Sibal said during Question Hour in Lok Sabha that Datawind will supply one lakh high speed tablets with a longer battery life and better screen.

“These higher specifications which include 700 MHz Cortex A8 processor, 3200mAH battery with three-hour usage time and a capacitative touchscreen have been necessitated to overcome the initial difficulties observed in the devices,” he said.

The first phase of one lakh tablets were targeted for students in higher technical education institutions so as to further ascertain technical feedback on its operation and usability, the minister said.

To demands from members for extending the distribution of tablets to school students, Sibal said the same would be made available when the proposed National Mission of Education through ICT for Schools got necessary funds.

He said once the production capacities are built up, norms for distribution with an aim to prioritise empowerment of students, especially from disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, through this low cost access-cum computing device would get developed.

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“In order to cater to the huge demand, we need several manufacturers to manufacture Aakash. We are enhancing the specifications on the basis of feedback we have received from the first version of Aakash. So we want to make sure that the upgraded product caters to the need of the customers… We have involved ITI in order to upgrade it… We will be able to bring in Aakash-II by April,” HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said.

Accepting that differences have crept into the relationship between Aakash creator Datawind and the Human Resource Development Ministry, Sibal said, “We believe in resolving issues rather than highlighting them.”

According to ministry sources, Sibal is going to meet the IIT-Rajasthan Director, Datawind officials and the Special Secretary to the Human Resources Development Ministry tomorrow.

Sibal had launched the world’s cheapest tablet, Aakash, last year with much fanfare. The device costing USD 35 (about Rs 2,000) was developed as part of the ‘The National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technologies (NME-ICT)’ of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

“When we launched the Aakash first version, we did not know the feedback… We distributed to several students in order to get the feedback. With that feedback, we are now enhancing the specifications,” the minister said.

The government had committed itself to a long-term and full supply of 1 lakh units of the Aakash tablet from Datawind.

“As of now Datawind has delivered around 30,000 tablets and the rest 70,000 will also have the upgraded version of Aakash-II,” he said.

The government did not issue a Letter of Credit to the company after receiving test reports from IIT (Jodhpur) that raised certain issues with regard to the quality of the tablet PC.

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“Initially, we bought one lakh Aakash tablets but we need 22 crore more tablets in the coming years as per the Ministry of Human Resource,” Additional Secretary, HRD Ministry, N K Sinha said.

“To manufacture Aakash in such large numbers, fresh tenders will be released again and other companies along with Datawind (the London-based company that develops it) will also get a chance,” Sinha told media.

Preparations for the tender process is on, he said. On complaints from some quarters regarding the technical aspects of the device, including poor battery, slow processor speed and the overall build, Sinha said the issues are being looked into.

The official said the ministry has even received requests for Aakash from America, Panama, Ecuador and other African countries.

The device, a 7-inch touch screen tablet, has an ARM 11 processor and 256 MB RAM running under the Android 2.2 operating system. It has two universal serial bus (USB) ports and is capable of running high definition (HD) quality videos.

A substantially upgraded second-generation model called UbiSlate 7+ is slated for a January-end release.

Aakash, bought under the HRD Ministry’s National Mission on Eduction through Information and Communication Technology (NME-ICT) project, is available to students for Rs 1,100 after government subsidy.

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“All issues have been resolved. We will receive 70,000 improved Aakash tablets from Datawind (the company supplying the tablets) by January-end,” HRD minister Kapil Sibal is quoted by Hindustan Times. The development comes in the backdrop of reports the ministry planning to call off its partnership with DataWind. Reports have suggested that the government is unlikely to extend the letter of credit to DataWind after the company allegedly violated the contract by selling the device in open market before providing the tablets to the government.

The government is apparently unhappy with DataWind after a series of faults were detected in the Aakash tablet, such as slower processor and shorter battery life. However, DataWind has opposed the proposed test criteria for the Aakash tablet. Datawind CEO Sunit Singh said that the company was being told to prepare a military-level device, which was impossible to do at such low-cost.

The Aakash tablet was launched by Kapil Sibal aimed much fanfare last year. The Aakash, also touted as the world’s cheapest tablet, is aimed at bridging the digital divide in the country. In spite of a massive response from the public, neither the government nor DataWind has been able to provide the tablets to the customers within the deadline. Also, the experts have criticised the technical aspects of the tablet. The Aakash project is definitely a revolutionary concept, but it will be better if things are efficiently managed and the device actually reaches rural India.

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Kapil Sibal, Union Minister launched this tablet in october. This Tablet is very low cost and much helpful for mainly students to access E- content any where and any time .

Rajpal Hande, director, board of college and university development, said, “We have issued circulars to all affiliated colleges and departments. They have to get back to us with their requirements. We are hoping that students will avail of the facility as they are getting it at almost a 50% discount. I am also told an improved version of the tablet will be launched in February, so the students might get an upgraded version.”

The CEO of DataWind, Mr. Suneet Singh Tuli says ‘This is a made-in-India product. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this.’ He adds, ‘The final goal is to either provide the same features at a lower cost or provide better functionality and features at the same cost.’

The team of engineers at Datawind has come up with the upgraded version of the Aakash tablet. This upgraded version of Aakash is called Ubislate 7.

Ubislate 7 will be commercially available everywhere and to everyone. This next generation of Aakash is loaded with better features and specifications, and any person can buy it.

The Telecom and Education Minister, Kapil Sibbal, said at the launch of Aakash, “The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide.”

There is definitely no other touch pad tablet or computing device anywhere near the price of Aakash tablet or Ubislate 7. It is a new generation device which comes with attractive features. This is the world’s cheapest tablet pc. This tab is made for the requirement of the users and especially for student needs.
Via : akashtablet