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Abhinav Lal

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Posted on 12-08-2010

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India’s $35 tablet PC made another public appearance last night on NDTV, and you can check it out in action below. Also revealed were some of the specifications, and they certainly are juicy: 2GB RAM, 3G & WiFi connectivity, SIM card slot, microSD expandable storage, video out, microUSB, webcam, and as is evident, the Android 2.1 OS. The tablet was introduced to the Indian public by Kapil Sibal, the Human Resource Development Minister, who also said it is only expected to release by mid-2011, looking to put 1 million units in the hands of students and educational institutions by government order, subsidized to around $35 each.

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While the total cost of production is still not known, the value of all the parts is estimated to be around $50. So while the $35 dream may never come to pass, at least on the retail side, the effort and even a $100 price tag are very commendable. To make it energy efficient, the whole unit is powered by a 2-watt power supply, suitable for even the rural areas of India. It is expected to be available in three screen size variants: 5-inch, 7-inch, and 9-inch. The hosts of Gadget Gurus, the NDTV show on which the tablet was aired, were pleasantly surprised at the tablet's capabilities, and called it a “fairly impressive package” that ran the Android OS smoothly, while noting that the touchscreen was not very responsive.