Aakash/Ubislate could trigger a fall in the price of basic machines. Datawind is itself already working on giving the device a capacitive screen and 3G connectivity. This version will be priced around Rs 7,000, making it, when it releases, the cheapest 3G tablet in the market.

The aim there after is to bring down the price – through sheer volume sales – to Rs 3,000. In fact, Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of Datawind, says that his company is trying to tweak costs to make the capacitive screen avatar of the Government’s Aakash available for the same price as the current resistive screen version.

It can dare such a thing because, thanks to the Union HRD Ministry, it has guaranteed sales of 1,00,000 units. Add to that the numbers from the commercial retail of the Ubislate. Now think of where such a pricing would leave the expensive smartphones or the mid-range tablets.

Aakash II and Ubislat 7+ & 7C pose a threat to the following competitors:

CREATIVE ZIIO 7
Android v2.1; 7-inch resistive display; 1 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; Wi-Fi; In-built battery. Price: Rs 17,999

RELIANCE 3G TABLET
Android v2.3; 7-inch capacitive display; 800 MHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; 3G, Wi-Fi; 3400 mAh battery. Price: Rs 12,999

BEETEL MAGIQ
Android v2.2; 7-inch resistive display; 1 GHz processor; 512 MB RAM; 8GB memory; 3G, Wi-Fi; 2200 mAh battery. Price: Rs 9,999