12 Reasons Why Aakash May Soon Be Collapsed !
The cheapest tablet meant for students has very basic tech specs, which may not even be of help for students.
Well, we have all been hearing about the world's cheapest tablet Aakash being sold out. More than 1.5 million units of the device have already been ordered. Despite all the hype that has been created around the device since its very launch, doubts have started to trickle in about its performance and durability. According to industry experts, technical flaws, total cost of procurement and no hands-on experience have resulted in disappointment for its over-excited buyers. A few buyers who got the tablet can just rejoice to be the early users of the cheap tablet. Despite all odds, a second version of the device--Ubislate+, with hopefully better tech specs--is already in production and is expected to be out soon. It will have a SIM card slot to support phone calls as well.
Here are 12 reasons why Aakash tablet is not up to the mark and can be a complete failure in the market...
Pricing: The famous $35 tablet, available for around Rs 2,500 in the Indian market, is actually not cheap as it is said to be. Though it sports a price tag of Rs 2,500, if somebody buys a 4GB or an 8GB microSD card with it the charges will go up by Rs 500 to Rs 800. A pair of earphones (tablet does not come with earphones) will come at a price of Rs 400. So the price of the tablet along with basic accessories will touch Rs 4,000.
Low on memory and storage: Aakash has a 256 MB RAM and 2GB internal storage, which means a user can hardly store two movies and a few songs in the tablet. Users can increase the memory storage to 32 GB but a microSD card of 8GB itself costs an extra Rs 800, which will escalate the price of the tab to around Rs 3,500, defeating the sole purpose of an affordable tablet.
Low-quality processor: The tablet has a very basic 336 MHz processor, which is even lesser than the processors in the cheapest Android mobiles. The tablet runs Android operating system, which needs enough memory to run applications and graphics. Thus, a user will not be able to perform multiple tasks on the tablet as the processor will not support them.
Display issues: The screen resolution of the tablets is very bad as it has no high-definition output. The tablet reflects light and even at its maximum brightness levels, it is unable to display things properly on its screen in bright surroundings. The usage of the tablet will be restricted to close doors and not under the sun, says a report by ZEE News.
Low battery back up: Aakash does not even have proper battery back-up to last long for students. As the tablet has a large screen as compared to smartphones, which have a mere 7.6-cm (3-inch) to 8.9-cm (3.5-inch) display and a battery of 1500 mAh. Aakash comes with a 2100 mAh battery and since it has a bigger screen, the battery is not enough for the device. According to the makers of Aakash, Datawind, the tablet has a battery back up of 3 hours but the firm does not specify the kind of usage that is possible in that duration.
Heats up quickly: The device is said to heat up quickly as it has a low-end processor, which is not for multi-tasking on the tablet. People who have used the tablet have confirmed that the device heats up within an hour while browsing or using the WiFi.
Resistive touchscreen: Aakash offers a resistive touchscreen at a time when even most of the low-cost smartphones have a capacitive touchscreen these days. But even the resistive touchscreen of Aakash is way too bad, specially when dragging any item on the screen. Even if an icon is to be selected, the resistive touch seems to be a problem.
Does not support Bluetooth: The tablet currently does not support any version of Bluetooth.
No support for hardware upgrade: Users will have a problem in installing third-party applications on Aakash as most of the applications need at least the Android 2.3 version, while Aakash runs Android 2.2 OS. Also, hardware upgrade would be a tough task with the 366 MHz processor.
No access to Android Marketplace: Aakash lacks the best feature of an Android operating system--the Android Marketplace. This would limit the usage to the pre-installed apps on the tablet. The target buyers of the tablet would hardly know how to install the apps separately.
Lacks external speakers: The Aakash tablet does not have external speakers and does not even come along with earphones. The users would have to make extra investment of Rs 400 to buy decent earphones for audio output.
Poor network connectivity in India: Though Aakash does have a Wi-Fi connection but it will hardly be of any use in India, specially in rural areas, where connectivity will be an issue.
