Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Green Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Afghan Journal
Africa Journal
India Insight
Global News Journal
Pakistan: Now or Never?
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Front Row Washington
Politics Video
Technology
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
Breakingviews
George Chen
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
Nader Mousavizadeh
James Saft
John Wasik
Christopher Whalen
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
The Great Debate
Unstructured Finance
Newsmaker
MuniLand
Money
Money Home
Analyst Research
Global Investing
MuniLand
Reuters Money
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Left Field
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (1)
Apple iPhone
New Apple iPhone fails to wow investors, fans
Analysts' view: "A disappointment to some"
Poll: Will you buy the new Apple iPhone?
Apple rejects Samsung offer to end tablet row in Australia
Video: Samsung a threat to Apple's iPhone - but not yet
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Cleared on appeal, Amanda Knox returns home to Seattle
|
04 Oct 2011
Fox says can't afford more "Simpsons" without cuts
|
04 Oct 2011
Hank Williams Jr. apologies - again for comments
04 Oct 2011
Controversial "Playboy Club" first victim of TV season
04 Oct 2011
New Apple iPhone fails to wow investors, fans
|
04 Oct 2011
Discussed
345
Exclusive: Democrats push tax hikes first in deficit talks
222
About 400 arrested in Wall Street protest
123
Senate takes first step on China yuan bill
Watched
Universe speeding up discovery wins Nobel Physics
Tue, Oct 4 2011
Knox arrives in Seattle, says "thank you"
Tue, Oct 4 2011
New iPhone fails to impress
Tue, Oct 4 2011
India to launch "world's cheapest" tablet computer for $35
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Apple rejects Samsung offer to end tablet row in Australia
Tue, Oct 4 2011
Tim Cook's time to shine with new Apple iPhone
Mon, Oct 3 2011
Amazon's $199 Fire sparks supply, margin questions
Fri, Sep 30 2011
RIM says remains committed to PlayBook tablet
Thu, Sep 29 2011
Australia ruling in Apple vs Samsung case expected next week
Thu, Sep 29 2011
Analysis & Opinion
Tech wrap: Not a pretty picture for Kodak
Indian women hard-pressed to relieve themselves
Related Topics
Technology »
Media »
iPad »
By Frank Jack Daniel
NEW DELHI |
Wed Oct 5, 2011 2:54am EDT
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India unwraps what has been dubbed the world's cheapest tablet computer on Wednesday, to be sold to students at the subsidized price of $35 to expand digital access in the Asian giant that lags peers such as China and Brazil in connectivity.
The government says the device, called Aakash, which means sky, will initially be available in a pilot run of 100,000 units before being rolled out to millions of students over the next few months.
"Soon, a $35 computer will be made available to every child in school. The tablet shall help enhance the quality of learning of children," Telecoms and Education Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters last week.
The tablet will be officially launched later on Wednesday, by the minister and DataWind, the small British-based company that developed it. The expected price tag is 1,750 rupees.
Two years in development, the Aakash is due to be assembled in India and may help the government's goal of incorporating information technology in education, although critics were doubtful the device would live up to expectations.
India trails fellow BRIC nations Brazil, Russia and China in the drive to get its 1.2 billion population connected to technologies such as 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, according to another recent report. Still, just 8 percent of Indians have access. That compares with nearly 40 percent in China.
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.
Bharat Mehra, an expert on the use of communications technology for development, said the budget tablet could be used to deliver distance learning in rural areas and among students.
"If they are able to deliver what they promised it will make a huge difference," said Mehra, who teaches at the University of Tennessee.
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 Inc's iPad.
Like the Kindle Fire, the Aakash uses the Google Android operating system, but market watchers were skeptical the Indian-made device will have mass appeal.
Full specifications were not available pre-launch, but low-end devices often use resistive LCD displays rather than full touch screens. Media reports said the device will connect via wireless broadband, unavailable in most areas.
"The thing with cheap tablets is most of them turn out to be unusable," said Rajat Agrawal, executive editor at technology reviewers BGR India. "They don't have a very good touch screen, and they are usually very slow."
(Additional reporting by Annie Banerji and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Paul de Bendern and Ron Popeski)
Technology
Media
iPad
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (1)
ulludapattha wrote:
“India to launch “world’s cheapest” tablet computer for $35″
So did Tata promise, when it launched the “world’s cheapest” car Nano.
Remember, what happened to the Nano?
History repeats itself.
Oct 05, 2011 3:25am EDT -- Report as abuse
See All Comments »
Add Your Comment
Social Stream (What's this?)
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.