Indian Government Unveils $30 Tablet

Today’s headline and gadget sound, in many ways, too good to be true. But it is true, amazingly enough. Here in the United States, those wishing to be early adopters of the upcoming tablet computing trend have only one option: the Apple iPad, which costs the user a pretty penny in both initial cost and data plans.

While other devices are still in development, none has emerged as the front-runner to challenge Apple’s place at the top of the world.

Tablet computers, if they are indeed the future, remain elusive to the market in both the United States and Europe. The high cost of these devices makes them impractical for the average citizen of many other countries in the world. India’s solution? Design a better tablet and sell it for a jaw-dropping price.

The tablet, which was unveiled as a prototype earlier this week, was the child of a joint development between the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science. With an estimated retail price of approximately $30 USD (about 1500 Rupees), the tablet is intended to find a home in the Indian education system, providing a computer to everyone from grade schoolers to graduate students.