Laptop Thoughts: $35 Android-based Tablet in India - A Real, Working Prototype

"The Gadget Gurus, the Subcontinent's answer to The Engadget Show, got a special hands-on with that $35 Tablet PC the world's been buzzing about -- delivered by none other than India's Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal himself. While constantly referring to "the $35 laptop" (we guess you could hold it in your lap) Mr. Sibal gave us the following info: it sports 2GB RAM, WiFI and 3G, microSD storage, and it runs the Android OS."

Pretty amazing! India plans to use one million of these devices -- delivered in 2011 -- initially in their higher educational system. The $35 cost is that charged to the Indian government and any retail pricing would presumeably be higher. Already some discussions have taken place (OLPC Association/Nicholas Negroponte, Microsoft) regarding making this a "world tablet," and not limiting it to India. Minister Sibal's goal is to get the price down to $10 each. Looking at the video, this is a real device, on real hardware, running Android and "off the shelf" apps. The guys at Gadget Gurus spent two hours trying to crash the tablet, and didn't succeed. Their verdict: good quick hardware and software with a mediocre touch screen requiring use of a stylus for some functions. My first thought was that this just looks like a larger Nokia N900. But it is still a remarkable achievement!