Divanee – South Asian news and entertainment

An iPad 2 starts at $499. A Kindle Fire at $199. Even a basic, color-free Nook comes in at $139. But in India, the country that is also responsible for producing the world’s cheapest car, there’s a new tablet doing the rounds — and at $35, it costs less than your average pair of jeans.

“Aakash” (the Hindi word for “sky”), initially unveiled over a year ago, has finally arrived. At a mere 13 ounces, the 7-inch touch-screen device is no match for Apple’s wide array of apps and services. But with the help of Google’s Android 2.2 operating system, the tablet allows its end-user to surf the Internet, check email, browse social networks, and chat with friends. It also features online banking, has basic multimedia functions, and comes equipped with Wi-Fi access, headphones, two USB ports, and 256-megabytes of internal memory.

And though it may not be on the same level as its fancier (and pricier) counterparts, Aakash is a serious step up from your average mobile phone — and a far more attainable option for a country in which the vast majority of the 1.2 billion inhabitants could only dream of holding an iPad, let alone ever owning one. According to a Reuters report, the government is already distributing the device to students for $35, while a retail version will soon appear in stores for $60.

Furthermore, talks are already on about what the future holds. Among more elaborate plans are a mobile phone connection, to make the tablet more appealing in rural areas, and the possibility of bringing the price down to a mere $10.

Yes, you heard that right. Per DataWind, the Canadian-based company behind Aakash, there is hope that the tablet will one day cost less than what India’s growing middle class spends on average on dinner and a movie.

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Sabrina Siddiqui is the editor-in-chief of Divanee.com.

Follow @sabrinasiddiqui