New Datawind Ubislate 7Ci (aka Aakash 2) $40 Tablet Launched in UK
Datawind has released yet another low cost tablet called the Ubislate 7Ci. The tablet, which started shipping in the UK manufactured by the British company Datawind, is the commercial version of the Aakash 2 tablet, which was originally introduced in India in 2011.
The reality is that with any consumer electronics device you get what you pay for. These tablets are used primarily by students. In fact, it was designed to provide cheap internet access, in order to improve education.
When the Aakash was launched two years ago, it was called the World’s cheapest touch screen tablet. The first was not well received by critics, but the improved version, the Aakash 2 got more positive comments. Analysts say that if compared to other tablets in the market, this is a featured packed gadget for such a low cost.
Though the specifications are not that impressive, it cannot be criticized for such a price tag. The device has, 7-inch, 800×480 px capacitive display, runs a modified version of Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich), Cortex A8 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. That’s the same chip design used in the iPhone 3GS, released in 2009, and the Samsung Galaxy S in 2010.
Storage is much lower than the competition. It has only 4GB, but thankfully there is an external card slot which supports up to 32 gigs. At the same time, the battery lasts about three hours, a third of the average of nine hours with other tablets that comes close to it as competition.
According to Datawind, the 7Ci has access to over 150,000 apps and can handle basic functions such as email and internet browsing very well. This might be enough for a good portion of customers who do not require a particularly sophisticated tablet.
According Suneet Tuli Singh, director of Datawind, its the company’s mission is to offer low-cost tablet which can be reached to even the ordinary man.
“It’s not just about creating an inexpensive device, it is for us to offer internet to the masses” he said. A partnership with the Indian government helped Aakash 2 become one of the country’s best-selling tablets.
“Earlier this year we became the largest supplier of tablets in India, ahead of Apple and Samsung,” Tuli added.
Any consumer who buys the Ubislate 7Ci with the expectation that it will offer an experience comparable to other more expensive yet economical, such as Kindle Fire of Amazon (which can be purchased for about $ 170) and Hudl may feel disappointed.
The company, was also named as the most innovative Mobile company of UK in a competition in 2012. They also have two other tablets with higher specifications advertised on their website called the UbiSlate 3G7 and UbiSlate 7Cz.
