IIT-Rajasthan Rejects 3,000 Aakash Units

The world's cheapest tablet is facing real tough times as IIT-Rajasthan has rejected 3,000 units for now and the fate of another 10,000 units of Aakash hangs in balance.

ndia's cheapest device, Aakash aka Ubislate 7, which made millions happy momentarily, now seems to be cursed for the time being. No wonder, it's still the news-maker this year, but all for wrong reasons. The euphoria surrounding this device has gradually subsided and disappointment seems to be the middle name of this device.
Nearly after 10 months since the signing in of Aakash project between Datawind and Indian Government, there seems to be no road ahead for the device to enter college campuses. As reported earlier, IIT-Rajasthan has its reservations about the specifications and durability of the device for which both IIT and Datawind are trying to figure out a solution.

IIT-Rajasthan Rejects 3,000 Aakash Units

The world's cheapest tablet is facing real tough times as IIT-Rajasthan has rejected 3,000 units for now and the fate of another 10,000 units of Aakash hangs in balance.

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012:  India's cheapest device, Aakash aka Ubislate 7, which made millions happy momentarily, now seems to be cursed for the time being. No wonder, it's still the news-maker this year, but all for wrong reasons. The euphoria surrounding this device has gradually subsided and disappointment seems to be the middle name of this device.
Nearly after 10 months since the signing in of Aakash project between Datawind and Indian Government, there seems to be no road ahead for the device to enter college campuses. As reported earlier, IIT-Rajasthan has its reservations about the specifications and durability of the device for which both IIT and Datawind are trying to figure out a solution.

Now, in a recent development, IIT-Rajasthan has rejected as many as 3,000 units of Aakash due to its slow performance, battery power and bad screen panels. Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, Datawind, says, "We have taken a straight loss of about 3,000 units. Besides, payments for the supplied 10,000 units are still due. We can't supply further unless we get revised test criterion."
Already, the letter of credit (LoC) for Aakash issued by IIT-Rajasthan to Datawind in its extension, has expired on Saturday, even as both parties have not been able to reach a conclusion on the tablet features. As per government sources, the LoC to Datawind "may" be given a third and final extension till March. But till Monday the LoC remained expired, as per a Datawind spokeswoman, putting a question mark on any further supply of Aakash tablets, reports ET.
While this stalemate condition lingers on, HRD ministry has tried to maintain a safe distance by citing the dispute as purely commercial in nature between both parties. "Both IIT-Rajasthan and Datawind entered into a contract as commercial parties, let them sort it out," a ministry official said.
As of now, while the fate of Aakash part one hangs in limbo, people are happy pre-ordering Aakash 2 aka UbiSlate 7+.