Three U.S. cities try out $40 tablets in schools

Three U.S. cities are taking part in a pilot plan to roll out cheap newest tablets to schools.DataWind's Aakash tablets are being given to children in Silicon Valley and Atlanta, with Las Vegas beginning its trial soon.The cheapest tablet, called the Aakash 2 tablet costs just $40.41 and features many aspects either better, or comparable to the original iPad.

There's a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, a 7-inch 800x480 pixel screen and VGA camera.For an extra $5, you can purchase the 3G and Wi-Fi model.Following hugely successful trials in India, where the vast majority of children drop out of school before they hit eighth grade, the tablets will be used as an education tool.ds2wfdD2

When DataWind opened up its order page in India, it expected to get around 50,000 orders in a year. In fact, it found demand was so high for such a low cost device (around 25 percent of a typical Indian's monthly salary), it was getting 100,000 orders per day.With a 4 million worldwide backlog, the company has now shipped 100,000 devices to the government for distribution in schools and 500,000 to consumers.

The Indian government now plans to hand out the latest android tablet to 220 million school children as an educational aid. Thailand, Turkey, Nigeria, Honduras, Brazil, Panama and Nicaragua have all announced they too will be considering to roll out tablets as part of their education policy.

Although the tablets may not prove as popular in the U.S. as they have been in less developed territories, 20 percent of children in this country don't have internet at home. DataWind thinks introducing devices like the Aakash 2 will enable those without access to internet to finally access the web.DataWind previously launched the PocketSurfer, an enlarged smartphone that was designed purely to access the web with an annual subsidised data connection.

Citing a leaked roadmap which apparently details Dell’s Q88 Tablet tablet plans, Hungarian website Tech2.hu reports that the XPS 10 successor will have a 10.8-inch Full HD display and will come to market in Q4. It is not known if the model will run Windows RT, as with the original model, or the Intel-powered Windows 8.

The same roadmap also seems to indicate that Dell could unveil a newer Latitude 10 tablet, also with a 10.8-inch display, in the first quarter of next year, news which would come as some surprise given the Texas firm has already launched two Latitude 10 tablets in seven months.

It has been suggested that Dell might be preparing a newer version of the XPS 10 because the original model failed to attract significant sales, something which may have also influenced the company's decision to discount the XPS 10 to just $299 earlier this month.The prospect of new cheapest tablet in the near future doesn't seem so far off. After all, a senior Dell executive recently hinted at an incoming Windows RT tablet and Kindle Fire rival.