India showcases Aakash-2 tablet at UN

The unveiling of the tablet at the UN comes even as Datawind said assembling and programming of the low-cost tablet has been done in India and only some main parts have been sourced from China

Yoshita Singh/PTI | November 29, 2012




India showcases Aakash-2 tablet at the United Nations, amid clarification by the maker of the low-cost tablet over sourcing some parts from China.

The tablet was unveiled on Thursday in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the occasion of India's current Presidency of the Security Council.

CEO of Datawind, maker of the tablet, Suneet Singh Tuli gave a presentation about the device.

The unveiling of the tablet at the UN comes even as Datawind said assembling and programming of the low-cost tablet has been done in India and only some main parts have been sourced from China.

Datawind had said that for the first 10,000 units for IIT, and for the sake of "expediency", the motherboards and kits were manufactured in its Chinese subcontractor's facilities.

The units were 'kitted' in China at various manufacturers while the final assembly and programming happened in India.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri had said earlier this month the Indian mission to the UN took the initiative to showcase the tablet at the world body and other UN member states as well as mediapersons would be invited to the event.

Aakash has been "described as the most competitively priced tablet computer by an Indian-origin entrepreneur," Puri had said.

Datawind had won the tender in 2010 to supply one lakh Aakash tablets for a price of around USD 49 per unit.

An advanced version of Aakash was launched on November 11 by President Pranab Mukherjee in India.

The new version 'Aakash 2', is powered by a processor running at 1 GHz, has a 512 MB RAM, a 7-inch capacitative touch screen and a battery working for three hours of normal operations.

The first version of tablet had a processor with 366 Megahertz, 256 MB RAM and 2GB flash memory.

The first one lakh devices would be provided to students of engineering colleges and universities.

Comments

 

Other News

`Development must be judged beyond GDP, with rights and justice at core`

Delivering the IXth Chief Justice M.C. Chagla Memorial Lecture on ‘Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals’, in Mumbai Friday,  former Chief Justice of India Bhushan R. Gavai questioned whether conventional economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), national income,

RTI exposes Rs 16,909 crore cost blowout on Mumbai-Goa Highway

Seventeen years after the centre first approved the widening of National Highway 66 between Mumbai and Goa into a four-lane highway, a fresh RTI reply has revealed a sharp escalation in the project`s sanctioned cost.   According to the RTI reply obtained by activist Jeetendra

"India`s semiconductor ecosystem is expanding rapidly"

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated SEMICON India 2026 in New Delhi. Addressing the occasion and highlighting the significance of the event`s fifth edition, the PM drew a parallel between the launch of Semicon India and Vishwakarma Diwas. He pointed out the beautiful coincidence of

Cabinet approves raising EPFO wage ceiling from Rs.15,000 p.m. to Rs.25,000

The union cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Labour & Employment to enhance the wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000 per month. The decision is expected to bring

UPI continues to remain free for peer-to-peer transactions: Finance Ministry

The new UPI framework introduced has no impact on any person to person transactions, and UPI will continue to remain completely free for all person-to-person transactions, irrespective of the amount transferred, the finance ministry clarified on Tuesday.   Payments to merchan

SEMICON India 2026 and the making of a chip powerhouse

On Thursday, prime minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate SEMICON India 2026 at Yashobhoomi in Dwarka, New Delhi. Global chipmakers, policymakers and investors will fill the halls, all watching an industry India has built from the ground up. For three days, the country`s semi-con (semiconductor) manufact

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter