Aakash - A Tablet for 25,000 Indian Colleges, Universities
ubislate.comTo be distributed to students of colleges and universities throughout India, Aakash is an Android based tablet. It comes with a 2 Gb memory, that can however be expanded to 32 Gb.
Cost for students is approximately US 35 $, subsidised by the Indian Government, while retail cost (starting from November this year) will be around 60 $.
An interesting feature? It will be optionally rechargeable by solar power.
(via Sreekant Rameshaiah @ ROSCCA 2011, Kabul)
The $30 tablet is here. But you can’t have one—yet.
www2.macleans.caThe Aakash is a pretty crappy tablet computer. Made in India, the Android gadget’s touchscreen is small, with no multitouch functionality. Its battery only lasts for a few hours, its processor is fairly slow, it has no camera, and though it has WiFi, you’ll need a USB dongle to connect to the mobile Internet when away from wireless broadband. Compared to the iPad, the Aakash is a piece of junk—except for the one stat where it blows Apple completely out of the water: price.
The Aakash costs $37.98 to manufacture. Ten thousand units are currently in the hands of Indian students. Thanks to a government subsidy, they cost $30 each. A retail version of the Aakash is expected soon, with 90,000 units shipping to Indian stores bearing a sticker price of $50 to $60. There’s no word on a North American release just yet.
