Aakash tablet and UbiSlate 7 are up for sale. The purchasing guide for Aakash tablet or UbiSlate 7 online and which one should you buy is given below.
Update(Dec 19, 2012): Buyers looking to buy “World’s cheapest” Aakash tablet for themselves through online ordering may have to wait for a while(or prebook Ubislate 7 instead) as Aakash tablet has just been SOLD OUT!. This is a clear indication that demand for the world’s cheapest tablet is more than its production and this was probably expected, given the dirt-cheap cost of the tablet and the buzz it created in Media, being a ‘Made in India’ product.
The time has finally come that the ultra-cheap tablet is up for sale. Yeah, you guessed it right! Aakash Tablet has been up for sale on the official website for just Rs. 2,500/-(~50 USD). Moreover, it’s selling with a delivery time of seven days if shipped in India and is available with payment of cash on delivery.
You might just be thinking that there could be nothing better, but hold on, now is the final time where when you ought to decide, whether to buy this tablet or not.
We all know that this tablet provides a lot of features at the minimal cost, but the dilemma that still lies is whether to buy this tablet or not, when the company manufacturing the tablet itself assures that the upgraded version of the tablet will be up in a couple of months.
Above all, this upgraded version of Aakash, known as Aakash 2 or UbiSlate 7 will have much better specifications than its predecessor and will be available for just Rs. 3,000/-(~60 USD).
Datawind, the manufacturers of both these tablets have also stated a comparison table on their website.
| Feature | Aakash | UbiSlate7 |
| Pricing | Rs.2,500(50USD) | Rs.3,000(60USD) |
| Processor | ARM11-366Mhz | Cortex A8-700MHz |
| Battery | 2100 mAh | 3200 mAh |
| OS | Android 2.2 FroYo OS | Android 2.3 Ginger Bread OS |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi And GPRS |
| SmartPhone Functionality | No | Yes |
| Availability | Now | Late January |
This chart shows that the UbiSlate 7 will be running on a much better processor, clocked at 700 MHz compared to that of Aakash which runs at 366 MHz. UbiSlate 7 will also be having much better battery backup compared to Aakash as the capacity of the battery has also increased around 1.5 times.
UbiSlate 7 will run an updated Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, compared to the out-dated Android 2.2 FroYo, running on the Aakash tablet. One more feature that might be appealing to the customers is the inclusion of a SIM card slot which allows the users to use their tablets as a Smartphone. This feature will also impart GPRS functionality to the device.
Datawind has not revealed the complete specifications of UbiSlate 7; it has just revealed only a few of the specifications of the device while comparing it to its elder sibling, Aakash. So not much can be said about other anticipated features like a front facing camera for video chat. There is also no word about the inclusion of 3G but we think the tablet will not have 3G capability inbuilt and will support 3G, only through an external USB dongle.
As far as we are concerned, we suggest you better wait for a couple of months and get hold on the newer UbiSlate 7 than going for Aakash. As far as the configuration is concerned, even the UbiSlate 7 is poorly configured, but the only reason to wait for UbiSlate 7 is that it has almost twice the power of Aakash and costs just Rs.500 more.
As far as value for money factor is concerned, buying any of the two tablets would be a win-win deal.