Union Ministry for Human Resource Development today officially unveiled Aakash Android tablet, which is famously knows as the $35 tablet. This tablet has been developed and manufactured by Datawind in association with IIT Rajasthan and NME-ICT.
Here is the Specifications for Aakash the $35 Indian Tablet:
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: 7″ 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.
Software:
– OS: Android 2.2
– Document Rendering
* 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
– Communication and Internet
* Web browser – Standards Compliance: xHTML 1.1 compliant, JavaScript 1.8 compliant
* Separate application for online YouTube video
– Safety and other standards compliance
* CE certification / RoHS certification
Several features like GPRS, Camera have been included to get it down to the $35 price tag. A keyboard portfolio case for the tablet will also be made available during the commercial launch at an additional cost of Rs 300.
The Indian Government is buying 1 lac (100,000) units on a pilot basis from the manufacturer Datawind for a price of INR 2250.00 ($45), which will be given to post-secondary students at a lower price. Government is planning to price it at INR 1750.00 ($35).
Commercial Launch
Datawind will also be launching the tablet commercially for retail consumers with added benefits like cellular connectivity and would be selling it for INR 2,999.00 ($60). The retails sales will start in November as Datawind Ubislate.
We think, it will be in each and every household say in a year or two, just like the iPad being in almost every American home.