The annual gadget bacchanalia known as CES kicks off next Tuesday in Vegas, but as has been the case for the past decade, the most important new product in consumer electronics won't be there.

This year's star no-show, however, wasn't invented by a certain Cupertino fruit factory, but by the obscure Canadian startup Datawind. It's called the Aakash Ubislate 7, and its humble specs would cause iPad owners to burst out in hysterical laughter: A 7-inch screen without multitouch. A battery that lasts a little under three hours....