India's $20 Android Tablet First Project Completed

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India's $20 Android Tablet First Project Completed

Posted by timothy on Saturday May 4, 2013 @02:22AM from the you-lakh-this dept.

symbolset writes "Though there were some troubles and worries along the way, Datawind has delivered to India's government the full allocation of 100,000 (1 lakh) 'Aakash 2' Android tablets from their first order. Priced at about $40, these tablets aren't the sort Americans would rave about: 330 MHz, 256MB RAM and so on. But for the last 2,000 units for the same price Datawind supplied Aakash 3 1GHz, 1GB RAM, 4GB Android tablets with SDHC and 3G mobile — for the same price. Such is the progress in mobile today. There was some doubt whether Datawind could deliver, so kudos to them."

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Datawind... by Zemran · 2013-05-04 02:27 · Score: 0

sounds like a statistical fart

--
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
1. Re:Datawind... by lobiusmoop · 2013-05-04 03:42 · Score: 1
  
  What does that make Wind River then?
  
  --
  "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
2. Re:Datawind... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 04:57 · Score: 1
  
  Dunno, but you might want to change your shorts.
3. Re:Datawind... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 12:28 · Score: 0
  
  They do make a lot of vapour.
  And these tablets are a scam, despite being what was promised. For a start, they're not an Indian machine at all, they're remaindered Chinese tablets that were too low spec to be sold to real customers any more.
  You can already buy much more advanced tablets for the same price from thousands of factories in Guandong.
Editing.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 02:28 · Score: 0

What is this summary even saying? Editing has gone downhill fast around here since Taco left.
1. Re:Editing.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 04:10 · Score: 0
  
  What is this summary even saying? Editing has gone downhill fast around here since Taco left.
  Tio is that you?
2. Re:Editing.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 06:24 · Score: 0
  
  Yes it's me. I'm still waiting on that money you owe me.
Captain Obvious to the rescue by mwvdlee · 2013-05-04 02:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

$40 != $20
What's the deal?

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1. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by gl4ss · 2013-05-04 02:37 · Score: 2
  
  $40 != $20
  What's the deal?
  bullshitting your clients. so they sent better units in the last batch as to not sound like total dataswindlers.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
2. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 02:54 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  $40 retail, $20 subsidized
3. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by Brucelet · 2013-05-04 03:04 · Score: 1
  
  That's datawinders, actually.
4. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 03:13 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Sasha Segan at PCMag reported last November that the Indian government was paying for half of the then estimated $40.41 per unit cost.
  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412642,00.asp
5. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2013-05-04 03:14 · Score: 1
  
  What's the deal?
  It's just like any other IT project. At the beginning, they tell you it will only cost you $20. By the end, you have spent $40.
  Be happy that it doesn't cost you $400 . . .
  
  --
  Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
6. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 04:38 · Score: 1
  
  Go look at Aliexpress.com. You can get much better spec'd tablets for less than $10 each in lots of 1,000.
7. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by PRMan · 2013-05-04 09:07 · Score: 0
  
  It's India. $20 for the tablet and $20 for the bribe...
  
  --
  Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
8. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by unrtst · 2013-05-04 17:37 · Score: 1
  
  I don't trust any site whose product descriptions don't match the product specifications.
  Ex: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-New-4rd-Generation-16GB-Black/891966448.html
  "2013 New 4rd Generation- 16GB - Black"
  Tablet Data Capacity: 32GB
  Same thing for: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-New-Iconia-Tab-A210-10g16u-10-1-Inch-16GB-Tablet-Gray/891858062.html
  2013 New Iconia Tab A210-10g16u 10.1-Inch 16GB Tablet (Gray)
  Tablet Data Capacity: 32GB .... title says 16GB; iconia a210 normally ships with 16GB
  Network Communiction: Built-in 3G,Bluetooth,Wifi,4G LTE,External 3G ... Highly doubt the 3G, 4G, external 3G
  Processor Manufacture: Samsung ... iconia a210 ships with an NVIDIA Tegra 3
  Memory Capacity: 2GB ... Maybe this is right, but the A210's I've found online have only 1GB
  Unless someone real (not just an A/C, and someone with a normal comment history) can attest to this place, I'll be avoiding it completely, an recommending others to do the same. Looks way too shady.
9. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 18:31 · Score: 0
  
  I don't know if you noticed, but the first linked item also says that it runs iOS. I don't think it is impossible, but extremely unlikely. With stuff like that listed, it drags down the reputation of the whole site. I'm really curious about who makes up their target market.
10. Re:Captain Obvious to the rescue by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-05 13:26 · Score: 0
  
  It's a (mostly) open marketplace. It's up to the customer to determine if the product sold is what they want and they can complain or withhold payment if they are sent something else. My experience so far is 100% satisfaction, the only time I received a wrong shipment the seller promptly sent the correct item. Just don't buy from liars and if the price is unreasonably low then expect crap quality.
Loss leader by robpow · 2013-05-04 02:38 · Score: 1

I think the first batches were just loss leaders, the commercial versions you can order on their web site are about twice as much as the contracted prices to the government.
only 1 GB of RAM? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 03:03 · Score: 1

