World's cheapest tablet launched Aakash to be sold for $60

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal displayed the prototype of $35 basic touch screen tablet (AP))

The wait for the world's cheapest tablet  is finally over! The $35 tablet nicknamed Aakash was launched today and will be available at retail stores at a maximum retail price of Rs 2999 ($60), said its maker Datawind.

Two years in development, the Aakash is due to be assembled in India and may help the government's goal of incorporating information technology in education, although critics were doubtful the device would live up to expectations.

India trails fellow BRIC nations Brazil, Russia and China in the drive to get its 1.2 billion population connected to technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones, a report by risk analysis firm Maplecroft said this year

Developed as part of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the tablet computer is designed in India as a low cost but full functioning device.

It aims to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities through e-learning programme.

The tablet with sport a 7” colour LCD/TFT display and run on Google's Android platform.

It with have WiFi connectivity for internet access and cloud storage, 256 MB of RAM, a 2GB SD memory card and a 32 GB expandable memory slot.