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Dated: - 28-02-

2012

Consumer

Behaviour

Submitted to: Dr. Ashutosh Kumar

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Submitted By:

Rajesh Mishra

(2K11B24) 

Punit Sharma

(2K11B22)

  Aakash Tablet

Preface

As a concept, tablets have been around for a while. So have touch screens on phones. It did

take quite a while for a true convergence of hardware, software, operating systems, usability

and an application ecosystem to finally come together (read as !Pad) which has paved the way

for a new generation of devices in the form of today's tablets!

As this nascent market grows at a breakneck Pace globally, economies of scale have started

setting in already. While a number of models are available in India from global brands and not

so global ones there has been very little by way of differentiation amidst all these products.

While tablet adoption has largely been with consumers, uses for this device in certain verticals

such as education, retail, healthcare, corporate & aviation industries prove there is a large

 potential for those verticals.

Why do a report on the Tablet Market for India? Tablets have the potential to grow

exponentially if key players in the Indian market can play to the right market forces. However,

India is a complex market made more challenging with a lack of structured, actionable data (theinsights and analysis needed for business leaders).

What to expect from this report? This report will not only look at global trends,

applications and use cases for tablets but also the current state of Indian market, challenges and

the outlook for the Indian tablet market. This report will highlight the potential and opportunity

in India which should serve as a strategic tool for category players.

Opportunities for Tablet ecosystem in India to explode. There exist a number of  potential drivers on the demand side...

 Number of active internet users in India 97 Million

 Number of existing PC users in India Over 52 Million

 Number of active 3G subscribers in India Between 15 to 18 Million

 Number of TV Households in India ~ 141 Million

 Number of unique mobile device owners in India Over 540 Million

 Number of unique Smartphone users in India Over 20 Million

 Number of IT and ITES workforce in India ~2.3 Million

 Number of Face book users in India ~36 Million

Opportunities for Tablet ecosystem in India to explode and, on the supply side

There is an App for everything NA

Touch - The new paradigm NA

Indian government's ambition for the education sector USO 35 Tablet

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 Number of global tablet sales in 2012 (projected) Over 110 Million

China and Taiwan based OM& driving economies of scale NA

( Source : http://convergencecatalyst.com/)

It is up to the ecosystem players to navigate through a highly fragmented retail universe,

diverse consumer segments, unique consumer expectations & complex market dynamics and

capitalize on the opportunity called INDIA!

(Source: http://convergencecatalyst.com/)

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(Source: http://convergencecatalyst.com/)

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(Source: http://convergencecatalyst.com/)

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(Source: http://convergencecatalyst.com/)

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  About Aakash

The Aakash is an Android-based tablet computer produced by British company DataWind. It is

manufactured by the India-based company Quad, at a new production centre in Hyderabad,[2] under a trial run of 100,000 units.[3] The tablet was officially launched as the Aakash in New

Delhi on October 5, 2011. The Indian HRD ministry projects introduction of an upgraded

second-generation model called Aakash 2 in April 2012.

The Aakash is a low-cost tablet computer with a 7-inch touch screen, ARM 11 processor and

256 MB RAM running under the Android 2.2 operating system. It has two universal serial

 bus (USB) ports and delivers high definition (HD) quality video. For applications, the Aakash

will have access toGetjar , an independent market, rather than the Android Market.

The device was developed as part of the country's aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400

universities in an e-learning program. Originally projected as a "$35 laptop" the device will be

sold to the Government of India at US$50 until further orders are received to obtain the $35committed price, and will be distributed to university students for free. A commercial version

of Aakash is currently marketed as UbiSlate 7+ at a price of $60.

The Ubislate website accessed 2012-02-07 informs that a lakh Ubislate 7+ devices are being

 pre-booked each day, bookings are being taken for March, capacity for February being sold.

KapilSibal has stated that a million devices would be made available to students in 2011. The

devices will be manufactured at a cost of 1500 (€23 Euro) each, half of which will be paid by

the government and half by the institutions that would use it. In January 2011, the company

initially chosen to build the Sakshat, HCL Infosystems, failed to provide evidence that they had

at least 600 million ( 60 crore) ($12.2 million) in bank guaranteed funds, as required by the

Indian government, which has allocated $6.5 million to the project. As a result, the government put the project out for bidding again.

In June 2011, the HRD announced that it received a few samples from the production process

which are under testing. Also it mentions that each state in India provided 3000 samples for 

testing on their functionality, utility and durability in field conditions.

