India create $30 tablet pc for students

While organizations like the OLPC tried to hit the $100 mark for a netbook PC, India has gone a step further and created a $30 tablet PC. The device, called Sakshat, was unveiled by India’s Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. It is expected to become available in India next year targeting students. To begin with it will cost $30 and be manufactured elsewhere, but the aim is to get the price down to $10 and have all manufacturing done in India.

The device itself has a 10″ touchscreen 2GB of RAM, a USB port, and Wi-Fi built-in. It runs a Linux-based OS and bundled software includes OpenOffice, a PDF reader, web browser, media player, and video conferencing app. Power will partially come from solar panels mounted to the case.