$35 tablet computer Aakash aims to bring computing to the masses, change lives

A $35 tablet computer has been launched in India Wednesday which is hoped to change lives of many people from the rural poor. Called Aakash, the $35 tablet computer is targeting millions of poverty-stricken villagers in India’s countryside.

The $35 tablet computer being shown by students at the launch

At the tablet's launch, Kapil Sibal, India's Human Resources Development Minister, said, "This is not just for us. This is for all of you who are disempowered."

"This is for all those who live on the fringes of society," he added.

Sibal also revealed that the government planned to buy 100,000 of the tablets and that it hopes to distribute 10 million units to students all over India over the next few years.

"The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide," Sibal said.

Five hundred of the device were handed out to students during the launch.

Dubbed as the "cheapest tablet computer in the world", Aakash (a term for "sky" in Hindi), is said to be the latest addition to a series of "world's cheapest" innovations in India that include a $2,040 compact Nano car, a $15 water purifier and $2,000 open-heart surgery.

The $35 tablet computer, which is Android-based, supports web browsing and video conferencing, has a three-hour battery life, 7″ touch screen, 800×480 resolution, WiFi, 256 MB RAM, 2GB flash memory, 32 GB expandable memory slot and two USB ports, but questions remain over how it will perform.