The world’s cheapest tablet goes live

The tablet market has exploded with new devices shipping from every vendor under the sun, but most of the media focus has been directed at who can provide a real competitor to the iPad. In India, the Aakash tablet is taking an different tack. It has already picked up over 300 000 prelaunch bookings for its commercial version that goes on sale next month — it must be doing something right. So what is so exciting about the Aakash that has Indian twitter community tweeting like crazy?

To begin with, the Aakash (also branded the Ubislate) is pitched as the world’s cheapest tablet computer. Subsidized by the Indian government and manufactured in the UK by Datawind, the Aakash is going to market with a price of Rs3 000, roughly US$55. The iPad goes for around 10 times that, so you’ve got to wonder what corners the Aakash has cut to keep its price down.