Aakash 2 Tablet - Review Of The Specs & Comparison With Aakash I
On the occasion of Diwali, Indian Government has launched the much awaited #-Link-Snipped-#. The most amazing thing about this tablet is its price - students will get this tablet for subsidised price of Rs. 1132 only and the commercial version of the tablet (same in specs) will be available for Rs. 4499. I thought of reviewing the specs that DataWind (the maker of original Aakash tablet) decided to put in this machine and I must say I'm bit surprised (not impressed).
Comparison of Aakash II with Original Aakash tablet
There are few noticeable improvements in the latest version. First, Datawind has addressed the issue reported by several people about the responsiveness of the screen which hampered the overall user experience. The new tablet prefers 7" capacitive touch screen over the resistive touchscreen in the earlier version. This should make it more intuitive to use and shouldn't cause delays. However, the actual opinion will only follow once someone among us gets hands on this machine.
Second, the obvious and expected improvement is in the firmware version of Android. The earlier tablet shipped with Android 2.2; while the new one embraces Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). This should offer a better performance of the tablet and more optimised app experience for the users. Plus, ICS should be able to make the most out of the capacitive display.
Third improvement is in the CPU department. While the earlier Aakash used snail-speed 366MHz processor, version 2 includes 1 GHz (ARM Cortex A8 architecture) processor, which should make the things more snappier.
Apart from the above three; I'm yet to notice anything that'd make this tablet desirable for the price it's being offered at. The tablet ships with Amrita University's software pre-loaded but that's all about it. If you must buy a tablet, Aakash 2 might be a better choice over Aakash I. I'm not sure if Aakash I is still being sold.
Note that the Aakash 2 tablet is mostly based on DataWind's UbiSlate 7Ci tablet so you can make the comparisons. I'm tracking down the changes DataWind's incorporated in Aakash 2. I'll also try to do a hands-on review of this tablet.
I'd like to ask all CEans whether the price point of Rs. 4499 is justified for the specs. The competition is getting totally wild in the tablets domain and a lot of low-cost tablets are breaking in for prices about Rs. 10,000. Share your opinion on this tablet. If you bought this tablet already; do not forget to share the photos whenever it arrives.
Comparison of Aakash II with Original Aakash tablet
There are few noticeable improvements in the latest version. First, Datawind has addressed the issue reported by several people about the responsiveness of the screen which hampered the overall user experience. The new tablet prefers 7" capacitive touch screen over the resistive touchscreen in the earlier version. This should make it more intuitive to use and shouldn't cause delays. However, the actual opinion will only follow once someone among us gets hands on this machine.
Second, the obvious and expected improvement is in the firmware version of Android. The earlier tablet shipped with Android 2.2; while the new one embraces Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). This should offer a better performance of the tablet and more optimised app experience for the users. Plus, ICS should be able to make the most out of the capacitive display.
Third improvement is in the CPU department. While the earlier Aakash used snail-speed 366MHz processor, version 2 includes 1 GHz (ARM Cortex A8 architecture) processor, which should make the things more snappier.
Apart from the above three; I'm yet to notice anything that'd make this tablet desirable for the price it's being offered at. The tablet ships with Amrita University's software pre-loaded but that's all about it. If you must buy a tablet, Aakash 2 might be a better choice over Aakash I. I'm not sure if Aakash I is still being sold.
Note that the Aakash 2 tablet is mostly based on DataWind's UbiSlate 7Ci tablet so you can make the comparisons. I'm tracking down the changes DataWind's incorporated in Aakash 2. I'll also try to do a hands-on review of this tablet.
I'd like to ask all CEans whether the price point of Rs. 4499 is justified for the specs. The competition is getting totally wild in the tablets domain and a lot of low-cost tablets are breaking in for prices about Rs. 10,000. Share your opinion on this tablet. If you bought this tablet already; do not forget to share the photos whenever it arrives.
0
