Aakash 2 will go on sale in early October: Datawind

Datawind, which manufactures the low-cost Aakash tablet, today said it has started supplying the new version of the tablet to IIT Bombay and added that it was likely to be launched commercially in October. “Supplies are on to IIT Bombay. In the next few weeks, it should be launched. I do not have the exact date, but HRD Minister (Kapil Sibal) has said he wants to launch on the anniversary date which is 5 October,” Datawind CEO Sunit Singh Tuli told PTI. The launch will depend on the Minister’s schedule, but it is not very far from now, he added. [caption id=“attachment_465236” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Aakash 2 has more features, but will sell for the same price as Aakash 1: Reuters[/caption] Tuli said Datawind started supplying Aakash 2, to IIT Bombay six weeks ago. However, he refused to disclose other details. Sibal had earlier said that new version of Aakash tablet would have a better battery with a three-hour battery backup, and a capacitive touch screen among other new features for the same price as its predecessor. Datawind had won the tender for making and supplying Aakash tablets for a price of around USD 49 per unit. Apart from this order, the company has also received orders for 55 lakh more tablets from general customers. The Datawind CEO said the company has cleared most of the pre-paid bookings and will now start focusing on supplying for non-paid bookings. “Out of 55 lakh orders, 4 to 5 per cent were pre-paid bookings. May be in a week or 10 days, all the pre-paid will be done. Then we will focus on pre-bookings. We are giving them offers to upgrade to Android 4.4 version,” he said. Datawind is delivering around 1,500 to 2,000 tablets each day, being assembled within the country as well as outside, Tuli said. He added that company is in talks with channel partners to sell products across country, but it will first focus on the pre-booking order that it has. PTI