Sales of the world’s cheapest tablet, Aakash, have reached 1.4 million units in India, just two weeks after it was released online.
The popularity of the Android device, which costs just 2,500 rupees (£31) has led manufacturer Datawind to establish three new factories in India to cope with demand.
“We never expected such a high response from both corporate and individual buyers. We plan to supply 70,000-75,000 units per day once the factories are in place by April,” commented Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of Datawind.
“Around two weeks ago, we received a call from India’s computer emergency response team that our website was probably suffering from a large cyber attack. We had to inform them we had just opened sale through our website,” he added.
By comparison, the iPad costs 29,500 rupees (£355), 12 times the price of the Aakash.
Despite the success of the current model, Datawind has no plans to rest on its laurels – it intends to release a newer version of the device, the Aakash Ubislate 7 in mid-January. The 2,999 Rupee (£36) tablet will have a 700 MHz processor compared the Aakash’s 366 MHz and will also have a SIM card slot for GPRS or 2G connectivity.
The Aakash tablet is not the first low-cost computing scheme to be targeted at India. In March 2010, IBM and its partners teamed up to deliver a £127 cloud-based netbook aimed at emerging markets, while in August 2010, the head of One Laptop Per Child said he was willing to share the organisation’s technology with a project which had created a laptop which cost just £23.
Low-cost Android tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire are expected to erode Apple’s market share in 2012, with its iPad device currently dominating the market.
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The title is misleading. They have only received 1.4 million inquiries (free) showing interest for the product.
The Ultimate Winner
In its election manifesto , Samajwadi Party has promised :
A free tablet for every student passing out of 10th standard ( ie: approx 5 million students )
A free laptop for every student passing out of 12th standard ( ie: approx 3.5 milion students )
Yesterday , in a TV interview , Akhilesh Yadav has confirmed that his party will fulfill its promises
Already , Jaylalitha ( AIADMK ) has made a similar promise during last year’s elections in TamilNadu , which brought her to power
By now , TN Govt has already placed orders for Rs 1300 Crore worth of orders on Indian Manufacturers for supply of laptops !
And , to fulfill her promise , she must place similar-size orders every year for the next 4 years , till her term expires
It will be the same in UP for the next 5 years
I believe , Prakash Singh Badal who just won the state elections in Punjab has made similar promise – and he would not want to be accused of not having kept his promise when 2017 elections arrive !
No doubt , Gouda in Karnataka and Modi in Gujarat , who face State elections in a few months , will want to capitalize on this “ winning formula “
Before long , 50 million Indian students will be getting tablets / laptops , every year !
So , who is the ultimate winner in elections ?
Without doubt , the computer manufacturers !
With regards
hemen parekh
http://www.CustomizeResume.com
Jobs for All = Peace on Earth
What makes Aakash different ?
There can be many opinions about Aakash tablet , but it is worth remembering that ,
At its price-point , Aakash is the only tablet capable of bridging the digital divide between the urban and the rural India
It will be used by persons who have not even seen a smart phone or a computer – much less used these
Aakash is its own benchmark. Much like Walkman and iPod , it has created a new category - hence there can be no comparisons
More than 2 million orders are a proof that , it is a product which millions have been waiting for
No doubt there will be hiccups – as with any innovation
With regards
hemen parekh
http://www.CustomizeResume.com
Jobs for All = Peace on Earth