India’s $35 tablet is a big step toward “info for everyone”

…which both increases the awesome of this world and drastically decreases the suck.

In the hands of students. That's where this tablet was made to go.

The Akash Ubislate 7 is something India’s been promising for a long time, but has been considered ‘vaporware,’ which basically means an empty promise that never officially got cancelled. But just because it was on the back burner doesn’t mean India didn’t intend on delivering; they were probably just waiting for the cost of decent technology to decrease.

Consider that the $35 cost is basically the lowest cost for any technology of this type, anywhere. You might be able to get a smartphone for $50, but that’s only if you sign up for a 2-year data plan, which costs you something like $50 a month anyways. The cost of this thing is just $35. That’s it.

India’s got a plan with this technology, and that’s to give it to their students. Technology-assisted learning is pretty much always better learning, since a student has access to lecture videos, class materials, notes, email correspondence with students/teachers, and tons of other great material. In fact, the students are the only ones who get that $35 price. Consumers who want it have to pay around $50.

While the Ubislate 7 is going to do a lot to help India’s education for the masses (and the rest of the world, when the product goes international), it’s got its problems.

$35 sounds like a great deal. That’s something like 1500 rupees. That might sound dirt-cheap to a lot of us, and it’s certainly a lot cheaper to many low-income Indians, but some of those people live on about 1000 rupees per month, so it’s still a very big buy. But it’s doable.

Read on:

• Venturebeat “hands-on” article.
• Mobilemag article on “India’s $35 Android Tablet.“
• Official Ubislate website.
• PriceIndia specs page on the Ubislate7.

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