OLPC's Negroponte supports India's $35 tablet concept
By siliconindia   |   Monday, 09 August 2010, 21:05 IST   |    3 Comments
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OLPC's Negroponte supports India's $35 tablet concept
Bangalore: After its share of receiving bouquets and brickbats, the Indian developed $35 tablet is finding support from nonprofit organization One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Chairman Nicholas Negroponte, who has offered to help India with full access to the software and hardware technology at OLPC. In his blog, Negroponte said, "I repeat my offer: full access to all of our technology, cost free. I urge you to send a team to MIT and OLPC at your earliest convenience so we can share our results with you". With its own plans of shipping a low cost tablet by 2012, OLPC has offered the idea where both OLPC and India can join forces for the cause of promoting education. In fact, both OLPC and India share similar history in terms of coming up with low cost laptops. The Indian government had previously declared the release of a $100 laptop which failed to materialize. In 2005, OLPC had also planned to roll out $100 XO laptops. However, this noble plan got upset by production delays and rising costs, which took the cost of the laptop to $200. And hence the deal got scrapped. With India now introducing the $35 tablet, observers predict similar fate for it as what happened with the $100 laptop. The generous offer from the OLPC Chairman comes after it has shared some bittersweet relationship with the Indian government. OLPC XO laptops were declined by India in 2006, which then opted for Intel's Classmate PC. But again in 2009, XO laptops were ordered by two Indian government organizations. Negroponte has also suggested using the open source Linux OS for the tablet. He has also warned the Indian government against making the tool a design for media consumption and just to stick to it making an education tool.

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