Government Reveals Specs for Aakash 4 Tablet

The Indian government has announced the next edition of the budget tablet, Aakash 4. The government has already finalised on the specifications they would like to have for Aakash 4 tablet. The tablets are aimed mainly at college and school going kids as an affordable option for the students.

So far, the government’s experiment with Aakash tablets has been less than heartening. While the tablets came with unsatisfactory specifications and experienced a lot of lag. Looks like the government is taking up the matter and the next edition of the tablets will be high on specifications and features. While previous editions were manufactured by Datawind, the government is looking at some other developers for Aakash 4 tablet.

The government is open to collaborating with multiple vendors and manufacturers for the next edition. This time around, a few basic specifications have been laid down which must be adhered to. While ease of playing 720ftp videos and a stronger chip processor are some of the main demands, the government also wants the tablet to come with a 7-inch screen and be touch-compatible upto 5 fingers. The Aakash 4 tablet will mostly have 1 GB RAM and 4 GB internal memory which can be expanded using a MicroSD card slot.

The tablet is expected to run on Android Jelly Bean ver 4.2 and the government has set a benchmark of 1469 Antutu points for the tablet. While most of the specifications sound less than stellar, they are much better than previous editions of the tablet. Also, priced at somewhere around Rs 3k, the Aakash 4 tablet might feature better specifications. The specs mentioned on the site are the bare requirements and companies providing better specifications will definitely be welcome.

According to the public notice issued by the government, “A Sub-Committee comprising of technical experts has prepared the proposed vendor neutral Technical Specifications of Aakash IV. These specifications have been developed with a view to have a device at a low cost. The proposed Specifications of Aakash IV are as under. All interested stakeholders may examine the proposed specifications and provide their comments especially from the point of vendor neutrality, usability and functionality.” 

While it all sounds great on paper, the actual project is still some months away and it might be a little too less when the Aakash 4 tab finally hits markets. The government needs to strongly pull up their socks and Datawind or not, provide the masses with a tablet that is worth the price.

The complete specifications list for the tablet can be found here.