The Government of India announced that 10,000 (Sakshat) tablet will be delivered to schools

and colleges by late June and over the next four months 90,000 more would be made available

at a price of 2500 device. Government will subsidize the cost by about 50%, so a student

would have to pay less than 1,500 for the device.

35% of hardware components were sourced from South Korea, 25% from China, 16% from theUSA, 16% from India and 8% from other countries.

Software Development DataWind, the maker of Aakash, has announced a contest for students

wherein their best applications will be embedded in the Ubislate(Aakash Tablet). Top 5

application winners will be awarded Rs. 1 Lakh each.

 Nasscom Foundation has partnered with DataWind and announced a contest wherein 10 NGOs

will have an opportunity to win 20 tablets each, mainly to improve their operations and

 programme implementation.

Indian Ministry of Education is releasing educational videos in conjunction with IGNOU and

at sakshat.ac.in. This preparation of content is meant for students with access to the Internet,India's first law-biding Online Video Library.

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DataWind is Out – There were news of tussle between Aakash Tablet manufacturer 

Datawind and Aakash Tablet designer IIT Rajasthan on specification of the tablet.

Government was also not pleased with Datawind’s decision to sell the tablet in open

market before fulfilling the first order by government for 1,00,000 tablets. Datawind

had delivered 10,000 tablet to the government in first batch. In earlier story Datawind

agreed to enhance processor and battery life for no additional cost. However, IIT

Rajshthan wanted the enhanced specs for Aakash Tablet as rugged tablet which can

withstand water and impact. Datawind come up with a price tag of around 100 dollars(USD) for rugged tablet. Now, as per latest announcement by KapilSibal, DataWind is

no more associated with the project. We don’t know if DataWind can continue selling

the tablet and their own enhanced version Ubislate in open market or not. From,

DataWind site it seems they are still pre-booking the Ubislate+.

C-DAC and ITI are new owners of Aakash Tablet – Government has decided to rope

C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) and state owned telecom

equipment manufacturer Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) to further development of 

Aakash Tablet. They are given task to produce a better tablet at same announced price.

As you know Aakash Tablet’s cost was close to 50 $(2250 rupees) and it was available

from 1300 rupees onwards after subsidy. (http://www.aakashtablet.in/ ) 

Features and Specifications of Aakash Tablet

Display-Aakash Tablet has a 7 inch resistive touch screen with 800 x 480 pixel

resolution.

Operating System-Akash Tab runs Android 2.2 (Froyo).

Processor- It has got a single core 366 MHz processor plus a HD video co-processor,

256 MB RAM and 2GB internal flash memory.

Supported Multimedia Formats-Aakash Tablet supports Image formats like .png,

.jpg, .gif, .bmp. Supported Video Formats include MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI and FLV.

The Tablet also supports audio formats such as MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV and WMA.

External Connectors-Aakash Tablet supports Mini and Full USB, has got two SD card

slots (memory expandable up-to 32GB), a SIM card slot, Video Out, a 3.5 mm

headphone jack support and HDMI port.

Internet Connectivity-Aakash is a Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g enabled Tablet with a WebBrowser having Standards Compliance, xHTML 1.1 compliant, JavaScript 1.8

compliant and safety compliance. It also offers separate software for online YouTube

videos.

App Store-Akash Tab supports more than 150000 apps to keep you entertained

throughout the day.

Battery-The 50 gram Tablet has a 2100mAh battery with a standby time of 3-4 hours.

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Supported Document Formats- The supported document formats include DOC,

DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT and ODP. The Tablet has also got PDF Viewer 

and Text Editor.

The tablet is made from 800 components by Canadian company Datawind. Only 16%

of the tablet comprises of Indian components. At 35%, South Korea features

 prominently in the list of component sources and 25% of the parts were sourced from

China. The rest come from USA and other parts of the world.

Aakash in Hindi Language means ‘Sky’ and probably the device is ready to reach the

same height. The main target of this tablet is students who always admired Tablets but

had to murder their feelings due to lack of money. Aakash has all the basic features

which are frequently used by everyone and can be easily bought by the students just by

saving their pocket money for a few days. Though it is disappointing that the Tablet

does not have a camera and will not have access to Android Market, we cannot expect

so much at such a price. Overall the Tablet is a very good deal for everyone.

Reasons could be for failure of Aakash…!

(Source: http://convergencecatalyst.com/)

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(Source: http://convergencecatalyst.com/)

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Faulty Processor: The gadget may not be able to perform multiple tasks because the

Android OS application would require enough memory to run a few applications and graphics.

