Will a $35 Tablet Spark an Explosion of Creativity and Revenue in Entertainment and Education?

On Oct. 5th, 2011, the Indian government launched a 7-inch Android-based tablet - the $35 Aakash.

Developed to link students at India's 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program - the Aakash has the potential to revolutionize the way entertainment and education are delivered around the world.

An initial run of 100,000 units has already been fully subscribed - although not yet delivered. A second generation model of Aakash (projected to cost the Indian government $50 per unit) will be circulated to students at the subsidized price of $35 early in 2012. A commercial version of Aakash will be marketed as UbiSlate 7 for about $60 - with shipping also expected before the end of February 2012.

At the heart of the Aakash tablet is an HD video co-processor. So it should play videos well when connected to the internet (wifi only).

As the Aakash tablet and other competitors (all priced well-under $100) become widely available, children (and their parents) all over India will - for the first time - have access to apps and motion pictures online.

How long will it be until apps based on the new Hollywood children's film - or innovative educational texts - are available in Bengali - with about 1/2 as many native speakers as English - and Hindi-Urdu - with about as many native speakers as English?

What revenue models will emerge for motion pictures as tens of millions of new customers are connected to streaming services every few months?

In 2012, will apps and films, playing on ubiquitous mobile devices like the Aakash, change entertainment and education in ways that were not imagined just a few years ago?

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