Why Aakash Tablet Is A Failure

The much-touted Aakash Tablet by our Government was helmed to be the Tata Nano of technology. To bring a cheaper alternative to a gadget that is usually beyond the reach of the masses,

Aakash was all set to kick in a technological revolution of some sorts in India, albeit with the recent announcement of the Government about its failure to produce it till the 31st of March due to several complications leads us to jot down the numerous shortcomings. So let’s have a look at the reasons why the cheapest tablet in the world hasn’t seen the day of the light yet!

Processing Issues

Aakash being the cheapest tablet out there, it is fairly certain to say the configuration won’t be anything close to being spectacular, and yet it fails at keeping up with the time. Equipped with a processor that can juice out a miserable 336 MHz, the Aakash is nowhere close to computing. Even the cheapest smartphone out there runs 600 MHz and fumbles while processing the operating system. Running an OS for a tablet equipped with the latest OS at a measly 336 MHz would be practically impossible and make Aakash look like a Neanderthal gadget out there!

Memory, Or The Lack Of It

Aakash’s prime motive was to bring about the latest in technology and club it with edutainment for the masses. Yet the primary element needed for this very same function is the storage facility to store hordes of educational videos, apps, and other useful files. Unfortunately Aakash packs a 2GB in-built memory for a person to utilize. An embarrassingly small space, 2 GB would barely suffice for any form of storage. Thankfully it does come with an SD slot, but that would mean another investment in a memory card. Bad move!

Connectivity Issues

Wi-Fi connectivity seems to be the way the future would connect, yet a 3G support would do wonders for the ones who aren’t in favorable areas. Aakash seems to have missed this mark by a mile! A device made to be used in rural areas would be devoid of Wi-Fi amenities, and yet designing a tablet that is only capable of connecting via Wi-Fi seems to be a wrong move in all aspects. A 3G support would have worked wonders, but Aakash failed to miss the point, and failed to deliver what it was primarily built for.

Battery Life

Straight to the point, a tablet equipped with a 7 inch touchscreen meant to run android apps for educational purpose needs a fairly decent battery life. Yet Aakash has an alarmingly small one of 2100 mAh. Maybe not that small, maybe it’ll be able to sustain itself for an hour or two. But understanding the demographics and looking at the target audience it’s meant for, this is a terrible move. Rural areas such as villages situated in remote pockets of India are deprived of electricity, and equipping them with a tablet that runs out of battery in short span would spell doom. And they aren’t giving a solar charger with it to compensate for this issue, are they?

The Pricing

Although priced at Rs. 2500/- , the expenses with regards to Aakash do not end there. The shipping cost would add an extra bit, and the general lack of storage would expect a buyer to invest in a MicroSD card that’ll add another bit to it. There’s more. A general lack of audio output requires a pair of earphones. Taking all these parameters into consideration, a total expenditure of 3,500/- would be necessary. A high price for a target audience who are least interested in shelling out such a high price for a gadget that doesn’t live to its expectation. Even more so is the prospect of other cheap alternatives with better configuration and better performance available at the same price of 3500/-!