Low-cost tablets for college students

States will soon get around 3,000 tablets or low-cost computing devices each for field tests by the end of next month. Around a lakh of such devices have been purchased. The sample pieces will soon be dispatched to testing centres at IIT Jodhpur and Kanpur before they are given to the states.

They are meant for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Manufactured by Canadian firm Datawind Ltd,each device costs around Rs 2,200,of which the Central government will contribute around 50 per cent. The government is planning to procure around 1 million units in the first phase.

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal launched the tablet called Sakshat last year. Aimed to bridge the class divide and providing technology access,the tablets use Linux and include features such as WiFi connectivity,PDF Reader,Open Office,touchscreen ability,remote device management capability,multimedia input-output interface option,built-in keyboard,2 GB RAM and a USB port.