Sakshat - I am not too excited about it.

Indian government recently announced the launch of Sakshat - a $35 tablet. The tablet has 2 GB RAM, no hard disk, USB port, and built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. It comes with a PDF reader, multimedia player, video conferencing, Web browser, and word processor. If all these work, I think we have a product which is worth every cent spent on it. However, I am still not gung-ho about the product.

South East Asian countries manufacture electronic products that are imitations of big brands at a very cheap price. My Taiwanese friend claims that an iPhone equivalent and look alike costs $15 in the streets of Taipei. These products suffer from poor reputation; they are branded unreliable. Sakshat, I fear, might turn out to be one such product.

Indian govt. should have waited till Sakshat was field tested before making tall claims about it. From business point of view, the press release stunt was unnecessary because the market was guaranteed anyway. Gaining international reputation being the motive, after giving the hype, it better deliver the goods especially after the $10 laptop debacle.

The Indian Electronics Industry has a lot of potential. Indian engineers are masterminds behind many cool American innovations and products; Ajay Bhatt, the inventor of USB 2.0, is a case in point. However, the Indian companies are yet to make a name for themselves. The $10 laptop has only handed the Indian Industry an early setback. I sincerely hope that Indian govt. has not made any mistakes with $35 laptop.