That's not big enough to cache my HOSTS file. Thanks but no thanks!
1. Re:only 1 GB of RAM? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 03:40 · Score: 0
  
  What BS? Nexus 7 has 1 GB of RAM too.
List by puddingebola · 2013-05-04 03:05 · Score: 3, Interesting

Does anyone have a list of the small cheap, sub $50 computers that governments in the developing world have purchased or had designed in the last 10 years or so? I've always thought it was an interesting idea for the purposes of education. How effective are they really at reaching the poorest people in the world and how useful are they as educational tools? How widespread are wi-fi networks in India, for example? And, has anybody got their hands on any of these devices? What are they like?
Read the comment from the local, and... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 03:06 · Score: 0

To wit: "I haven't seen anything of the Aakash 1 or 2"... ie it's just another Indian scam.
Bear in mind that NDTV is the FoxNews of India. A lot of over the top tripe, hoaxes, and 'entertainment news'. I wouldn't trust anything that came from JUST them.
Not impressive by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 04:31 · Score: 1

Honestly, I just bought a 7-inch Android tablet from AliExpress that outperforms even their new improved specs and is sturdily built with good touch response (actually to my great surprise). It cost me $50 for just a single unit, delivered to my door.
Not adding a link for fear of advertising, but you find them easily enough, on AliExpress and also elsewhere.
Then maybe you should be. by tuppe666 · 2013-05-04 05:07 · Score: 1

It cost me $50 for just a single unit....
That costs over double the device in the article, whatever the specification; in the market they are aiming for price is everything. That said the specifications do seem a too low for useful Android. I think they should a price against sensible specifications, but then I think the same for similar projects like the raspberry pi.
1. Re:Then maybe you should be. by loufoque · 2013-05-04 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  The raspberry pi costs about $50 and is even less powerful than the least powerful of the tablets above. (and it doesn't even have a screen or input device)
2. Re:Then maybe you should be. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-05-04 06:51 · Score: 1
  
  More like $35, isn't it? And that's for the more expensive model with more peripheral units, the cheaper one has the same performance. And it's built in the UK, you can't expect that to be that much cheaper.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
3. Re:Then maybe you should be. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 20:48 · Score: 0
  
  If you would RTFA, you would see that the price paid was $42 for a large bulk order.
  Next to that, $50 for a single unit looks pretty good.
4. Re:Then maybe you should be. by loufoque · 2013-05-04 21:57 · Score: 1
  
  I just went to the official website selling them.
  The board + a case + a power plug + a SD card = 64 euros (VAT included), which is 84 dollars.
  That's without delivery fees of course.
  The board alone seems to be about 36 dollars without VAT.
but by jjeffries · 2013-05-04 06:52 · Score: 1

was it for the same price?
$40? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 08:13 · Score: 0

For about 60 I can get a usable generic 7" china tablet all day long. Tell me again why we care about yet another cheapo tablet? Its not like the market isn't flooded already.
( and how does 40=20? )
What I would like by MouseTheLuckyDog · 2013-05-04 09:04 · Score: 1

In about 5-7 years is a pair of tablets. Each 12", a 12"x11" version of the galaxy note 10.1, the other a 12" version ( with similar aspect ratio ) of the Nexus 10.
With swappable battery packs. ( Cell phones used to have swappable battery packs until around the time of the Iphone I wonder why people tolerate the lack of them ). For $200.
In that time I expect that this can easily met but the thing that will cause that is projects like this.
Sure To Be Shit by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 11:37 · Score: 0

Of course this $20 tablet is going to be one and only one thing: a flimsy POS. Why would anyone bother?
1. Re:Sure To Be Shit by jon3k · 2013-05-05 03:30 · Score: 1
  
  So is every Windows laden Dell computer we ever put at a school, but never stopped us either.
cell phones still have swappable battery packs by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 11:45 · Score: 0

My Samsung Galaxy S4 has a swappable battery, external battery charger, and portable power options. (this last one from a variety of vendors.)
--Sam
Re: What India needs is COMMUNISM by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 11:48 · Score: 0

posting for worker solidarity.
Indian content by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 15:09 · Score: 0

There was some doubt whether Datawind could deliver, so kudos to them.
The shipment from DX.COM finally came in after the Chinese New Year.
If more than 10% of this tablet was actually designed and/or constructed in India, then I'm The Pope.
1. Re:Indian content by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 17:15 · Score: 0
  
  This batch was entirely manufactured by Kalong Technology of Shenzen, China.
made in china by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-04 19:28 · Score: 0

It cost me $50 for just a single unit....
That costs over double the device in the article, whatever the specification; in the market they are aiming for price is everything. That said the specifications do seem a too low for useful Android. I think they should a price against sensible specifications, but then I think the same for similar projects like the raspberry pi.
that $50 is off the self price. if you buy in bulk it will be lower.
this india company most likely also buy from china manufacturer and pocket the government subsidy money.
its in the news before i recall
Its all smoke by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-05 17:31 · Score: 0

http://ashishb.net/tech/how-indian-govt-deals-with-technology/
Disclosure: Writer is a friend of mine.