HCL Loses Tender For The $35 Sakshat Tablet, Delays The Launch!

• The $35 tablet sounded a surreal expedition by the Indian government when it was first announced, but when it was recently unveiled by Mr. Kapil Sibal at Tirupathi, our expectations of it hitting reality were seamless.

The Sakshat Tablet manufactured by HCL was scheduled to launch on January 15th 2011. However, reports now populating the space bespeak otherwise. HTC Infosystems, which was reported to be the original vendor for the cheapest Tablet PC in the world, has lost the tender.

Apparently, HCL couldn’t provide a bank guarantee of Rs 60 crore for the tablet, as a consequence of which the government has withdrawn its role as the Sakshat tablet vendor and will now be issuing a new tender to another vendor.

As Economic Times reports,

According to sources close to the project, HCL Infosystems was selected as a vendor for the $35 laptop. A mail being circulated inside the Ministry of HRD seen by ET says that ‘the vendor shortlisted for the delivery of these devices has started listing some additional, unacceptable, conditions.’

On the contrary, HCL was quoted as saying :

We congratulate the Government for their vision on the $35 Tablet. We have no information of a decision being taken. When government was seeking collaboration, we were one of the first to partner it,” a company statement said.

Sources close to the project reveal that the government has already issued a new tender regarding the same and is persistent in claiming that the tablet will be released in 2011 — when exactly, we don’t know yet.

In case you have missed our earlier posts about the Sakshat Tablet, know that it (the $35 Sakshat tablet) is the world’s cheapest tablet that’s being developed to savor IT-based education for students. The Sakshat tablet features a 5/7/10” touchscreen display, USB ports, built-in media player, Google Android OS, Wi-Fi connectivity and much more.

Reports also reveal that despite HCL losing the tender, the Ministry of HRD claims to launch the tablet this year, maybe around the middle of the year as it confidently quotes “the Sun will rise in 2011”.

If the Sakshat Android tablet actually becomes available for sale, it would be a very accomplishing feat by the Indian government. Of course, it will propel IT-based education in India to whole new stature.

We will keep you posted as more details surface. Stay tuned.