With the Aakash 2, Datawind and the Indian government hope to put a capable yet highly affordable tablet into the hands of Indian students. The big question is whether or not a $21 tablet will be powerful and practical enough for student use in India.
In order to find out if the Aakash 2 is good enough for student use, Engadget has now taken the tablet for a spin. The tablet in the video below is actually the Ubuslate 7Ci, a commercial variant of the Aakash 2 with the exact same hardware. Engadget shows the tablet off and makes a few basic observations about the Aakash 2′s hardware. So what’s the verdict? The Aakash 2 might not be perfect, but it seems more than capable of offering Indian students a reasonable tablet experience for education and even some light entertainment.
The Aakash 2 features a single-core 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512MB of Ram and a 7-inch capacitive 800 x 480 display. Other specs include microSD, USB 2.0, 4GB storage, Wi-Fi, VGA front cam and a 2,100 mAh battery. The Aakash 2 also runs on Android 4.0 ICS. Notably, the low-end display is considered one of the biggest weaknesses for the tablet.
Keep in mind that the tablet will initially only be available to select students, primarily in engineering colleges around India. The goal is to gradually roll the Aakash 2 out to more students across India over the next five years. The Aakash 2 actually costs $40 for the Indian government and is sold at a subsidized price of $21 to students.
What do you think of the Aakash 2, is it more than capable for basic student use in your opinion?
Leave A Comment