World's cheapest tablet Aakash a dud?

Jaimon Joseph CNN-IBN | 26-May 06:33 AM

New Delhi: If the Apple iPad be the Goliath of tablets, meet David - Aakash, the world's cheapest tablet computer. With hardly any flab beyond that 7-inch screen, it might also be among the smallest. Unlike the original iPad, it accepts pen drives. Something Indian university students, who get these tablets before everyone else, will find useful. But there are few gripes.

The screen is rather unresponsive. Sometimes one has to push the screen really hard to get a response. It also heats up really fast, which means in the heat and dust of India, it could face problems.

Aakash connects to the internet only using Wi-Fi, which means if a student is travelling or in a room that doesn't have Wi-Fi, he's stumped.

When a pro opened up the Aakash, to see what the world's cheapest tablet computer looks like under the hood. One thing we found is that IIT Rajasthan worked no miracles here. The stuff that runs this machine, can simply be bought off the shelf.

Editor, Dataquest Prasanto K Roy said, It was a standard system on chip, which includes a microprocessor, controller, even controls for the audio and video. It is a standard Connexant chip which includes an ARM processor.

For the price it is being offered at, the Aakash is probably great value for money. But the question is that if it the best our students deserve, maybe not.

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