Aakash – Today’s Word for Affordable & Accessible

UK-based company DataWind has developed its latest product targeted towards students in India. It has produced the Aakash, a.k.a. the world’s cheapest touch-screen tablet computer. Priced at $35 each, Aakash has many features including a three-hour battery life, web browsing, video conferencing, and two USB ports. Is a cheap yet multifunctional tablet too good to be true? To find out, DataWind has given away Aakash tablets at the product launch to 500 students so they can test out the good.

The company’s goal is to close the gap between the poor and the rich. It wants to provide everyone, not only the wealthy, the access to technology and the “digital world.” Even the government encourages the idea as they’ve arranged to purchase 100,000 units to give out to students.

DataWind, as well as Tata Motors which was previously discussed in COMM101, are two companies that try to push India forward. Although the inexpensive prices limit the products’ quality, they are accessible to the population and create efficiency for students. As most people in India have low incomes, competitors such as Apple, RIM, and Samsung can say good bye to the Indian market unless they are able to produce a much more affordable tablet that costs less or equal to the Aakash tablet.