The Cheapest Tablet in the World: Aakash

This is the world's cheapest tablet in India goes on sale for Rs 2500 (less than RM150) online and have received 1.4 million booking. I heard that the demand was too high that they have announced that this tablet has been sold out recently.

UbiSlate 7+, the commercial version of Aakash

Developer: DataWind with IIT

Manufacturer: DataWind

Price: Rs 2500

Operating System: Android 2.3

CPU: Cortex A8-700 MHz Processor

Storage: Flash Memory (Internal - 2GB Flash / External - 2GB-32GB MicroSD)

Display: 7 inch (800 x 480 px)

Camera: None

Connectivity: GPRS & Wi-Fi

Weight: 350g

Website: www.ubislate.com

The Aakash is an Android tablet computer jointly developed by the London-based company DataWind with the Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan. It is manufactured by the India-based company Quad, at a new production centre in Hyderabad — under a trial run of 100,000 units. The tablet was officially launched as the Aakash in New Delhi on Oct 5, 2011. A substantially upgraded second generation model called UbiSlate 7+ is projected for manufacture beginning in early 2012.

The 7-inch touch screen tablet features 256 MB RAM memory with the Android 2.3 operating system, has two universal serial bus (USB) ports and delivers high definition (HD) quality video. For applications, the Aakash will have access to Getjar, an independent market, rather than the Android Market.

As a multi-media platform, the Aakash project was beset by delays and setbacks. The device was developed as part of the country's aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program. Originally projected as a "USD35 laptop", the device will be sold to the Government of India at USD50 and will be distributed at a government subsidized price of USD35. A commercial version of Aakash is currently marketed as UbiSlate 7+ at a price of USD60.

By January 3, 2012 1.4 million online orders for the Aakash had been received. 

Below is the article from AFP:

1.4 million orders for world's cheapest tablet in India

NEW DELHI — The world's cheapest tablet computer has clocked 1.4 million bookings since it was put up for sale online two weeks ago in India, a spokeswoman told AFP on Tuesday.

Bookings for the long-awaited Aakash, pegged at 2,500 rupees ($41), began on December 14, two months after it was unveiled as the "computer for the masses" in India where millions struggle to fund their education.

Datawind, the British company contracted by the Indian government to manufacture Aakash, said it had been taken by surprise by the response in India, where Apple's iPad computers costs a minimum of $600.

"The current response is overwhelming," a spokeswoman at the company's New Delhi PR agency told AFP in an email that detailed the number of bookings made so far.

Datawind is now taking orders for an upgraded version, called Ubislate 7 for March, and it will establish three new factories in 2012 to cope with the rush of orders.

"We plan to produce 75,000 units per factory per month from around April," the spokeswoman said.

The Economic Times in its online edition said the makers had run out of stock of Aakash, which has a seven-inch (18-centimetre) touchscreen, Wi-Fi Internet function, a multimedia player and 180 minutes of battery power.

The business daily said with around 400,000 pre-sales bookings for the Aakash, sales of the device were more than sales for the entire Indian tablet market last year which numbered about 250,000-300,000 units.

The stylish, locally-made Aakash uses an Android 2.2 operating system and has an external 2GB storage card and two USB ports.

Critics had warned the device might struggle to live up to expectations with its limited 256-megabyte random access memory (RAM).

The price of what has been dubbed "the world's cheapest computer" should fall to $35 and could even be hammered down as low as $10, DataWind has said.

The Aakash is part of a push to increase the number of students in higher education and to give them the technological skills needed to further boost the country's recent rapid economic growth.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.

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My conclusion: If we are living in India, we can buy this tablet for less than RM150. Nowadays it's freaking impossible for us even to get a Wi-Fi connectivity phones in Malaysia. So I guess iPad 2 and other tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab should be more affordable since tablets are the latest gadget trend now. Let me know about your thoughts in the comment section.

Till then...

.: Peace Out :.