Given the fact that the people in India are extremely price sensitive, it isn’t extremely surprising that the world’s cheapest car was launched in India recently. And even more recently, given the craze for tablet PCs soaring all across the globe, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, partnering with a London based company called DataWind and the Indian Institute of Technology have announced the launch of the Worlds cheapest touch screen tablet PC – known as Aakash, which basically means ‘sky’ in Hindi. The commercial version of this tab will be referred to as the UbiSlate 7.
The Ministry of Human Resource and Development put in significant efforts to develop a much more affordable tab, so that students across the country could benefit from the latest technology, and yet not be required to empty their wallets. The subsidized price for students is going to be as cheap as US$35, whereas the commercial version, the UbiSlate 7, will be priced at a reasonable US$60.
Tailored for university students
It is in fact quite interesting to see the Internet trend in the country over the last 10 years. While the number of Internet users grew a impressive 15 times over the last 10 years, more than 90% of the population do not have internet access. Hence there clearly is a digital divide that exists in the country, and bridging this gap is the aim of the cheapest tab – Aakash. The device has been made to cater specifically to the university students, allowing them to take their learning experience many notches higher. Hence the tablet will support online learning through a government platform, which will give students access to a number of books and even online courses.
Specifications and Features
The tab will actually be powered by Android, and will run on the Froyo 2.2 platform. The display size is 7 inches, and the screen resolution is a reasonable 800 x 480 pixels multi touch resistive touch screen. The device also comes with two useful USB ports, along with the standard 3.5 mm jack.
Though the device comes with 2GB of internal storage, users can use up to 32GB via microSD cards. However it is important to note that users will not have access to the Android market, but should be able to download apps from third party app providers.
The device is going to be accessible to students real soon, and only time will tell whether Aakash truly changes numerous lives. Till then you can find out more about this tab from its official website: http://aakashtablet.org/
Aakshey Talwar
