India's $35 Android tablet finally ships, actually costs $49
updated 05:55 pm EDT, Tue June 14, 2011
India's Sakshat Android tabletdue by end of month
India's struggling $35 Sakshat tablet may have finally reached a shipping state, though not at as low a price as it hoped. About 10,000 of the seven-inch Android devices are now due to ship to their first institution, IIT-Rajasthan, by the end of June. The design has seen a price hike and will cost the equivalent of $49 when another 90,000 ship, but the government would cover half the price and drop it to $25.
The cost cutting comes from the relatively cheap construction but still sees it get features that are comparable to other tablets. It still manages to fit 2GB of RAM, a front-facing camera, and a 32GB hard drive (not SSD) to store content. India's goal is to give students a digital education platform for e-books, labs, and other material without the expense of a regular tablet or a PC.
Sakshat has been in development for the past few years and was very nearly scrapped when the government wasn't happy with the initial results. It successfully won the order back after half a year. [via Pluggd.in]
