It’s been a year since the first version of the Aakash tablet first surfaced in India.
As you may recall, the original tablet was hailed as the world’s cheapest – selling for a price that worked out to about $35 per unit when subsidized by the Indian government.
Considering how cheap the Android tablet was, it might be no surprise to learn that it had rather meager specifications: a chip that operated at a paltry 366 MHz and a separate HD video coprocessor. The original tablet was also equipped with 256 MB of RAM, up to 32 GB of flash memory, and a seven-inch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480. The tablet, which ran Android 2.2, was offered to the public at a price of $70.
As expected, the Aakash 2 tablet boasts vastly improved specifications, including a 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor, Android 4.0 and a battery that offers four hours of runtime per charge. The screen still measures seven-inches and while the resolution hasn’t been confirmed, we can probably assume it’s the same 800 x 480.
The second iteration of the tablet also features 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of integrated storage, and a microSD slot for memory expansion. Easily the most impressive feature of the Aakash 2 tablet is the price which is pegged at INR 1132, or a little less than $21 here in the United States. Subsidized by the Indian government, the tablet is obviously significantly cheaper than the original – despite the vastly improved specs.
