BY NATHAN OLIVAREZ-GILES, WSJ
- Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli with his $38 tablet, the
On Monday, Datawind announced that it plans to sell a $38 tablet in the U.S. through as-yet unnamed online and brick-and-mortar retailers early next year. The London-based firm plans to sell three models in the United States, ranging in price from $38 to as much as $149 with varying specs and capabilities.
The goal, says Suneet Singh Tuli, Datawind’s CEO, is the same as it’s always been – to bring the least expensive computers possible to schools and low-income communities.
“Affordability shouldn’t be the reason people can’t get on the Internet,” Tuli said in an interview. “We want to specifically reach a customer base that right now is not on the Internet.” According to the Pew Research Center, 15% of American adults don’t use the Internet.
Tuli says he wants to sell them devices, but also reach children who have limited access to the Web, or no connectivity at home.
“In India, the average person earns $200 to $300 a month and about 13% of people have Internet access,” Tuli said. “It’s easy to criticize our devices based on specs. But prices like this can be liberating in places like that, and there are places in the U.S where affordable technology can have a similar affect.”
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