View source for Aakash

The Aakash tablet has received a lot of press recently as a low cost tablet for education in India.

==Background==
The Aakash tablet (the name means “Sky” in Hindi) hit the news in the fall of 2011 as a low cost tablet for education in India.  The price was initially quoted as $35, but it [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Aakash-cost-below-35-govt-buying-at-49/articleshow/10301549.cms later became clear] that this was a subsidized price and the actual cost was closer to $50.  While different members of the Indian goverment have long been interested in introducing a low cost computing device, the technical driver behind this tablet seems to be Dr. Prem K. Kalra, now Director of the Indian Institute of Technology -- Rajasthan, in Jodhpur.

==Aakash-1==
Manufacturing of the Aakash (henceforth, Aakash-1, as later models are planned) was undertaken by [http://www.datawind.com/ Datawind], a Montreal-based company, using the design provided by IIT -- Rajasthan and Indian manufacturing.  It was originally provided with Android 2.2 (Froyo).  A small production run was made, and 500 units were provided to students on Oct. 5, 2011, with [http://thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=386755&catid=35 mixed results].
:I'm not surprised, as this was likely the first medium scale manufacturing of the tablet.  OLPC typically builds several thousand pre-production prototypes in the process of shaking out bugs. --[[User:wad]]

There was some discussion about the actual cost of the tablet ([http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Aakash-cost-below-35-govt-buying-at-49/articleshow/10301549.cms Times of India, cost discussion], ''Oct. 10, 2011'').  And an early hands-on review in the US:
* [http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/26/aakash-android-tablet-exclusive/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+Venturebeat+%28VentureBeat%29 Venture Beat, intro], ''Oct. 26, 2011''
* [http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/28/aakash-35-android-tablet/ Venture Beat, review], ''Oct. 28, 2011''

Datawind was flooded with orders ([http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Aakash-gets-3-lakh-pre-bookings-orders/articleshow/10764945.cms Times of India, 300K prebookings], ''Nov. 17, 2011'').

In Jan. 2012, [http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/searching-for-the-aakash/ IEEE Spectrum] looked at the Aakash, and actually got their hands on some!  This was followed up almost a year later by an article in the [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/technology/indias-aakash-venture-produces-optimism-but-few-computers.html?pagewanted=2&pagewanted=all New York Times], Dec. 30, 2012, and an [http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/a-conversation-with-datawinds-suneet-singh-tuli/ interview with the founder of Datawind] (Dec. 31, 2012).


[http://www.datawind.com/ Datawind] is selling the tablets in some locations (U.K. and India ?), under the name [http://www.ubislate.com/ Ubislate] as well as [http://www.akashtablet.com/ Aakash].  They now claim to be shipping with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). In the spring of 2012, they were having trouble dealing with customer demand!

There have been [http://www.efytimes.com/e1/fullnews.asp?edid=78450&magid=11 reports] that the Indian government was less than pleased with the durability of the Aakash-1.  The [http://www.akashtablet.com/ Aakash web site] now contains [http://media.sakshat.ac.in/aakashdroptest/ video of a drop test] (75 cm ? onto thick soft wood).

===Hardware Specs===

* 366 MHz Conexant ARM processor ([http://www.akashtablet.com/features.html current specs] list 700 MHz)
* 256 MB DDR2 DRAM
* 2 GB internal storage (microSD card)
* 7" 16:9 LCD display, 800 x 480 resolution
* Projected Capacitive Touchscreen
* Two USB A ports
* WiFi
* 3600 mAh (13 Wh) battery, 3 hrs of battery life (?)
* 3.5mm Headphone out jack
* No speakers

====ARM SoC====
While all the literature simply lists a "Conexant 366MHz processor" (usually described as the "painfully slow 366MHz processor"), we can guess that it might be the [http://www.conexant.com/products/entry.jsp?id=626 CX92745], an ARM Cortex-A8 core with significant integration.

==Aakash 2==
[http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111228PD217.html Supposedly], the Indian Government is trying again, requesting a larger number of Aakash 2 tablets to be manufactured by an Taiwanese OEM.

There is now [http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Aakash-2-can-cost-US-100-following-IIT-Rajasthan-recommendations/Article1-808649.aspx discussion] about an increase in price needed to meet increased robustness specifications:

:''The institute wants Aakash 2 to run at – 20 degree and up to 50 degree Celsius, withstand steep and sudden fall and waterproof against rain.  It has specified a 1.2Ghz microprocessor as against 366MHz in Aakash and random access memory (RAM) of 700 MB, double of the original. The battery specified can run up to eight hours. “Manufacturing a tablet with IIT-Rajasthan specifications at the original cost was impossible,” a government official said. “It will be difficult even for US $100”.''  

OLPC salutes IIT-Rajasthan's new specifications as a step in the right direction, with the following comments:
* Concentrate on the environmental (humidity, ESD) and mechanical (drop, pressure, impact) testing criteria when putting out a request for quotes.
* -20C operation is both hard to achieve (common liquid crystals become very viscous at those temperatures), and usually not necessary.   We suggest operation down to 0C.
* 512 MB or 1GB, take your pick.  700 MB must have been a reporting error.
* 4GB of SD is only 10 - 20% more expensive than 2GB right now.  But most importantly, microSD cards are mostly built using three-bit per cell NAND technology in 2011.  This introduces serious limitations on the lifetime on the device.  We continue to use microSD storage in the [[XO-1.5]], but are continually testing new microSD card models and rejecting many of them (even from reputable vendors).  We strongly recommend eMMC/eSD instead for reliability.
* resistive touch screens have several problems:
** by definition, the surface is a soft plastic, easy to scratch
** if a significant dent is made in that soft plastic, it will create a "permanent touch" and destroy the touchscreen
** At this time, OLPC recommends a capacitive touch technology, with hardened glass as the touch surface.

Perhaps Aakash 2 will use the newer [http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Conexant-CX92755/ Conexant CX92755] ?

==Related==

* [[XO-3]]
* [[Bharat Tablet PC]]
* [[Vizio VTAB1008]]

[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Aakash]]
[[Category:XO-3]]