Aakash 2 is here, costs just Rs 1,130

Aakash 2 tablet from the UK firm Datawind is now officially launched in India. The new Akash tablet will come with several new hardware enhancements which the government will be hoping helps spur student learning.

The Aakash 2, which is commercially available as the UbiSlate 7Ci for Rs 4,499, is costing the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) Rs 2,263, although government subsidies will put the price charged to students at just Rs 1,130.

PTI reports that the first one lakh devices will be provided to students of engineering colleges and universities and subsequently these will be distributed to others.

About 22 crore students will get the device across the country in the next five to six years. By coming Monday alone, 20,000 devices are expected to reach out to the students.

The device can also run on Linux operating system, do Aadhar authentication and control a robot from a distant place, said HRD Ministry officials.

 

The original Aakash was launched around a year ago, but the low-spec, Android 2.2-based device received a largely hostile reception.

Things went from bad to worse for the government's ambitious IT project when the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur, which had been running the show at a regional level, fell out with Datawind, stalling shipments.