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Bharat Electronics $75 Android tablet is ‘Made in India’ and solar powered

By Sriram Vadlamani | on August 5, 2011 | 28 Comments
Android Tablets

Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has manufactured a tablet PC which costs Rs. 3000 and is completely Made in India in BEL’s plant in Bangalore. The amazing thing about this tablet is, it was designed, manufactured and 2000 sample tablets were shipped in just 4.5 months.

Bharat Electronics tablet india Bharat Electronics BEL Android tablet india BEL Android tablet android tablets india

BEL’s tablet runs Android 2.2 and is solar powered for the power back up. The tablet will send the data back to the central server relying on the solar powered battery. Other specifications are not known but this tablet with the leather pouch, keyboard connected with a cable seems like a practical approach for low cost computing. Asus Transformer has a similar but much sexier approach a tablet.

BEL which manufactures radars and communication devices for defence department has received an order from Ministry of Rural development. This was BEL’s first significant civilian order. Rural Development ministry will be using this tablet for poverty survey. BEL will supply 6 lakh tablets as early as this November. The order is worth Rs. 1000 crores and will contribute to 15% of this year’s revenues for BEL. Guess what? This isn’t BEL’s main business but depending on the demand and growth, BEL wouldn’t mind making it a strategic business venture.

BEL has spent 7 crores in building an additional facility for tablet manufacturing in Bangalore. Depending on future orders and growth it will spend Rs. 20 crores to set-up two additional facilities in Ghaziabad and Panchkula. BEL plans to come up with a different tablet version for students. Depending on the demand, BEL will open it up for retail too.

Across the world the tablet prices are falling down and the cheapest tablet we have come across was the simple tablet called Noteslate which costs $99. India’s HRD ministry has boasted of a $35 tablet which is subsidized to the core, manufactured in Taiwan and needs an order of million tablets to just break even. The tablet isn’t all that attractive and looks like oversized transistor of yesteryears. But that is a tablet nevertheless and it will come out. Spending money (as subsidies) on devices which will help students is much better than letting the politicians swindle money to overseas banks. In fact, the money spent on these tablets is chump change when compared with the magnanimity and audacity of the scams we have seen in the last 2 years.

Despite the obvious advantages $35 tablet from HRD enjoys, it would be unfair for us to not compare that tablet with $75 tablet from BEL. Isn’t it amazing that BEL has designed, developed and shipped the tablets in less than 5 months? It is now ready to ship 6 lakh more tablets by November. HRD ministry took more than 2 years to and we are still waiting. What was the difference between the two projects?

Is it the ‘Make it large’ bug which has bitten Harbhajan Singh too?

If $35 is too cheap to be practical and if $200 OLPC is expensive for the low-cost computing needs, isn’t a $75 tablet a more practical approach?

Via BusinessLine

Related posts:

islate_thumb.jpgiSlate : Solar powered tablet PC! Umeox-630x325Umeox Apollo : Solar powered Android phone for $100 gfive_thumb.jpgG’Five to launch Android tablet in India! Spice to launch MI 720 Android tablet in India
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Tags: android tablets indiaBEL Android tabletBEL Android tablet indiaBharat ElectronicsBharat Electronics tablet india

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Author Description

Sriram Vadlamani is the Editor and co-founder of TheGadgetFan and a columnist at Asian Correspondent. You can follow him on twitter @indianomics (Email: sriram.vadlamani@gmail.com | Bio). Add him to your Google circle.

28 Responses to “Bharat Electronics $75 Android tablet is ‘Made in India’ and solar powered”

  1. August 9, 2011

    Abhishek Reply

    Cool one . . . Where can i buy one of theses

  2. August 11, 2011

    A Self-charging Smartphone, what an idea sirjee Reply

    [...] is no shortage of products which can be charged using solar energy. We have seen a tablet from India’s BEL, Umeox Apollo, Toshiba eReader and iSlate. What separates the UCLA concept from the rest is its [...]

