India's $35 tablet delay dashes hopes, destroys dreams

College students eagerly awaiting India's ambitious $35 tablet are going to have to put their dreams on hold -- there's been a delay. Earlier this week, the Times of India reported that the Indian government dropped HCL Technologies, the company responsible for manufacturing the great democratic tablet, for failing to follow through on the 600 million rupee (or $13,198,416) guarantee -- apparently a disagreement over production costs is to blame. Last summer, the country's Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal, made a number of appearances toting a mockup of the Android-based tablet, and promising a launch date of January 15th. Officials say the project is still on track and should be ready this summer. However, while the government seeks a replacement for HCL, skeptics continue to sound warnings that parts alone will cost more than $35. We'd like to chalk this up to haters hating, but we can't seem to forget what became of the $10 laptop.

India's $35 tablet delay dashes hopes, destroys dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/21/indias-35-tablet-delay-dashes-hopes-destroys-dreams/

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