Researchers at two prestigious technological schools in India--the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science--developed a prototype for a tablet computer that they say will cost $35, including chip, memory, display, processing and everything else, Reuters reported last week. The Linux-based touchscreen device, which is said to come with browsers, video conferencing features and a PDF reader, is targeted at the education market, and the hope is to bring the cost down as low at $10.  

But not everyone is buying it. With great disdain for the mainstream media's reporting of the story, Computerworld's Mike Elgan writes that the ultra cheap laptop is unlikely to ever exist.

"Because the mainstream media is too gullible, shameless and lazy to report this story with even the slightest hint of skepticism, let me spell out what is almost certainly going on here," Elgan writes. "Indian politicians have discovered that announcing technological 'breakthroughs' that leverage Indian engineering prowess to deliver computers to everybody helps get press and win votes."

Elgan recounts a number of other "breakthroughs" from India that have yet to reach fruition. The Shaksat laptop, announced in February 2009, doesn't seem to be in use; The Simputer, developed in 1999, sold just 4,000 units. Further, he argues, the components for the most recently announced "breakthrough" add up to more than $35.  

Most relevant, though, is the matter of competition from China: "[N]o country in the world can build a cheaper computer than China can. The entire tech sector in China is optimized for ultra-low-cost manufacturing. All the engineering brilliance in India can't change that," he writes. "Even if Moore's Law unexpectedly accelerated, and India was miraculously able to build a $35 tablet next year, there would be 100 Chinese companies selling tablets for $20 and the Indian initiative would be pointless anyway."

For more:
- see this Reuters article at MSNBC
- see Mike Elgan's column at Computerworld

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