The cheapest tablet released

For those of you thinking of wanting to try out a tablet PC but think that the price is too steep (RM1000++ to RM2000++), India has released a cheap alternative at USD 60 (about RM180++).

Although the specs and battery life are nothing to shout about, the 32 GB memory seems to be more than what is expected on a tablet at this price point.

Th Aakash will be released in stores in India next month.

World’s Cheapest Tablet Released in India

If you thought Amazon’s $200 Kindle Fire was a steal, wait until you get a load of this: The Indian government has released a new tablet computer, Aakash, dubbed “the world’s cheapest.”

Aakash costs $35 with government subsidies for students or $60 in stores. The government is giving away 100,000 for free during its launch period. The first 500 tablets released received a mixed response, as some complained that they are slow.

The government hopes the device will bridge the gap between the rich and poor. “The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide,” says Kapil Sibal, the communications and education minister.

If you’re wondering what a tablet that costs as much as a pair of sneakers can possibly do, here’s a bit more about its specs: Aakash runs Android 2.2 Froyo, has a 7-inch touchscreen, weighs 350 grams, and has 32 GB of internal memory, 256 MB of RAM and two USB ports. The 2100mAh battery should last for two to three hours. Although it comes pre-loaded with some apps, it does not access the Android Marketplace. It has been tested in 118 degree Fahrenheit conditions to replicate northern India’s summer.

Datawind, a small British company, developed the tablet with the Indian Institute of Technology. The tablet is being produced in India and should be available in stores next month. The government plans to start selling them at the subsidized price to students next year.

What do you think of this tablet? Is it worth compromising speed to bring access to millions who otherwise could not afford a tablet computer or any computer at all? Let us know what you think in the comments.

http://mashable.com/2011/10/05/worlds-cheapest-tablet/

USD $35 Laptop!!!

Ever thought of having an iPad but the price seems to be too far away?

India has some sort of solution to it by releasing the USD$35 laptop which actually looks kinda like the iPad (although a lot smaller in size)

India’s Rs.1500 Laptop: IIT, IISc unveil Cheapest Laptop at $35 for Students

Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for human resource development (HRD) has recently announced the laptop, which is even cheaper than a mobile phone. The laptop has been specially designed keeping the students and teachers in mind, and has been brought out with a price tag of just Rs.1500/- , that is about $35. The laptop has been provided with all the functions which a normal laptop has, but it has lesser speed and memory.

The laptop is a touch-screen access cum computing device and is expected to arrive at the Indian market by the early phase of the year 2011. The operating system provided along with it is Linux OS, with multimedia content viewer (pdf, docx, ods, adp, xls, jpeg, gif,png, bmp, odt, zip, AVCHD, AVI, AC3), and the other computing capabilities such as the Open Office, SciLab for printing support, USB port, video-web conferencing facility, searchable Pdf reader, unzip tool for unzipping files etc. The media player provided along with it is capable of playing streamed as well as stored media files.

The laptop is even Wi-Fi enabled, and is provided with remote device management capability and solar panel. “We have made the breakthrough and are now ready to capture the market. The price of these devices will be around $35 per piece. We expect it to go down to $20-$10,” said Sibal. In the first phase, thegovernment is even planning to place orders for about 10 lakh such laptops mainly for the college students.

But the government has not decided anything on the distribution aspect of such laptops, thus the students might as well have to wait for the same. This new and affordable laptop is just an upgraded version of the $10 laptop which had to be used with a projector, launched in Tirupati in last February. But, however the device failed to reach the market as its cost rose to $54 in quite a less time.

An MHRD official has revealed that in the past one year, quite a number of IITs had made progress on such devices. MHRD has even held discussions on the concept with experts from IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur and IISc Bangalore. Both B-Tech and M-Tech students were even guided to produce the motherboard for such laptops at low cost, which would have the flexibility to change the inner components.

One motherboard design was generated under MHRD’s guidance in the B-Tech project of a student from VIT, Vellore. The cost of the material used in the laptop amounted to up to $47, but this was brought down massively by an exercise, which even included a 50% government subsidy. ”Initially manufacturing might be done in Taiwan or some other place but eventually it will be done in India,” Sibal said.

The $35 price, he said, is inclusive of cost of manufacturing abroad.The cost of the solar panel has not been considered into the price yet, and the ministry is trying to talk to a company in bringing down the cost of the solar panels. But, one limitation is that the device is not accompanied by a hard drive.

http://b4tea.com/information/gadgets/indias-rs-1500-laptop-iit-iisc-unveil-cheapest-laptop-at-35-for-students

Beware of Facial Treatments

A little warning for those who go for beauty treatments.

Model sues over ‘unfair’ treatment

AN aspiring actress and model who wanted to be fairer has ended up with a disfigured face after pigmentation treatment in a popular Mumbai spa.

Gauri Khan, 22, who acted in the yet-unreleased Legend of Mayawati, has sent a legal notice to the spa owners – Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her business partner Chandrakiran Kaur Bawa.

Failed treatment: Before and after pictures of Gauri who sought treatment to become fair at Shetty’s spa in Mumbai.

According to MumbaiMirror.com Gauri paid 38,000 Indian Rupees (RM3,800) for 14 sessions of the “glow and pigmentation” treatment in June last year after watching a TV ad endorsement by Shilpa Shetty.

She said her face was now peeling, wrinkled and covered in ugly dark spots, forcing her to move around with her face covered.

In her legal notice, Gauri, who shares the same name with Bollywood hearththrob Shahrukh Khan’s wife who is also a model, claimed 170,000 Indian Rupees (RM17,000) in compensation.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/29/nation/4999162&sec=nation