Aakash (tablet series) explained

Aakash (tablet series) should not be confused with Aakash (tablet).

Aakash, or Ubislate 7, is a series of low-cost tablet computers produced by DataWind, all of which use the Android operating system.[1]

Datawind

See main article: DataWind. DataWind is a British company that produce wireless web access products, and is the makers of Ubisurfer and pocketsurfer.[2] The company was found in 2001 by brothers Suneet and Raja Singh Tuli, originally from Punjab. The company has offices in India, U.S. and Canada. It was contracted to make cheap tablet computers for students in India by the Ministry of Human Resource Development; it also sold them publicly as "Ubislate 7", but did not meet demand, so was criticized in the media. By May 2013, it had shipped all the pre-orders dating back to December 2011.[3]

Models

The Ubislate 7 series includes the following models:[4] [5]

Variants

All the tablets in the series are categorized as follows:[7]

Letter/symbol Meaning
7
+
R
i has Wi-Fi and no SIM support
C Capacitive Touchscreen
Z has Dual Camera (Both Front and Back Facing) and Bluetooth support

Hardware

The Ubislate 7 Series Tablet has a seven-inch touchscreen with 800×480 pixel resolution [8] and uses Cortex A8 800Mhz processor (256 MB RAM) while the others have Cortex A8 1 GHz processor with 512 MB RAM. The initial model had 2 full size USB ports while in the final models they were reduced to a single Micro USB port. The Ubislate 7+ had 2 GB flash memory while the final models have 4 GB flash memory. All of the models support MicroSD Cards, up to 32 GB. The final models also features a G-Sensor for maintaining orientation. Like other Android devices these have no physical buttons except a Home screen button, power button and volume rocker. The final models also has a front facing VGA Camera.[9] The tablets use a proprietary power connector.

Software

The Ubislate 7+ runs on Android 2.2 Froyo while an update to 2.3 Gingerbread is available. All other models run on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich. The tablets have a customized version of the operating system, which includes:

The Ubislate 7+ has access to Getjar app store while others has complete access to Google Playstore.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 100,000 Aakash tablets delivered: DataWind. 3 May 2013 .
  2. Web site: DataWind UbiSurfer: 7-Inch Netbook with Bundled GPRS Internet. 10 July 2009.
  3. Web site: Business News Today: Read Latest Business news, India Business News Live, Share Market & Economy News.
  4. Web site: Hands-on with the elusive Ubislate 7+ and 7C . 2013-05-17 . https://archive.today/20130629122326/http://tech2.in.com/features/tablets/handson-with-the-elusive-ubislate-7-and-7c/301992 . 2013-06-29 . dead .
  5. Web site: DataWind launched UbiSlate 7Ri, 7R+, 7Ci and 7C+ low cost tablets – Gogi Tech. 17 September 2012 .
  6. http://ubislate7cz.blogspot.in/
  7. Web site: UbiSlate 7Ri, 7R+, 7Ci and 7C+ low cost tablets Launched by DataWind . 2013-05-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130131060911/http://tricksme.in/ubislate-7ri-7r-7ci-and-7c-low-cost-tablets/ . 2013-01-31 .
  8. Web site: Ubislate 7Ri & Ubislate 7Ci Tablet specification and cost.
  9. Web site: Priced at Rs 4,990, Ubislate 7C+ is a smartphone tablet for the masses. 20 May 2013 .
  10. Web site: Aakash UbiSlate 7 Specifications, Features, Review and Photos | Cheapest Android Tablet for Students | Gadget Updates by TechnologyMint.com . 2013-05-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121028150523/http://www.technologymint.com/aakash-ubislate-7-specifications-cheapest-android-tablet-for-students/ . 2012-10-28 . dead .