The likes of Dell, Intel, HP, Acer and Microsoft are among the list of seventeen companies that have shown interest in creating the next version of Indian government’s ambitious low-cost tablet Aakash 4 whose tender will close on January 18.
Datawind – the Canadian firm which supplied the first one lakh Aakash tablets in India is also in the list, competing against other players including domestic manufacturers like Simmtronics , Micromax, WishTel and ITI.
Unlike the last time, this time around, the government is looking for multiple vendors and we may see many manufacturers join the syndicate. In addition, to promote local manufacturers, the government has made it mandatory that Aakash be manufactured here with 30% value addition by March 2014 and 35 percent after that. Meanwhile, the government has decided that it will not be waving off custom duties for Aakash 4 because of which the price of the tablet is expected to cross the Rs.2,500 mark.
“The government wants an open source operating system so that it does not depend on the intellectual property of others. All participants are talking to each other for their expertise and getting together to produce Aakash 4,” said Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, Datawind. Tuli also added that his firm manufactures LCD and touchscreens in India, which cover more than half the cost of the devices, due to which they are able to make profits despite running on very narrow margins.
The Aakash 4 tablet features a dual-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and Bluetooth along with second generation phone calling facility. The specs on the tablet were decided by a special 12 member committee who had representatives from department of electronics and information technology, C-DAC, IIT Bombay and directorate general of supplies and disposal. The tablet will also have support for Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G and 4G connectivity and comes with 4GB of in-built storage which is expandable up-to 32GB via SD card slot, along with a front camera.
Aakash 1 did not get the start one would have hoped for such an initiative on the part of the government. It was promised that the tablet will be made available for students at a subsidised rate of Rs.1,130, but rather got tangled in a controversy regarding specifications between DataWind and IIT Jodhpur. Hopefully for the government and as well as consumers, the Aakash 4 project turns out to be a success.
Also read: Aakash 4 – Will it be more than just pie in the sky