Upgraded version of Aakash tab expected in February 2012, same price

Last month, the world’s most affordable tablet was unveiled in India amidst a lot of fanfare, as it brought along a promise of improving the quality of education for those who lacked proper education resources in the country. Called Aakash meaning the Sky, the tablet, at least promised to reach those highs. For an attractive price tag of $45, roughly Rs. 2,999, DataWind, the makers of this tablet stated that the tablet would run Android 2.2 and sport a 7-inch display. Now, according to a report in the Hindustan Times, the makers of Aakash-1 are already  trying to bring out an upgraded version in February 2012. The catch here is, it will be priced the same as the first version. 

Delighted students at the launch of the Aakash tablet in New Delhi, last month

According to the report, the planners of the Aakash-1 got down to collecting feedback from the users of the Aakash tablet, and based on the suggestions provided by them it was decided that unlike the first Aakash tablet, which had a 366 MHz processor, Aakash-2 will boast of a 800 MHz processor. This simply means that the tablet will have faster download speeds, especially for YouTube videos. For those multi-taskers, the Aakash-2 will come with 1GB RAM, as opposed to the 256 megabytes of RAM on the Aakash tablet. Additionally, Aakash-2 is being touted to sport an in-built camera on the front, useful for video chatting using Skype. The 7-inch touch screen display too is set to improve in the upgraded version, suggests the report. 

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Aakash-2 will also see a larger group of technological companies coming together to lend their expertise. However, the biggest challenge would obviously remain fulfilling the orders for a large, and budding student community, as well as for the regular tech enthusiast.