The second version of the Aakash tablet will be shipped by Canadian device manufacturer DataWind by April this year, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said.
While replying to a question during Question Hour in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the minister said that the Aakash II will come with better specifications like “700 MHz Cortex A8 processor, 3200mAH battery with three-hour usage time and a capacitive touch screen”.
Aakash was launched with much fanfare last year. The 7 inch tablet has Android 2.2 operating system, 366 MHz Arm 11 processor, 2100 battery, WiFi and supports 3G modems.
The tablet, hailed as the cheapest in the world, though face criticism from all quarters. Also, Datawind has failed to supply the same to many users who had booked it online. Infact, it only supplied only 30,000 Aakash tablets to the government so far out of initial proposed 1 lakh tabs for distribution in schools and colleges.
Aakash II will carry the same price as the current one, which is priced at Rs 2250 for students. Government will further subsidise the tablet for students who will get it for Rs 1250 only.