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.
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
24 Comments
Gaurav
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…???
nimesh
how to buy this tablets in india
plz give me replay in my email id
i hope you are understand
Alok Gupta
We would like to buy these tablets in whole sale !
kindly contact us for more details
09254187271
yogesh
from where i can purchase this tablet i am living in ahmedabad
Madhuha
Really it is affordable price i want to buy one can you send the details to my mail id:
bharath
Planning to buy the tablet…
Where can i get it in Hyderabad.
Any details?
Sriram Vadlamani
This is not for retail.
sachin
how to bye this tablets in india plz give me reply in my email id i hope you understand
Sebastian
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.
manoj tiwari
where to buy bhel tab in ahmedabad
raj
how to buy this tablets in india
plz give me replay in my email id
harish singh
I want this pc…plz tell me.where I buy this pc…..
ashu
bakwas h bhai. main bahut pareshan hu isse.
flop one . Software problem n lazi
flop one . Softwaric problem n very lazi
NAVEEN
i wanted to buy BEL TABLET …how to buy it…plz tel…dis is my ID naveen.gani.14@gmail.com
Naveen
i wanted to buy BEL TABLET ,how to buy it? plz reply..
Rahul
is it better than the akash tablet?
Irshad m khan
How and Whare to buy this tablets in india plz give me reply in my email id
My cell no 07666161404
Rahul G
Where are availabel in this tablet? please immediatly reply
Joe Bartlett-Vander
Show me where in the UK I can get an Android tablet to buy, urgently and at what price.
vicky
can i place the sim in this tab
R.K. Singh
How to buy this tablet in bulk to sell in direct marketing through my concept, reply @ my email.
Laxmikant Borde
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
Padmakar chandra Pandey
Mera bel ka tab kam nahi kar raha hai faizabad ya lucknow me kahan bnega .