Earlier today the President of India announced the government-subsidized Aakash 2 tablet, a follow up to the country’s unsuccessful original Aakash tablet that was announced a couple of years ago. The second iteration of the device has been completely redesigned, effectively allowing for a decent low-cost tablet alternative for college students.
What exactly qualifies as “low-cost”, you ask? Well, when the 7-inch tablet hits the market in the coming months, it will be priced at 2,236 INR, or about $40 US. Moreover, the Indian government will be offering the Aakash version 2.0 to students at a subsidized price of 1,132 INR, which equates to around $20 US.
Don’t think you’re getting a complete pile of garbage for that price either. Datawind, the Canadian-based manufacturer responsible for producing the device, has managed to pack in some adequate hardware, including a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 7-inch capacitive display, 512MB of RAM, a 3,000mAh battery, 4GB of internal storage, as well as a MicroSD slot for further expansion. Additionally, the device will run Android 4.0 at launch.
Sure, it isn’t the most powerful device by any means, but considering the inexpensive price point and the targeted customer base, this tablet could prove to be incredibly beneficial. The new slate is expected to make its way to over 220 million Indian students over the next few years, with 244 select engineering colleges to receive first access as a part of the country’s “Aakash in Education” program. Jump past the break for the official PR.
President Unveils Aakash Version 2.0 Tablet on National Education Day
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee took the occasion of National Education Day to release and dedicate to the nation, the innovative and modestly-priced Aakash Version 2.0 tablet in New Delhi today.
Unveiled in the presence of Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Sh Jitin Prasada and Dr Shashi Tharoor, Ministers of State for Human Resource Development, Aakash Version 2.0 is a full-fledged tablet computer . IIT Bombay along with the Ministry of Human Resource Development has created several useful educational applications for the tablet. Teachers and students in the remotest corners of India can join a classroom and benefit from lectures delivered by the best teachers.
Some of the initiatives in technology-enabled education that can run on Aakash Version 2.0 tablet include Ten Thousand Teachers Training Programme – a live video interaction with participants , Clicker applications for real time feedback in country-wide classroom, Daisy Books for differently-abled students, NCERT content , GNU Khata- an accounting package for barefoot accountants in rural areas and Scholarship Portal integrated with Aadhar.
On National Education Day, which is also the 124th birth anniversary of Independent India’s first Education Minister , Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, rich tributes were paid to the great freedom fighter and eminent educationist.
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