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DataWind's 7-inch UbiSlate tablet heads to UK, starts at £30 (update: US too)
Remember the Aakash 2, India's $40 educational slate? It's finally making its way to the western world. The school-bound slab's manufacturer updated its UK website with three commercial variants of the devices, the UbiSlate 7Ci, 7C+ and 7Cz. Sound familiar? It should -- another version of the tablet (labeled 3G7) made its way through the FCC earlier this year, flaunting a 7-inch screen, a tri-band HSPA radio and a 2-megapixel camera. In fact, the federally inspected tablet matches the 7Cz in all but name, which offers a dual-core 1.2Ghz processor 8GB of storage and the aforementioned connectivity for £80. Knock that processor down to a 1GHz Cortex A8 CP, slash its (already meager) storage in half, and slow your wireless connectivity to Edge speeds and you're looking at the (currently unpriced) 7C+. Just looking for WiFi? That's the £30 7Ci, which Datawind specifically identifies as the consumer version of the Aakash 2. These specs are far from impressive, but the Ubislate (and its predecessor) weren't built to compete with the Nexus 7: Datawind aims its devices specifically at schools, building a budget product that can help further the education of students on a budget. That said, the company's website seems to be little more than a placeholder for now -- the tablet's product pages are incomplete, and there's no way to order the devices just yet. We're exactly not jumping to put these devices on our Christmas lists, but it's good to see the fledgling tablet reach out to a wider market. Update: All the above UbiSlate models are coming the US as well starting at $38, though the UbiSlate 7Cz will be known as the UbiSlate 3G7 in the US. As with the UK, there's no word on exactly when they'll arrive stateside.
DataWind Ubislate 3G7 mystery tablet visits FCC with HSPA in tow
DataWind's no stranger to making inexpensive tablets (India's Aakash immediately comes to mind) but to date its products (including the iconic PocketSurfer) have only featured 2G connectivity -- in addition to WiFi, of course. This appears to be changing with the Ubislate 3G7, an unannounced 7-inch, 3G-enabled tablet that recently sauntered through the FCC. According to the test reports, it supports quadband GPRS and tri-band HSPA (2100 / 1900 / 850MHz), making it compatible with AT&T "4G" in the US. Little else is known about this mystery device beyond what's outlined in the FCC documents. From what we've been able to gather, it features WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, a microSD card slot plus front and rear (2 MP) cameras. Follow the source link below to check it out for yourself.
Aakash 2 hands-on: the $40 educational slate with revolution on its mind
Efforts to put cheap computers in the hands of students have always hit major stumbling blocks. Most notably price. The OLPC project had noble goals, but ultimately ended up well above its target price of $100. The Classmate was more of a "me too" product than anything truly revolutionary. What started as India's effort to launch a $10 laptop, slowly mutated into a $35 tablet that, even then, struggled in its initial incarnation. What ultimately became known as the Aakash was painfully underpowered and had carried a cost almost double its $35 target. With the second version DataWind is hoping to make good on the promise of an ultra-affordable tablet that can actually be used by students and educators. CEO of the company Suneet Tuli swung by our offices with the Ubuslate 7Ci, the commercial version of the Aakash 2, to give us a chance to put the device through its paces and talk about the transformative power of education.
Aakash 2 to land in April, set budget tablet lovers back a measly $40
The device that started as a $10 laptop, graduated to a $35 tablet and settled on a $60 reality is about to get its first successor: the Aakash 2. Like its predecessor, the new Aakash is twist on a DataWind Ubislate, namely the Ubislate 7+. According to TechSnapr, $40 (or 2,000 Rupees) buys a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, a 3200 mAh battery and a 700MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor -- nearly doubling the oomph of the original. Datawind, however, pegs the Ubislate 7+ at familiar 2,999 Rupees (about $60), noting that the unbranded hardware runs Android 2.3 and features WiFi and GPRS connectivity. Students in India should be able to pick up the budget-friendly slab sometime in April, just like Kapil Sibal promised last month.[Thanks, Pravesh]
Aakash put on notice as BSNL and Pantel pair up to produce T-Pad
The last thing that the Aakash project needed was a more handsome, similarly priced commercial rival swooping in and stealing all of its thunder. Sadly that's what's happened: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), itself currently under investigation for corruption allegations, has announced a similarly low priced tablet in partnership with Pantel International. The T-Pad IS701R costs Rs 3,250 ($66) compared to the Aakash's Rs 2,999 ($60) but this device has a faster 1GHz processor and runs Gingerbread on a 7-inch 800 x 600 resistive display. However it's not all sunshine and roses, unlike the Government-sponsored slate, there is no GPRS modem in this edition. If you want freedom from WiFi, it'll cost you Rs 10,999 (or $223). So how do the two tablets stack up? Head on past the break and we'll show you in a little more detail. [Thanks, Syed]
Aakash lurches toward another crisis as India loses patience with DataWind
The conflicts and behind-the-scenes drama surrounding India's Aakash project once again threaten its existence. Despite a record-breaking 1.4 million pre-orders gained in under a fortnight, maker DataWind has only shipped 10,000 units to nearly universal derision. Early adopters have found the processor too slow, battery life too short and the resistive touchscreen difficult to use. Kapil Sibal's Human Resource Development ministry now plans to re-open tendering for a replacement contractor and withdraw DataWind's deal for a further 90,000 units. An anonymous ministry official has said that they've seen "sufficient interest [...] to get better specifications at the same or lower price."In response, DataWind has claimed that its development-partner, the Indian Institute of Technology, pulled a bait-and-switch, demanding at the eleventh hour that the tablet meet US military criteria for durability -- including being able to withstand four inches per hour of "sustained rain." Work has been on hold since then but neither party can afford another delay. DataWind promised it would sell the commercial version of the slate this month, while Kapil Sibal has promised that a second edition of the Aakash would be announced in April.
