AKASH, a new tablet made in India and targeted at Indian students, has made waves internationally since it comes at an astounding low price tag, and has much to offer. For Rs 2,250 you get a seven inch tablet that will run on the time-tested Google Android 2.2 (Froyo) and has an 800×480 resolution, two USB ports, and 256 MB RAM. It also has a flash memory of 2GB, which can be increased later up to 32 GB. Now, none of these is cutting edge, but then, you are getting a tablet at a price that is just a fraction of the cost of a smart phone, let alone any other tablet.
The device has shown that it is adequate for normal computing. In fact, you can see video fairly well on it. Akash should not be compared with any hi-end product like an iPad, a Samsung Tab or a Kindle, as it is not meant to compete with them at all. But it has the potential to open thousands, rather, millions of digital doors for inquisitive young minds. Digital divide is an ugly reality that is normally glossed over, more so in India where an overwhelming majority of people do not have any access to computers or allied devices. As the experience with mobile telephony has shown, the masses take to technology in ways that are difficult to envisage when it is originally introduced. All they want is that it should be affordable, and should function reasonably well.The new tablet is a good example of how the government and the private sector can work together. Of course, it is a beginning. The product will have to prove its hardware, but that’s the easy part. Any tablet is primarily a consumption device, thus, the content will have to be tailored for the tablet so that it becomes the educational devise it has been envisaged as. New content will have to be created for it, as well, keeping in mind the hardware limitations that the tablet has. Having proved sceptics wrong, now the government and its partners must make every effort to make the device truly useful for students, as well as the general public
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