[sabret00the]

It seems like a sensible device as per the details on Wiki.
Sakshat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[thedreamcatcher]

Unable to source anything on the net.

What is the status of this. I know it is launched, but can 'we' buy it?

[Bluengel180]

Cheap Indian tablet might be canceled

[HammerHead]

To me this whole 'Sakshat' thing looks like a bad joke.
No concrete news on if its launched and where and how one can buy it!
Nothing is mentioned on HCL's website either.

[Digital Vampire]

Time and again our great government has maligned us in front of international community with such cheap sensationalism.

$35 tablet indeed was an immature thought by our stupid government. First it was the $10 laptop which fizzled out to be something worse than a calculator and now the $35 tablet.

As we've already discussed here, the component cost of the screen + processor alone can go above $35. Instead of dragging and maligning prestigious institutes like IIT, why can't our illiterate politicians stop this cheap publicity stunt and announce to the world that this is a $99 hardware sourced from elsewhere and subsidized to $35 for poor Indians? An announcement like that would carry more weight than creating such fake news of a $35 tablet which is almost impossible in the current world economics and technology limits.

NEW DELHI: The government's ambitious $35 laptop project has hit a roadblock. The tender for the $35 laptop termed 'Sakshat' has been cancelled, and the government is now issuing a new tender, as the earlier vendor failed to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 60 crore. The $35 laptop was scheduled to be launched by January 15, 2011.


According to sources close to the project, HCL Infosystems was selected as a vendor for the $35 laptop. A mail being circulated inside the Ministry of HRD seen by ET says that 'the vendor shortlisted for the delivery of these devices has started listing some additional, unacceptable, conditions.'


A senior official in the Ministry leading the project told ET that the vendor did not agree to furnish a Rs 60 crore bank guarantee, which is required under the government's General Financial Rules, 2005. A bank guarantee indemnifies the government in case a vendor fails to deliver the project. As a result, MHRD cancelled the previous order and has re-advertised.


"Yes, we have re-issued a new tender. The matter will be sorted out in a few weeks," the official said. "The Sun will rise in 2011," he added. Largest domestic PC maker HCL Infosystems however said it had only bid for the latest Expression of Interest in the tender, and had no information of a decision being taken. "We congratulate the Government for their vision on the $35 Tablet. We have no information of a decision being taken. When government was seeking collaboration, we were one of the first to partner it," a company statement said.


It's imperative to note that Minister for Human Resource and Development Kapil Sibal in a ceremony last year had announced that the laptop will be launched by January 15, 2010. The government had also allocated $6.5 million for the ambitious project. The initial order was for a 100,000 tablets, to be based on Google's Android operating system.


A spokesperson from the Ministry of HRD said that the $35 laptop project is on schedule and now it plans to launch the laptop in the mid of 2010. "It was HCL who had claimed the launch to be around January, 2011," the spokesperson said.


According to a government source, the laptop components alone were costing the vendor Rs 5700 without taking into account the import duties and logistics. The government was however planning to sell it at Rs 1500 per piece. "Disagreement on the financial cost with the vendor led to the tender cancellation," said a source close to the project.


The government is also planning to take help of IIT alumni in sourcing components from new suppliers from Taiwan and Korea regarding the project. Tech analysts however say that components alone cost higher than $35 price and it would be difficult for suppliers to meet the price without subsidy. "The microprocessor and screen would alone costs over $35 in the market," said Vishal Bhatnagar, IT analyst with Gartner Inc.


It's not the first time that MHRD has failed to deliver. Earlier in 2009, it's $10 laptop had turned out to be a pen drive!

Tender for $35 laptop project cancelled - The Economic Times

[Rehaan]

Come on guys!!! This is all HOT AIR.

Its a good deal if you can even just buy 2GB of RAM for Rs 1500, forget about an entire tablet computer.

It just seems to be a tablet thats being quoted at a ridiculously low price to say "Wow look how awesome we Indians are that we developed this for so cheap! Give us recognition!" - Government.

Ofcourse the press is having a field day with it too, with everyone wow-ing and ooh-ing and drooling. But take a look at how reliable the media is, as per a link a few posts back :

Title says : You can Buy Online Now
Last line of article says : Online Booking of Sakshat Tablet can be done later on official website of the Tablet.

There's NO WAY that anything like that can be priced at Rs 1500 / $35.

Get real and give credit and drool where its REALLY due :
The NotionInk Adam, designed and created in India (Hyd/Bang) over the last 3 years. Shown at CES a few months back, and being shipped starting TODAY!

Link to TBHP Thread

NotionInk Blog

NotionInk Website

cya
R

@Digital Vampire - well said!

[kkr2k2]

Instead they could have made a good tablet for 10,000/-. I am sure many would like to buy it. For the schools, let the Govt. give subsidies whatever the govt. thinks is right!!!

[thedreamcatcher]

I agree with Rehaan. When you see the price, you feel you want to pick up atleast 2-3 of them, just for the heck of it. I mean, if not for anything else, you can get a decent 9'' usable screen for peanuts. And something that functions well. Wow

But, here it is more a feel good factor, offered at 1500, with an astericks next to it and the conditions apply written so small, that no one can ever make out. Simple, not for the peole like us to buy. Even i checked it out that day and found no way that i could procure it.

Sic

[ChrisFrancis]

Looks like it's not coming anytime soon!
India's Rs. 1600 Tablet - Sakshat, Gets Hit by a Setback > News on Tablets PCs & Laptops > Tech2.com India