$60 Aakash Tablet to cost no-cash?
Kapil Sibal's not resting after the explosion of interest that followed the initial launch of the $60 Aakash education tablet. He's now pushing to get the rebadged DataWind Ubislate 7 into the hands of students free of charge, rather than the $35 they currently pay. The plan is to offer a 50 percent government subsidy for each unit, with education institutions fronting the other half, but only if inclined to do so. He's also pushing for the tablet to be manufactured domestically rather than imported -- hoping that the comforts of home will enable it to spread nationwide. See? We got through that without making any "cash" puns.
Datawind bringing UbiSurfer, PocketSurfer3 to the US
Remember Datawind's PocketSurfer and PocketSurfer2 handheld internet devices? Ever see one out in the wild on this side of the pond? Well, Datawind is hoping that it'll have better luck with its new PocketSurfer3 and UbiSurfer devices, which are both now apparently officially on track for a US release. The PocketSurfer3 (pictured above) is a fairly modest update to the PocketSurfer2, with it adding an improved screen and updated UI and, most perhaps importantly, a lower $249 price tag that also includes a year of free cellular usage (up to 30 hours a month). The UbiSurfer, on the other hand, is a more traditional netbook-style device (check it out after the break), although it harkens back a bit to the pre-Atom days with a 7-inch screen, 1GB of storage, 128MB of RAM and an unspecified, presumably low-power processor. The good news, however, is that it includes the same year of free service as the PocketSurfer3, and packs an even lower $199 price tag. No word on a cellular partner involved in all of this, but Datawind says both should be available this October.
Revised PocketSurfer2 gets unlimited lifetime surfing in UK, old one gets cheaper here
DataWind's PocketSurfer2 hasn't exactly made a huge impact here in the US, where it was unceremoniously re-dubbed the PC Edge prior to being released to the back cabinets of electronics retailers next to piles of unwanted Shifts. It's seen more success in Europe, where surfers on the go can now buy a nicely upgraded model, the PocketSurfer2R. It shares the prior device's basic layout and 640 x 240 screen, but contains a GPS receiver inside and a small touchpad to the upper-right of the keypad. More notable, though, is the new "Immortality Plan," which won't guarantee that you'll still be rocking out when your grandkids retire, but, for a one-time fee of £60 (a little over $100), offers unlimited surfing over the lifetime of the device. Given we're stuck paying $25/month here, we'd call that a bargain. This new model won't be coming stateside, at least not yet, but the older one has received a $100 price drop to $199.
DataWind's PocketSurfer2 hits the FCC
We've already had some indication that DataWind's PocketSurfer2 handheld internet device would be hitting the US before too long, and it now looks like that possibility just got a whole lot more inevitable, as the device has finally made its first appearance at the FCC. Somewhat interestingly, the FCC's always handy internal photos prominently show a Rogers SIM card on the inside of the device (check it out after the break), although we're guessing that's simply due to the fact that the lab doing the testing is in Canada and not an indication that Rogers is actually picking up the device. T-Mobile, on the other hand, would seem to be a much safer bet, although we'll just have to wait and see if that pans out.
DataWind's PocketSurfer 2 rumored to be coming to T-Mobile
We haven't heard much about DataWind's PocketSurfer 2 lately, but it looks like MobilePlanet may have gotten a bit more information on a possible release for the device, as its now has the handheld up for pre-order for $310. What's more, the site also says that a T-Mobile data plan is required for the device to function but, unlike the free GPRS for a year plan in the UK (up to 20 hours a month), those in the US will apparently have to drop $30 per month to get their web browsing done on the device. For those yet to be acquainted with the the device, be sure to check out Pocketables at the link below for a couple of better pics of it than we've seen before, and hit up the read link if you want to take a chance with that pre-order.[Via Pocketables]
DataWind set to show off PocketSurfer 2
It's been a while since we last heard anything about DataWind's PocketSurfer 2 handheld, but it looks like the company might finally have something new to say about it, with a preview of the Internet-browsing device now slated for later this month. As you can see above, the invite to the event also included some fresh new pics of the device (such as they are), which could possibly suggest that it's actually nearing a release (or not). Whatever it is DataWind has in store, we should find out soon enough, as the event's set to go down July 12th.[Thanks, Ross R]
