Price at Rs 2,999 and with Specs of 7-inch resistive display; 366 MHz processor, in addition to Graphics Accelerator and HD Video Co-processor; 256 MB RAM; 2 GB Flash Memory with 2 GB Micro SD card, expandable to 32 GB; Android 2.1 operating system; Wi-Fi, GPRS; 2 USB ports; 2100 mAh battery, the Aakash/Ubislat, Datawind’s 7-inch tablet comes with a resistive touch display, a three-hour battery and no 3G connectivity.

With Aakash/Ubislat, you don’t need a pricey smartphone to be able to access social media sites, apps and multimedia, all at the same time. It may only be a poor relative in the whole family engendered by the iPad, but even with its simplest of powers, it makes the members of the smartphones clan look up and take notice.

At Rs 2,999, the Ubislate (the government-issue Aakash is tagged at around Rs 1,700) is at least a couple of thousand rupees less than the most basic Android phone. Even without 3G, it affords quick access to the Internet via Wi-Fi and GPRS (the government version does not have GPRS and speakers).
Datawind’s patented data-compression technology makes web access via GPRS much quicker than normal. Its multimedia capabilities are good, with loud audio and clear video on its 800×480 resolution screen. It runs on Android v2.1 and has a 2100 mAh battery. Add Rs 300 more and you will get a keyboard plus protective case for the tablet.