$35 Tablet makes an appearance on Indian TV (video)
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted August 11th 2010 2:37PM
posted August 11th 2010 2:37PM
The Gadget Gurus, the Subcontinent's answer to The Engadget Show, got a special hands-on with that $35 Tablet PC the world's been buzzing about -- delivered by none other than India's Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal himself. While constantly referring to "the $35 laptop" (we guess you could hold it in your lap) Mr. Sibal gave us the following info: it sports 2GB RAM, WiFI and 3G, microSD storage, and it runs the Android OS. Additionally, it rocks video out and a webcam -- in short, it's an Android tablet. Don't expect to see this bad boy hit retail channels soon: the government plans on making it available to students and universities in mid-2011, with no plans yet for sales to the general public. To watch the man himself (as well as some wild and wonderful Indian television) check out the video after the break -- fast-forward two and a half minutes to get to the main attraction.
2GB RAM ??
I'm guessing that would be the internal storage capacity.
@giriz isn't this magical?
and may be the most important things is clockspeed than RAM.
@giriz WTF?!?! 2GB RAM, WiFi, 3G, microSD and all with a 7 inch touchscreen running on ANDROID OS (btw I though it was running on Linux OS)?! And that too for $35?!
HOLY CRAP! How'd they manage to do that?
@statickeith By not ripping of customers like the iPad does :)
And also with some lower quality components
@uniq Don't forget... near sourcing where the rest of the world outsources too... none of the transport costs of sending a finished product back across an ocean.
@giriz GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIZED COMPUTER
@statickeith
The $35 is essentially a marketing myth that attracts eyeballs. When (if) released, it'll cost more. But will still be a lot cheaper than comparable devices.
Where is iSuppli when you need them?
@uniq "And also with some lower quality components"
Lower quality basically everything.
Don't get me wrong though, I love the cheap 'n' cheerful approach. I'd definitely get one of these just to try it out.
@giriz i wonder how slow it is...
I have definitely talked to these guys through Dell tech support before.
@uniq if its so easy why don't u do it for $34
@statickeith It'd be funny if it was non volatile RAM. But yeah... I guess he ment 2GB ROM...
@Firehazel Nope just like everyone else, this is not a phone it uses very cheap X86 based components like an OLPC so YES 2GB of Ram probably DDR or DDR2 because it's crazy cheap.
@statickeith
Android IS a linux based OS !
@statickeith
The Indian government subsidizes the cost of the device. The real cost of the device is obviously going to be higher than $35.
@statickeith My guess is that they're not counting a lot of the costs that go into a regular shipped retail product. Like the actual shipping it out part, the packaging, warranty support costs, etc. I suppose there's also less middlemen involved-no wholesaler and retailer, etc.
However their math is it's probably not quite the same as how you would do the math for a retail unit. I mean basically it'd be a $100 tablet if it was a retail product after all the shipping and packaging and middlemen involved.
@giriz It's Government Subsidized, and it carriers a $35 tag when a million of them are on the production belt.. production in high volumes will lead to lower cost per tablet.
http://www.99bits.com/
@99bitscom
@statickeith android is Linux with a Java UI thrown on it.
@fourthletter no it would NOT be X86 based because it runs ANDROID android is not for X86 thats why you cant install it on your PC you need an emulator just like mac is unix based and doesnt run on X86 architecture
@ZLiberator You mean the government is interested in children learning? What a concept.
@99bits If I interpreted the interview comment right, the government is subsidizing about half of the cost and the will sell it to the college students for no profit. So, if they were to sell it at retail, it would probably cost $90-100.
@giriz I have posted an article which lists the cost evaluation and the plausible supplier of this tablet. Read my post to see how this it comes down to $35.
http://www.99bits.com/2010/08/35-tablet-financially-dissected-supplier-uncovered/
http://www.99bits.com/
@99bitscom
@theaaron123
Being Unix based has nothing to do with using x86.
2 GB of ram, Wifi, and 3G? $35 my ass.
@vloeibaarglas i think the point is that the government is subsidizing this for the students so yeh this wouldnt normally cost 35 bucks
@repo105 Actually, it's $35 whole cost. The subsidy makes it even cheaper for purchases, check out the original article on Engadget.
@angelusp You do know the market this tablet is aimed at, eh? It's not for us North Americans, it's for the people in India and many of them live merely on $2/day. I think it's a bod move by the government. This will def. Help them provide better education for their students
@vloeibaarglas First of all it would be 2GB internal storage. Secondly you don't seem to understand how cheap hardware is. Even Apple products don't even come near the retail price. The iPad costs $250 and that's with premium prices of having top of the line components and technology. Now think about the vast supply of lower-end hardware with less demand.
