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Sure, the Apple iPad may having a starting price of $499, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend half a grand to pick up a tablet computer. The government of India has unveiled a handheld tablet that it says could sell to students for about $35. And believe it or not, it’s not made of paper.

We don’t have detailed specifications yet, but the tablet will apparently have a touchscreen display, 2GB of storage space, WiFi, USB, and a low power processor that uses just 2 Watts of power.

Oh, and that $35 price tag? It’s not the final price. India is hoping that eventually the tablets could sell for as little as $10.

If the price seems a bit outlandish, keep in mind that the government may be subsidizing the cost a bit — and Chinese companies are already pumping out tablets that retail for as little as $100. But I still wouldn’t be totally surprised if someone eventually explained that the $35 just pays for the motherboard, processor, and memory in these Indian tablets, not the screen and casing.

Update: Not surprisingly, it looks like there’s some evidence that the tablet is running Google Android, although it’s not clear if this is what the final units would ship with.

via SlashGear