Have you been eyeing one of those hot new Apple iPads but you’re having a hard time justifying the asking price? Perhaps you see the incredible potential for such a device in the classroom, but it just doesn’t seem cost-effective? Leave it up to some engineering marvels in India to “solve” this problem with an upcoming touchscreen tablet computer.

The kicker is that this portable device is set to cost just $35. The prototype is shown here and the aim is to use the tablet computer with students, going into full production some time next year. As you can imagine, the specs aren’t quite up to snuff with the Apple version. There is a touchscreen, to be sure, but there is no hard drive or other internal storage; everything is done through the memory card reader.

Using Linux as its operating system, the cheap tablet from India will be able to handle basic tasks like word processing, web browsing, and even video conferencing. There’s even consideration of a version with solar panels, allowing the device to be used in rural areas where access to electricity is more challenging.

Learn a little more about this remarkably affordable tablet computer via the AP article on Yahoo News. There’s word that the government of India may even subsidize the product to bring the effective retail price down to just twenty bucks!