 "Datawind says it'll deliver 1 lakh units of the Aakash 2 before April-end")
Datawind recently said that it will complete the delivery of 1 lakh units of the Aakash 2 before the end of this month. The company assured that it will deliver 63,000 units by tomorrow evening, and 70,000 units by the end of the week—April 12. It plans to complete the delivery of the remaining 30,000 units of the Aakash 2 tablet in the “subsequent couple of weeks”.
Late last month, in the wake of reports hinting at a delay in the supply of the Aakash 2, Datawind released an update on the delivery status of Aakash 2 to IIT Bombay. The company said it had delivered 17,100 devices to IIT Bombay and as many as 29,400 units were in transit through their logistics company. Datawind said 23,500 units had been manufactured and were at sub-contract manufacturers—pending shipment once it cleared the payment for the 29,400 units.
As for the remaining 30,000 units, Datawind confirmed that the motherboards, touchscreens and all other components had been manufactured and the final assembly was being completed. At the time, the company stated that it expected to complete deliveries within the next couple of weeks, with efforts being made to deliver as many as possible by March 31, 2013.
Suneet Singh Tuli with the Aakash 2 tablet
Datawind said the delays were caused by the verification process that the Customs had to conduct on the Exemption Certificates for certain components issued by IIT Bombay.
Suneet Singh Tuli, President and CEO of Datawind Ltd, said, “We are pleased with how our manufacturing has scaled over the last few months.” He added, “We are currently delivering between 2,500 to 3,000 units per day to our customers commercially and have been recognized among the top 3 tablet manufacturers in India for the last two quarters in a row.”
“We continue to maintain our leadership position as India’s lowest cost supplier of tablet computers, and have pioneered India’s ‘phablet’ market where our UbiSlate 7C+ devices provide combined smartphone and tablet functionality. Coupled with our patented breakthrough web delivery platform, the UbiSlate 7C+ provides the fastest mobile internet experience on common cellular networks,” he added.
In addition to the four new manufacturing partners for the Aakash 2 tablets in India, the company has set up India’s first touchscreen lab in Amritsar.
Tuli added, “We commend Honourable Minister Dr. Pallam Raju for carrying on Honourable Kapil Sibal’s vision; and Professor Deepak Phatak for salvaging the project after the difficulties encountered in the first version. While detractors glee in proclaiming the project’s premature demise, our vision is to enable every child in India with such solutions, and promise to persevere against adversity.”
The Aakash 2 was launched amidst much pomp and fanfare in November last year. The Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, New York, hosted a special event to unveil and launch the Aakash 2 at the United Nations. H.E. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, was the Chief Guest at the event, which was attended by over 500 invitees, including 65 Ambassadors/PRs, media delegates, NGOs and select members of the Indian community.
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