our way, times may get a lot rougher ahead. But there ain’t no going back to the world of yesterday. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can roll up our sleeves to compete on the global stage — the only forum left.
How could I contact with the seller?
Really this is an amazing technology step.
Superb innovaction !! Salute to the engineers & team involved for delivering such a tech magnificent product.
I wish the product all the success.
[...] of a touch-screen laptop with a price tag of only $35 (£23). The company hopes to begin …Indian engineers unveil $35 tablet laptopThe Daily TellIndia unveils prototype of 35 US dollar laptopXinhuaIndia's $35 PC is the Future [...]
Will this be available in the US? How can we acquire this item? let me know. This discovery is so amazing.
[...] with a $75 PC that runs Google’s Android operating system. So we may hear from them again. This article, however, mentions that program and that this $35 tablet, if it comes to fruition, might [...]
[...] in India have succeeded in developing the world’s cheapest tablet laptop – only $35! It could be a real boon to education and development [...]
Let us all salute the rising East, its hard work and innovativeness. Hope soon the world will become a more tolerant and equitable place for all to live happily. Saluet also the boldness of Kapil Sibal the HRD Minister of India to say more effectively “Yes, we can”.
My family has been pressuring me to quit smoking but it is been hard. A mate has been using an electric cigarette but I dont know if theyll aid me kick it or not. It does not seem like a massive difference from e smoke to normal.