Introducing ‘Aakash’, world’s cheapest, $50 tablet
It’s a dream come true to millions of Indian students who have aspired to own a tablet someday. Arguably world’s cheapest portable computing device, named ‘Aakash’ was launched today by the Human Resources Development minister of India, Kapil Sibal. The 7″ resistive touchscreen tablet is manufactured fully in India by a Hyderabad based company, Datawind.
The tablet actually costs Rs. 2,276 which is about $50. However, Indian students will get this tablet for $35 with government subsidy on the price. HRD ministry had promised the price to be $35 when they launched the prototype last year.
Some specs:
Dimensions: 190.5×118.5×15.7mm.
Display: A 7″ resistive touchscreen.
Weight: 350gms.
OS: Android 2.2 (Getjar marketplace instead of Android Market).
Processor: 366MHz processor.
Connectivity: 2 full USB ports. Wi-fi enabled. Later models will be GPRS and SIM enabled.
Memory: 256MB RAM.
Storage: 2GB Flash memory + 2GB Micro SD card (expandable to 32GB.
Battery: 2100mAh.
Battery Backup: Ave. 3 hrs. 1.5 to 2 hrs if playing HD videos.
The tablet might not be a competitor to the mighty Apple iPad or Amazon Kindle Fire, but will help the underrepresented Indian internet population to skyrocket in a short time. It will also give a boost to the educational sector, making information easily accessible through the net.
According to internetworldstats.com the Internet penetration in India is just 8.4% of its population. That’s way too low when compared to its economic competitor in the region, China which has 36.3 % penetration. A research conducted a couple of years back had suggested that in future India’s new internet users will skip the tabletop computers completely to access internet using mobile devices directly. ‘Aakash’ will make that possible in the next couple of years.
Here’s a video by NDTV, featuring the tablet.
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Wow that is very cheap! I wonder how it is performance wise. Has anyone used it yet? Any reviews?
Still Thinking about it’s performance