One of the most expensive part of tablets and smart-phones is the screen. Here they use a mediocre one with resistive touch so they basically removed that major cost.
I'm a bit skeptic over the 3G. Either it's a mistake, like the ram, or it's probably incorporated inside another chip. They would probably not put it in a standalone 3G chip as that would have very little use for poor students.
$35 was the true cost, not after subsidy. The guy said that subsidies would very easily cover the $35.
@vloeibaarglas
Look on youtube for the $35 Allgo computer that uses a 430 Mhz Freescale "system on chip" that costs only $5. They explain the cost breakdown as $8 for CPU + memory which includes the USB, audio codec, Wifi is $5, discrete components are about $2. .. resistive touchscreen is $15 and battery is $5. I have no idea why engadget hasn't found that video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGYHH16XTks
Trust, but verify .. so looking online for prices of 2GB flash memory .. $3 is feasible for that. It does sound reasonable that discrete components are $2. They cost less than a penny. Literally a penny contains more expensive copper than what ten capacitors and resistors would have (if you google you can buy a tens for $1). The USB connectors (which I thought would be expensive) and all are also pennies (I looked on alibaba.com). Freescale does have a 454 Mhz system on chip CPU for around $5 .. the i.MX233
The only thing I am skeptical about is that discrete components plus PCB costing only $2. I didn't think PCBs could be stamped out so cheap. Looking online I can't find any $1 per PCB supplier .. can anyone else?
@JS I am from India btw .. About PCBs, I have etched quite a few of them from a local guy. The charges really go down with volume. The pricing is like INR 110 for single board. Add INR 10 for every extra one. ( 1 USD ~ 47 INR right now). Do the math ;)
@JS Also, about discrete components, they are cheaper here than you imagine :) .. One resistor for example, costs around INR 0.25. Thats like half a cent. A transistor ( a basic one like BC547 ) .. costs INR 1-3. Same for capacitor. So yea.... you can have the PCB+discrete components within $2.
buy 10,000 at $35
resell on Ebay at $45
Profit?!
$100,000
easy
@rmbrown09
better still stick an i before its proper name and sell it for 135$ :) the sheep will follow!
@nicomo iMagic. I say. for $600, a cool $565 return.
@rmbrown09
Your MOQ (minimum order quantity) is 1-million units. You'll have to put your own $35,000,000 first before you can start selling them above $35-each for a profit.
@rmbrown09 you forgot ebay fees, listing fees and paypal fees, and that bring the total cost to $35 + $15+ = $50+
therefore more like a huge loss. :)
thats just great for india, students will loooove android :)
@applehateboy
India is one of the most technically advanced societies in the world. So please don't insult them. That crap tablet is nothing but a free mobile OS on cheap hardware.
@pspitts
It's not that advanced. While a limited few circles would have access to the latest tech, the average American has access to waaayyyy better technology than the average Indian. This will help a lot.
@pspitts
I m not insulting u dork!
A $35 tablet has 3G standard but Apple charges an additional $129 to get a 3G chip in an iPad. Haha.
It must be heavily subsidized, it's impossible to make hardware that cheaply.
@Synaesthesia
No it's not, the subsidized cost is $20.
Look on youtube for the $35 Allgo computer that uses a 430 Mhz Freescale "system on chip" that costs only $5. They explain the cost breakdown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGYHH16XTks
@Synaesthesia
It's a good bet that the parts manufacturers are selling to these guys at cost. If no one at any stage of the pipeline does more than cover costs, it is not a challenge. The raw materials used to make a $25 chip in an iPad is probably pennies. The hard part is fabricating. The chip in this tablet is obviously far less capable.
If the iPad made no profits for Samsung, Marvell, Broadcom, or any of its suppliers, it could probably cost less than $150. But considering the fat margins that Apple gets, and the even fatter margins that the semiconductors get the suppliers, we see a $500 price.
@Synaesthesia
In a world where capitalism rules, we all get conned.
I buying one just because its so damn cheap
" it sports 2GB RAM, WiFI and 3G, microSD storage, and it runs the Android OS. "
Ehhhh? 2GB of flash storage I would believe, as well as maybe 128mb RAM.
@Nitesh Nope just like everyone else this is not a phone it uses very cheap X86 based components like an OLPC
I might as well use this as a doormat at this price.
I want a truck of this tablet !!
@Nitesh 2GB of flash memory in china cost less then 0.25$... my friend bought a 32 GB Pen drive for 2$