KNLS

You’ve heard of the iPad, the new media tablet computer.  The cost in the U.S. starts at $500 without any bells and whistles.  But there has quickly risen competition.  A Chinese company has just released an iPad copy, called an “iPed” for around US$100. It’s not hard to see how they can copy the technology and design of products like the iPad; most of Apple’s products are made in China.  Now India is in the news because it recently unveiled a “copy-cat” prototype of a tablet computer...But this one will cost only $35.  I’ve been told it looks like an iPad with the same touch screen technology.  If the Indian government can find a manufacturer, this tablet computer would become the latest in a string of “world’s cheapest” innovations from India which include the $2000 Nano car, the $16 water purifier, and the incredible $2000 open-heart surgery.  The tablet can be used for functions like word processing, web browsing and video-conferencing.  It has a solar power option too, a very important feature because of India’s energy poor countryside...However it does costs extra.  Several years ago a U.S. group unveiled the prototype of a $100 laptop computer that they intended to be for children in the developing world.  India rejected that as too expensive and set out to develop a cheaper option of its own.  They feel they have been able to succeed because of falling hardware costs and intelligent design...they also cut hardware costs by not putting a hard drive in the tablet but instead put a memory card...much like a mobile phone.  Several global manufacturers have shown interest in making the low-cost device.  The developers of this tablet are hoping that this will help alleviate some of the high costs of textbooks in college.  There are similar efforts like the KaKai Kno and the Entourage Edge tablets that are also aimed at alleviating the cost of college textbooks. If the $35 Indian tablet works it could actually help the entire industry become more cost conscience...it will put pressure on all device manufacturers to keep costs down...The project is part of an ambitious education technology initiative by the Indian government which also aims to bring broadband connectivity to India’s 25,000 colleges and 504 universities. So far nearly 8,500 colleges have been connected and nearly 500 web and video-based courses have been uploaded on YouTube and other places.