{{India has launched a new version of its ultra-low-cost tablet computer with a quicker processor and an improved battery, on sale to students at the subsidised price of $20.}}<\/p>\n
The Aakash tablet, dubbed the world’s cheapest computer, has been developed as a public-private partnership aimed at making computing technology available to students in a country where Internet usage is only at around 10 percent.<\/p>\n
Makers of the tablet, Britain-based Datawind, say the Aakash 2 is powered by a processor that runs three times faster than the original, has a bigger touchscreen and a battery with a life of three hours.<\/p>\n
“Technology enabled learning is a very important aspect of education,” Indian President Pranab Mukherjee said Sunday at an official launch function.<\/p>\n
“This must be adapted to our specific needs and introduced expeditiously in all educational institutions across the country,” he added.<\/p>\n
The first version of the Aakash was launched by the government in October last year but it was marred by problems including a short battery life, initial long waiting lists and difficulties with distribution.<\/p>\n
The paperback-book-sized Aakash 2, developed by Indian engineers at elite IIT public universities, runs the Google operating system Android 4.0 and has a screen measuring seven inches (18 centimetres) wide.<\/p>\n
“Unlike the previous version which was a non-starter, this time around there are some functions and features around the Android tablet which make it a decent computing device for that price,” stated pluggd.in, an Indian website that analyses gadgets.<\/p>\n
The first 100,000 devices will be sold to students at engineering colleges and universities at a subsidised price of 1,130 rupees (20 dollars) and subsequently Aakash 2 will be distributed to book stores in Indian universities.<\/p>\n
Datawind says the commercial sale price without subsidies for Aakash 2 is 3,500 rupees (64 dollars).<\/p>\n
Over 15,000 teachers at 250 colleges have been trained on the use of Aakash for education, according to India’s human resource development ministry.<\/p>\n
The country has nearly 115 million Internet users, giving it the the third-largest number in the world after China and the United States, but low penetration rates, data from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) shows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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