Akash Tablet, the ‘world’s cheapest Android tablet’ has been launched and will be available in market from January/February 2012.
The student version we got came loaded with applications. Everything from Facebook, to stuff that lets you create and edit documents. There are games, a calendar cum organiser, even advanced lessons in Physics – though they used up just a quarter of the screen and were hard to read.
Add ons: Commercial version only
1. Supports Car chargers and external antenna
2. External keyboard case
3. 2 No. of USB ports
4. Work as normal GSM phone to make and receive calls.
5. 3G sim and 3G dongle supported in commercial version.
Pros:
1.Low cost
2.Some tablet maker didn’t include GSM connectivity even at high price instead of 3G they provide WiFi connectivity,but Akash tablet gives you both options GSM as well as WiFi connectivity.
Cons:
1:366 MHz processor won’t gives you multi-tasking experience.
2.Future Android upgrades are not suitable for such a low configuration Tablet.
What’s missing:
1.Internal Camera
2.GPS
Should you buy a low-cost tablet?
At Rs.2,999, the Ubislate (the government-issue Aakash is tagged at $35 or around Rs.1,700) is at least a couple of thousand rupees less than the most basic Android phone. Even without 3G, it affords quick access to the Internet via Wi-Fi and GPRS (the government version does not have GPRS and speakers). Datawind's patented data-compression technology makes web access via GPRS much quicker than normal. Its multimedia capabilities are good, with loud audio and clear video on its 800x480 resolution screen. It runs on Android v2.1 and has a 2100 mAh battery. Add Rs.300 more and you will get a keyboard plus protective case for the tablet. (And for those who require such things, the 7 incher comes with two USB ports...take that iPad and Galaxy Tab!)
iPad v/s tablet war heats up
Why the price is important while putting the Ubislate in its correct place in the tablet panoply is because it could trigger a fall in the price of basic machines. Datawind is itself already working on giving the device a capacitive screen and 3G connectivity. This version will be priced around Rs.7,000, making it, when it releases, the cheapest 3G tablet in the market. The aim thereafter is to bring down the price - through sheer volume sales - to Rs.3,000. In fact, Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of Datawind, says that his company is trying to tweak costs to make the capacitive screen avatar of the Government's Aakash available for the same price as the current resistive screen version. It can dare such a thing because, thanks to the Union HRD Ministry, it has guaranteed sales of 1,00,000 units. Add to that the numbers from the commercial retail of the Ubislate. Then think of where such a pricing would leave the expensive smartphones or the mid-range tablets.
What the Ubislate challenges
CREATIVE ZIIO 7
Android v2.1; 7-inch resistive display; 1 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; Wi-Fi; In-built battery. Price: Rs.17,999
RELIANCE 3G TABLET
Android v2.3; 7-inch capacitive display; 800 MHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; 3G, Wi-Fi; 3400 mAh battery. Price: Rs.12,999
BEETEL MAGIQ
Android v2.2; 7-inch resistive display; 1 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; 3G, Wi-Fi; 2200 mAh battery. Price: Rs.9,999
Aakash Tablet Specs:
Hardware:- Processor: 366 Mhz. Connexant with Graphics accelerator and HD Video processor
- Memory (RAM): 256MB RAM / Storage (Internal): 2GB Flash
- Storage (External): 2GB to 32GB Supported
- Peripherals (USB2.0 ports, number): 1 Standard USB port
- Audio out: 3.5mm jack / Audio in: 3.5mm jack
- Display and Resolution: 7inch display with 800×480 pixel resolution
- Input Devices: Resistive touch screen
- Connectivity and Networking: GPRS and WiFi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g
- Power and Battery: Up to 180 minutes on battery. AC adapter 200-240 volt range.
- OS: Android 2.2
- Supported Document formats: DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP
- PDF viewer, Text editor
- Multimedia and Image Display
- Image viewer supported formats: PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF
- Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV, WMA
- Supported video formats: MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, FLV
Review: Aakash Tablet
The student version we got came loaded with applications. Everything from Facebook, to stuff that lets you create and edit documents. There are games, a calendar cum organiser, even advanced lessons in Physics – though they used up just a quarter of the screen and were hard to read.
- The screen is rather unresponsive. Sometimes I had to push the screen really hard to get a response.
- It also heats up really fast. Which means in the heat and dust of India, it could face problems.
- The tablet failed to install anything from the Android App Market.
Add ons: Commercial version only
1. Supports Car chargers and external antenna
2. External keyboard case
3. 2 No. of USB ports
4. Work as normal GSM phone to make and receive calls.
5. 3G sim and 3G dongle supported in commercial version.
Pros:
1.Low cost
2.Some tablet maker didn’t include GSM connectivity even at high price instead of 3G they provide WiFi connectivity,but Akash tablet gives you both options GSM as well as WiFi connectivity.
Cons:
1:366 MHz processor won’t gives you multi-tasking experience.
2.Future Android upgrades are not suitable for such a low configuration Tablet.
What’s missing:
1.Internal Camera
2.GPS
Should you buy a low-cost tablet?
At Rs.2,999, the Ubislate (the government-issue Aakash is tagged at $35 or around Rs.1,700) is at least a couple of thousand rupees less than the most basic Android phone. Even without 3G, it affords quick access to the Internet via Wi-Fi and GPRS (the government version does not have GPRS and speakers). Datawind's patented data-compression technology makes web access via GPRS much quicker than normal. Its multimedia capabilities are good, with loud audio and clear video on its 800x480 resolution screen. It runs on Android v2.1 and has a 2100 mAh battery. Add Rs.300 more and you will get a keyboard plus protective case for the tablet. (And for those who require such things, the 7 incher comes with two USB ports...take that iPad and Galaxy Tab!)
iPad v/s tablet war heats up
Why the price is important while putting the Ubislate in its correct place in the tablet panoply is because it could trigger a fall in the price of basic machines. Datawind is itself already working on giving the device a capacitive screen and 3G connectivity. This version will be priced around Rs.7,000, making it, when it releases, the cheapest 3G tablet in the market. The aim thereafter is to bring down the price - through sheer volume sales - to Rs.3,000. In fact, Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of Datawind, says that his company is trying to tweak costs to make the capacitive screen avatar of the Government's Aakash available for the same price as the current resistive screen version. It can dare such a thing because, thanks to the Union HRD Ministry, it has guaranteed sales of 1,00,000 units. Add to that the numbers from the commercial retail of the Ubislate. Then think of where such a pricing would leave the expensive smartphones or the mid-range tablets.
What the Ubislate challenges
CREATIVE ZIIO 7
Android v2.1; 7-inch resistive display; 1 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; Wi-Fi; In-built battery. Price: Rs.17,999
RELIANCE 3G TABLET
Android v2.3; 7-inch capacitive display; 800 MHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; 3G, Wi-Fi; 3400 mAh battery. Price: Rs.12,999
BEETEL MAGIQ
Android v2.2; 7-inch resistive display; 1 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; 3G, Wi-Fi; 2200 mAh battery. Price: Rs.9,999
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