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Indian government is threatening to bring a halt to the country's low-cost tablet initiative if the delivery target of 100,000 isn't met by the end of the month.
India's Aakash 2 project is facing a multitude of issues including manufacturing delays, a faulty processor, and low memory. These have prompted the country's new human resource and development minister, Pallam Raju, to announce the decision to shut down the initiative if it fails to meet the target of delivering 100,000 Aakash 2 tablets by March 31.
The Aakash project was envisioned to be a low-cost alternative to the Apple iPad and designed for the masses, specifically students, and change the way Indian students learned. However, when the Aakash tablet was launched by Kapil Sibal, it turned out to be a lemon. The 1,903 rupees (US$35) device has failed to meet expectations and the Indian government finally conceded a failure in production.
As it currently stands, only 17,000 Aakash 2 tablets have been delivered. The contracted vendor, Datawind, said 29,400 units were in transit, and another 23,500 units were pending delivery to IIT Bombay. This is considerably lower than the original target of 100,000 units to be delivered by March 31. The projected cost for the original Aakash tablet was 1,903 rupees (US$35), but the final launch price of the Aakash 2 tablet is almost double this figure.
DataWind said it was making all efforts to deliver as many of its second-generation Aakash 2 tablets devices by March 31, according to a status report on delivery released by the Canadian manufacturer. The company said the delay was caused by the verifications process that customs needed to conduct on the exemption certificates for certain components issued by IIT Bombay. Of the remaining 30,000 units, a final assembly is expected within the next couple of weeks and all efforts are being made to deliver as many as possible by 31 March, the vendor said.
Clearly, DataWind won't be able to achieve the target of 100,000 units by March 31 if the remaining 30,000 Aakash 2 tablets are to be assembled only after the deadline. Could this really be the demise of the entire Aakash project, as stated by the Indian government?
Read More: India sets March 31 deadline for Aakash 2 delivery | ZDNet
India's Aakash 2 project is facing a multitude of issues including manufacturing delays, a faulty processor, and low memory. These have prompted the country's new human resource and development minister, Pallam Raju, to announce the decision to shut down the initiative if it fails to meet the target of delivering 100,000 Aakash 2 tablets by March 31.
The Aakash project was envisioned to be a low-cost alternative to the Apple iPad and designed for the masses, specifically students, and change the way Indian students learned. However, when the Aakash tablet was launched by Kapil Sibal, it turned out to be a lemon. The 1,903 rupees (US$35) device has failed to meet expectations and the Indian government finally conceded a failure in production.
As it currently stands, only 17,000 Aakash 2 tablets have been delivered. The contracted vendor, Datawind, said 29,400 units were in transit, and another 23,500 units were pending delivery to IIT Bombay. This is considerably lower than the original target of 100,000 units to be delivered by March 31. The projected cost for the original Aakash tablet was 1,903 rupees (US$35), but the final launch price of the Aakash 2 tablet is almost double this figure.
DataWind said it was making all efforts to deliver as many of its second-generation Aakash 2 tablets devices by March 31, according to a status report on delivery released by the Canadian manufacturer. The company said the delay was caused by the verifications process that customs needed to conduct on the exemption certificates for certain components issued by IIT Bombay. Of the remaining 30,000 units, a final assembly is expected within the next couple of weeks and all efforts are being made to deliver as many as possible by 31 March, the vendor said.
Clearly, DataWind won't be able to achieve the target of 100,000 units by March 31 if the remaining 30,000 Aakash 2 tablets are to be assembled only after the deadline. Could this really be the demise of the entire Aakash project, as stated by the Indian government?
Read More: India sets March 31 deadline for Aakash 2 delivery | ZDNet
