Enter Akash, India's ultra affordable tablet for students

After a long time of uncertainty, the brainchild of the Human Resources Development Ministry and technologists from IIT Rajasthan finally took shape. Yesterday, India’s $35 tablet was unveiled amidst a crowd of anxious students at the national capital. Named Aakash, meaning Sky, the very concept behind the launch of a low-cost tablet was to introduce a tool for propagating quality education in the country for the masses, many of whom lie well below the poverty line.

Visibly pleased students with the Aakash tablet at the launch

Yesterday, at the launch event, the government distributed as many as 500 units of the tablet for free, among the students; and it aims to gradually roll out approximately a 100,000 more units in the coming days, which will also be distributed for free among university students. It should be noted here that the $35 (Rs. 1, 750) version of this tablet will only be given out to students to help them with their education. A retail version of this tablet, named Ubislate will be put out soon, but, with a higher price tag - $60 (Rs. 2,999). The tablets have been manufactured by a London-based company, DataWind. 

The tablet is based on Android, and runs its version 2.2.

Here’s a detailed look at the specifications of the Aakash tablet:

• 7-inch, resistive touchscreen
• Wi-Fi, 2 USB ports
• Processor: 366MHz + HD video co-processor
• Flash memory: 2GB + 2GB microSD (expandable to 32GB),
• RAM: 256 MB
• Battery life: 3 hours

The tablets are being given out for free to the students only in the launch year, and from the next year onwards it will come at a price tag of Rs. 1,750.

Source: Agencies