World’s Cheapest Tablet PC:World’s Cheapest Indian Tablet PC

World’s Cheapest Indian Tablet PC at 50$

Aakash is the new name of India’s aspiration to produce an Indian computing device. Announced by the Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD) on July 22, 2010 as “Sakshaat”, it was launched in New Delhi on Oct 5, 2011.

India’s aspiration to create a “made in India” computer was first reflected in a prototype “”Simputer”" that never went into industrial production. Later, the Ministry of Science & Technology launched an India designed laptop named Mobilis and that was launched by Kapil Sibal. Mobilis did not take off and the Govt of Brazil cancelled the order and blacklisted the Indian supplier.

Four years later Kapil Sibal, this time as Minister for Human Resource Development MHRD, the name India gives its Education Minister, announced a new low-cost computing and access device that was supposed to compete with One Laptop per Child, OLPC, a low-cost laptop cum tablet designed at MIT’s Media Lab and led by Professor Nicholas Negroponte with a difference. While OLPC is designed for the underprivileged younger school going children in places that lack both physical and teaching infrastructure, Kapil Sibal’s low cost computer was targeted at urban, college going students.

The device was supposed to be designed by the students of India’s famed IITs that while being known for producing capable undergraduates have yet to distinguish themselves globally in research, development and product creation. When MHRD announced the low cost computer what he showed was purchased off the shelf. None of India’s electronic components and PC and laptop manufacturers were ready to bite the bullet and the project languished for about a year.

Then a year after the announcement MHRD announced that the low cost computer will be launched in 6 weeks and 9 weeks later MHRD showcased a tablet named “Aaakash” that was not a shadow of what was initially promised for $35 and was going to cost $60 instead. Arguably its greatest champion, India’s TV channel “NDTV” argued that the new low cost tablet was not a patch that was shown as a prototype and was going to cost about twice as much.

“Aakash” is an Android-based tablet computer claimed to be designed and developed by a UK based company DataWind primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. It is planned to be manufactured in India as a low cost device for urban, college students in order to attempt to bridge the digital divide. The commercial version of the tablet will be retailed under the brand name UbiSlate 7.

The original prototype was unveiled in 2010, purported as a “$35 laptop”. The device was formally launched on 5 October 2011 asAakash, made by the London-based manufacturing company DataWind.Aakash will be assembled at DataWind’s new production centre in the southern city of Hyderabad. Initially, the device will be sold to the Government of India at $50.It is expected to be sold for $60 in the retail stores.

The device has been developed as part of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology that aims to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities on the subcontinent in an e-learning program via an existing Sakshat portal.

Since the unveiling of “Aakash” by India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), there have been various observations showing that the tablet is not ready for the market yet and it got thumbs down by CNN and BBC .

Satish Jha of OLPC, that created the first low-cost laptop for educating the underprivileged believes that MHRD got the question wrong. He was quoted to say that it was not about a cheap laptop. The burning question is about how do we educate the underprivileged children who have enormous potential to learn and create and make the world a better place. His was a sharply critical observation positioning OLPC as a tested, quality, gold standard of education and any effort to develop just a cheap laptop to a price point losing the focus on education. He also found the MHRD’s cheap tablet not ready to be considered at alpha stage of product creation and observed that in a highly competitive market Government need not have intervened and instead focused on education for the children who have been denied quality education for generations.

Design:
Minimum functionality

As per the Invitation to Innovate published by MHRD,Government of India, the specifications and minimum functionalities of such devices are stated as:

“Support for video web conferencing facility; multimedia content viewer for example .pdf, .docx, .ods, .adp, .doc, .xls, .txt, .jpeg, .gif, .bmp, .odt, .zip, AVI, AC3, etc.; searchable PDF reader; unzip tool to unzip zip files; possibility to install suitable firmware upgrades; computing abilities such as Open Office, SciLab, cups (for printing support); media player able to play streamed and stored media files; Internet browsing, JavaScript, PDF plug-in Java; wireless communication for audio/video I/O; cloud computing option; remote device management ability; rendering YouTube and other online video services (open source Flash players, e.g., gnash or swfdec).”

Other preferable :

• Playback: AVCHD 
• Multimedia I/O interfaces: DTV, IPTv, DTH 
• Internet browsing: Flash player (Adobe) 
• Specifications.

Hardware:

• Processor: 366MHz – 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): 2 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 
• Local Networking: WiFi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g 
• Internet Connectivity(UbiSlate 7 only): GPRS (1G) sim 
• Power: AC adapter 200-240 volt range. 
• Battery: Up to 3 hours (180 minutes) on battery, comes with solar charging option .

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

Other:
Additional Web Browser: UbiSurfer-Browser with compression/acceleration and IE8 rendering.
Other preferable
HDMI port

Hardware :

• 7-inch 800×480 resistive touchscreen 
• Rugged casing with a rubberized feel 
• Wi-Fi enabled (802.11 a/b/g WiFi) 
• Mini and full USB 
• miniSD card slot 
• Subscriber Identity Module (SIM card) slot (UbiSlate 7 only) 
• Video out 
• Headphone jack 
• 256MB of RAM 
• 2 GB of storage memory. 32 GB Expandable Micro sd. 
• 2 Watts of power consumption with solar charging option 
• 366 MHz + HD video co-processor 
• HDMI port. 
• Audio out: 3.5mm jack / Audio in: 3.5mm jack 
• Display and Resolution: 7” display with 800×480 pixel resolution 
• Software 
• Android froyo 2.2 operating system 
• Document Rendering 
• Supported Document formats: DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP 
• Educational software developed at Indian Institute of Technology 
• Web browsing, video conferencing and word processing software 
• 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 
• 150000+ applications.