Planet's Cheapest Tablet is Made in India : Aakash Tablet

The Aakash LCAD Tablet which literally translates to "Sky" on India's native language was developed as an initiative by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development under the Government of India.


Yes, you heard me right. The Aakash Tablet was made in India. And been developed for students - the main reason why they keep the tablet's price very affordable.

The said cheapest tablet is not yet sold to public or distributed to students. Circulation to students is expected in one or two months.

The Aakash LCAD Tablet has 2 versions, one for the students and the other are for commercial.

Students Version Price: Rs.1500 to Rs.1750 (without SIM and GPRS facility)
The students version has a wifi connection to access internet. It will be distributed through schools and universities.

Retail Price: Rs.3000 inclusive of taxes (With SIM and GPRS facility)
Aakash Tablet in the retail market is called as Datawind Ubislate and it will have added features when compared to the student’s version.

Union Ministry for Human Resource Development 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's the specification of the Aakash - the Cheapest 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

1. Supported Document formats: DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP
2. PDF viewer, Text editor

• Multimedia and Image Display

1. Image viewer supported formats: PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF
2. Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV, WMA
3. Supported video formats: MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, FLV

• Communication and Internet

1. Web browser – Standards Compliance: xHTML 1.1 compliant, JavaScript 1.8 compliant
2. Separate application for online YouTube video

• Safety and other standards compliance

1. 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).

Hopefully, the Aakash Tablet will be release before Christmas. :)

via Metalpig