Finally, as cheap and affordable as it can get!

Aimed at students, India has unveiled the basic prototype of a basic $35 touchscreen tablet PC. It is planned that this new model will hit the market by 2011, provided the Government finds a manufacturer.

The laptop will run on a Linux OS, and can do basic functions such as word processing, video conferencing and web browsing.  The device will also be including a PDF reader, wi-fi, 2GB memory, USB, Open Office, and multimedia content viewers and interfaces. There is no hard disk, but will have a memory card much like a mobile phone. It also will have a solar power option at an additional cost.

India had previously rejected an offer from MIT’s Media Lab – a $100 computer prototype built for children of the developing world – as it was too expensive.

Even though there is a lot of skepticism about this project in various parts of the internet, the success of this project is something for the whole of the nation to look forward to.