Some Cash for Aakash

Aakash is an Android based tablet computer developed and produced by a British company called DataWind. It has a 7 inch touch screen, 2GB RAM, and runs under the Android 2.3 operating system. It has USB ports and HD quality video. A trial run of 100,000 was made in India, with a $35 price-tag for students and $60 for the general public.

DataWind’s Research and Development is based in Montreal, and it has offices here in the Toronto area. Their revenue has gone from $10 million to half a billion in a year. They are presently working on a 4G enabled tablet. So, why does a tablet cost so much here? Why are we not benefiting from that technology?  Tablets are obviously produced in countries other than Canada, and they can clearly be produced for a lot less than they are sold for here.

P.S. The new iPad was announced for release today for about $600.