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Tag: india

  • Aakash-2 Android ICS Tablet Launched At Rs 1130

    Aakash-2 Android ICS Tablet Launched At Rs 1130

    The Aakash 2 student-friendly tablet was finally launched yesterday by the first citizen of the country, President Pranab Mukherjee, and with him, Union HRD Minister M M Pallum, on the occasion of National Education Day. The Union Minister of Communications and IT, Kapil Sibal, had announced a month ago that a new version of the beleaguered low-cost tablet would be launched this month. Datawind, the manufacturer, will supply 100,000 units of the Android 4.0 tablet with a 7" capacitive touchscreen to IIT Bombay in the first phase. These will be made available to engineering and other college students, with the goal of benefiting 220 million students in the coming years.

    In terms of performance, the new variant is a leap ahead of the original. The CPU is 1 GHz, as opposed to the earlier, wimpy 366 MHz. However, the 512 MB of RAM is still a bottleneck on the ICS platform. It hasn’t been stated whether Google Play is supported, so we don’t yet know whether students can install apps and games from the online store without restrictions. Here are the full specifications of the Aakash 2:

    • Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
    • ARM Cortex A8 1 GHz with 512 MB of DDR3 RAM.
    • 4 GB internal storage, 32 GB microSD support.
    • 7", 4-point capacitive multi-touch display with pixel dimensions of 800×480.
    • 0.3 megapixel front camera.
    • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
    • Mini-USB port with OTG, 3.5 mm audio jack, G-sensor.
    • 3200 mA Li-ion battery with up to 3 hours of backup.
    • Package Contents: Wall charger, USB adapter, USB cable, 4-port USB hub.

    Aakash 2 can run Linux distributions along with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. The device can also do Aadhar authentication and can even control a robot from a distant place, according to HRD Ministry officials. The tablet will be primarily used for classroom teaching and over 15,000 teachers at 250 colleges across the country have been provided training.

    While Datawind will charge the HRD Ministry Rs 2263 per tablet, students will get a much-subsidised pricing of Rs 1130. In case you are wondering, the Aakash 2 is the same tablet that is commercially available as the UbiSlate 7Ci, launched in September this year and priced at Rs 3500.

    The original Aakash was launched in October last year. It has been mired in controversy due to delayed shipments, with pre-order payments having been made months in advance. We really hope the subsidised tablet, which was meant for students, will reach its intended users this time around. Do you think it will? Sound off below!

  • Google Nexus 7 Tablet Launches In India @ Rs 19,990

    Google Nexus 7 Tablet Launches In India @ Rs 19,990

    The much awaited Google Nexus 7 tablet has finally found its way into the Indian market. It looks like today was the D-day for ASUS as it announced its four Windows 8 powered devices in the Indian market and it has spilled out beans about its Android Jelly Bean tablet. ASUS has now confirmed that its Nexus 7 tablet will be there for the Indian customers available through various large format retailers at a price of Rs 19,990.
    Unaez Quareshi, sales and distribution director, ASUS India said that the tablet has been priced at Rs 19,990 and will be available through Chroma, a Tata group electronics retailer, and other large format retailers, reports Mobile Indian.
    Google Nexus 7 is a 17.78-cm (7-inch) tablet featuring an IPS display along with 10 finger multi-touch support. The device runs on Google’s Android 4.1 aka Jelly bean and is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. The tablet is incorporated with 1 GB of RAM which will smooth out the functions carried out on the device. Nexus 7 will be available in two variants- 8GB and 16GB storage.
    Though, Nexus 7 has received a remarkable response worldwide, still the competition is high with a few other Android tablets like Samsung Galaxy Tabs and Kindle Fire. iPad continues to be the market leader with 50 per cent shares in the global tablet market.
    Also, Google recently launched a 32GB version of the Nexus 7 tablet which sports a 1.2 MP front camera and connectivity options like WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC.

    Google updated the Nexus 7 tablet released earlier this year. It increased the storage on the $199 version of the device to 16GB from 8GB, and introduced a new $299 version of the Nexus 7 with a cellular data service option. Google also unveiled a new Nexus 4 smartphone, made in partnership with LG Electronics, that features a quad-core processor and a 4.7-inch display.

    Nexus 7 specs
    Operating System: Android Jelly Bean (4.1)
    RAM: 1GB DDR3L
    Storage: 16GB

    Connectivity: Wi-Fi :- 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
    Camera: 1.2MP (front)
    Battery: 4325mAh Li-polymer
    Display: 7" WXGA (1280 X 800) LED IPS panel, 10 finger multi-touch
    Interface: 1x Headset jack, 1x micro-USB, 2x digital microphone, 2x speakers, 1x docking PIN
    Sensor: G-sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, e-compass, GPS, NFC, hall sensor
    CPU: NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30L Quad-Core @1.3Ghz
    GPU: GeForce 12-core, 3D stereo

    MORE ABOUT THE NEXUS 7
    Google selling a million Nexus 7 tablets per month
    Asus, the Taiwan-based technology company responsible for manufacturing Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, claims the device has just hit the 1 million sales a month milestone.

    Released in July to universal critical acclaim, the Nexus 7 was Google’s first tablet and until now, there have been no official figures as to how well it has performed in relation to its competitors.

    Google Nexus 7 becomes ‘best-selling tablet’
    Google Nexus 7 has become the highest selling Android tablet just three months after its launch, a media report said Monday. Google’s first tablet went on sale July 27. Its main selling point has been its affordable 159-pound price tag, The Telegraph reported.

    Google Nexus 7 named Gadget Of The Year
    Google’s Nexus 7 by ASUS was honored as the ‘Gadget Of The Year’ and also named the ‘Tablet Of The Year’ at the T3 Gadget Awards 2012. Taiwanese multinational tech giant, ASUS, was the big winner of the night at London’s Old Billingsgate, scooping no fewer than five accolades. The awards recognise and honour the gadgets, software and personalities which have intrigued, inspired and wowed the world over the past 12 months.