  3. August 15, 2011

    Gaurav Reply

    2nd paragraph:
    6lakh tablets x 3000Rs = 180 crore, not 1000 crore….
    so is this 1 of the place where our money is getting wasted, due to lack of basic math skills…???

  4. August 24, 2011

    Would you buy a tablet just because it is made in India? | Asian Correspondent Reply

    [...] tablet which was manufactured in China. India’s Bharat Electricals Limited have made a tablet completely in India in its Bangalore manufacturing [...]

  5. August 25, 2011

    3 tablets you can buy for $99 Reply

    [...] see that and even if we did, it will not available for retail consumption. BEL has manufactured a tablet for $75, but that too is for a special [...]

  6. September 1, 2011

    nimesh Reply

    how to buy this tablets in india
    plz give me replay in my email id
    i hope you are understand

  7. September 16, 2011

    Alok Gupta Reply

    We would like to buy these tablets in whole sale !
    kindly contact us for more details

    09254187271

    • October 28, 2011

      yogesh Reply

      from where i can purchase this tablet i am living in ahmedabad

  8. November 19, 2011

    Madhuha Reply

    Really it is affordable price i want to buy one can you send the details to my mail id:

  9. November 22, 2011

    bharath Reply

    Planning to buy the tablet…
    Where can i get it in Hyderabad.
    Any details?

    • November 22, 2011

      Sriram Vadlamani Reply

      This is not for retail.

  10. November 25, 2011

    Ave: A Made in India Android tablet Reply

    [...] started with Notion Ink’s Adam which was followed by the Aakash tablet. BEL has its own tablet and now we have Ave. That’s where my euphoria [...]

  11. December 8, 2011

    sachin Reply

    how to bye this tablets in india plz give me reply in my email id i hope you understand

  12. January 18, 2012

    Sebastian Reply

    This far by not price but the standard. I would like to purchase BEL android. Where and when can be done please do inform me. Cause others are not just reachable due to price and quality. reply me at sebsonik@gmail.com or sebsonik@yahoo.com. Advance thanks a lot.

  13. February 2, 2012

    manoj tiwari Reply

    where to buy bhel tab in ahmedabad

  14. February 16, 2012

    raj Reply

    how to buy this tablets in india
    plz give me replay in my email id

  15. March 2, 2012

    harish singh Reply

    I want this pc…plz tell me.where I buy this pc…..

  16. March 6, 2012

    ashu Reply

    bakwas h bhai. main bahut pareshan hu isse.

  17. May 6, 2012

    flop one . Software problem n lazi Reply

    flop one . Softwaric problem n very lazi

  18. May 7, 2012

    NAVEEN Reply

    i wanted to buy BEL TABLET …how to buy it…plz tel…dis is my ID naveen.gani.14@gmail.com

  19. May 7, 2012

    Naveen Reply

    i wanted to buy BEL TABLET ,how to buy it? plz reply..

  20. May 16, 2012

    Rahul Reply

    is it better than the akash tablet?

  21. May 17, 2012

    Irshad m khan Reply

    How and Whare to buy this tablets in india plz give me reply in my email id
    My cell no 07666161404

    • June 30, 2012

      Rahul G Reply

      Where are availabel in this tablet? please immediatly reply

  22. May 23, 2012

    Joe Bartlett-Vander Reply

    Show me where in the UK I can get an Android tablet to buy, urgently and at what price.

  23. June 20, 2012

    vicky Reply

    can i place the sim in this tab

  24. July 27, 2012

    R.K. Singh Reply

    How to buy this tablet in bulk to sell in direct marketing through my concept, reply @ my email.

  25. September 10, 2012

    Laxmikant Borde Reply

    I had ordered for Akaash. My money is out of my account. I dont know what's happening with this. Any news? In the mean time I bought this BASlate 7SCH tab. its just awesome. Battery life is too great. You can buy this android tablet at http://www.baslate.com

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