- AAKASH TABLET or DATAWIND UBISLATE
Specs: 7-inch resistive display; 366 MHz processor, in addition to Graphics Accelerator and HD Video Co-processor; 256 MB RAM; 2 GB Flash Memory with 2 GB Micro SD card, expandable to 32 GB; Android 2.1 operating system; Wi-Fi, GPRS; 2 USB ports; 2100 mAh battery.
First things first: You will not rave about the performance of the Ubislate, or Aakash as the Government prefers to call it. Datawind's 7-inch tablet comes with a sticky resistive touch display, a three-hour battery and no 3G connectivity. The company does not even call it a tablet.
That done with, now let's come to why it is here on the GG Choice page, which features the best product of the month. Let's just put it this way: Suddenly, you don't need a pricey smartphone to be able to access social media sites, apps and multimedia, all at the same time. Yes, that is why the Ubislate earns a place for itself on this page. It may only be a poor relative in the whole family engendered by the iPad, but even with its simplest of powers, it makes the members of the smartphones clan look up and take notice.
- 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
- RELIANCE 3G TABLETAndroid 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
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