This can be understood from the fact that the cheapest Android mobiles from ‘Spice’ are

equipped with 600 MHz processor, whereas the Aakash has just 336 MHz processor. So, half 

of it would always be kept on use for just running the OS.

Low memory + short storage = no entertainment: Aakash tablet can’t store heavy

files and large number of songs since it has less video storage capacity. Although, the tablet’s

memory can be expanded to 32GB but that would require more cash spending since a MicroSD

card of 8GB is available for a price of around Rs 800 to 1000, making the cost of gadget

exceed Rs 2500, as fixed by the government.

Low battery, 2100 mAh: Experts say the Aakash Tablet does not have a powerful battery

 backup either. A longer lasting battery is important for a hassle free experience on a gadget like

Aakash with comparatively big screen. This is significant since cheaper Android phoneavailable in market come with a 1500 mAh battery, for mere 3 to 3.5-inch screens.

In such a case, most of the battery would be drained from that 2100 mAh capacity to just run

the Aakash tablet. Although, the Datawind claims Aaakash has 180 minutes of power backup,

 but the firm fails to mention what kind of usage is possible with it. It the firm tries to limit the

storage, its low processor will slow down the web browsing and reading, but can make the

 battery last for a max of 3 hours.

Poor display, reflects light: Aakash tablet’s screen resolution is very poor as its basicdisplay has no High Definition output. Its screen reflects the light, and at its maximum

 brightness too, the tablet won’t be able to display the stuff well in the bright conditions. So, this

restricts the use to use the tablet in a closed area, not under the sun.

Touchscreen is resistive, but too resistive: Unlike other sophisticated gadgets,

Aakash’ touch screen feature is said to be too resistive during a push and drag sequence or to

select an icon or browsing through other applications.

Heating up quickly: The processor installed in Aakash is heating up too quickly, experts

say, as it is over-burdened to sustain speed needed to multitask. The tablet gets heated upwithin an hour of continuous usage, which has been confirmed through actual users who tried

using the Wi-Fi and browsing the web for an hour.

No Bluetooth support: Aakash Tablets lack support for a USB dongle, unlike other high-

tech devices like Ainol Novo 7 tablet that comes with the price of USD 100 and has support for 

any USB dongle. This feature enables the dongle to use any 3G SIM for the network 

connection.

No Android Market, no application upgrade: The Aakash Tablet misses the

Android marketplace and that limits the usage to the given apps. Those who know how to get

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things done on it would try to install it separately, but the target buyers (in the rural areas) may

have little knowledge of Androids.

Hardware won’t support upgrades: If at all you are trying to use your skills, and

install 3rd party applications, the fact remains that many of the latest applications would need

the latest Android OS, at least the gingerbread 2.3 version. But with the 366 MHz processor,

upgrade would be difficult too.

Wi-Fi connectivity and poor network in India: With Aakash Tablet having the Wi-

Fi option, poor connectivity is going to be a big impediment for users in rural areas. Even the

major Metropolitan cities in India struggle in providing Wi-Fi networks through the service

 providers, so one can easily imagine how will the users get the Wi-Fi network in rural areas?

No external speakers: As there is no external speakers connected to the device. Audio

would need earphones and that would cost money.

 References:

1. ^ Kurup, Saira (October 9, 2011). “‘we want to target the billion Indians who

are cut off'". Times of India. Retrieved October 9, 2011.

2. ^ Timmons, Heather (October 6, 2011). "Aiming for the Other One Billion". 

 New York Times.

3. ^ a b c d  "Meet Aakash, India’s $35 ‘Laptop’". New York Times, October 5,

2011, PamposhRaina and Heather Timmons. 5 October 2011.

4. ^ a b Datawind loses government edge

5. ^ a b c "Aakash tablet will end ‘digital divide’". Montreal Gazette, Jason Magder,

October 6, 2011.

6. ^ "Aakash: We want to target the billion Indians who are cut off, says Suneet

Singh Tuli, CEO of DataWind". Economic Times, October 9, 2011, SairaKurup. 9

October 2011.

7. ^ a b c "India unveils prototype for $35 touch-screen computer". BBC World

news-South Asia. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.

8. ^ "Low Cost access –Cum-Computing Device Unveiled by KapilSibal". Press

Information Bureau. Retrieved 22 July 2010.

9. ^ "DataWind rebrands UbiSlate 7 as UbiSlate 7+"].

10. ^ "Aakash: World's cheapest tablet launched; to be sold for $60 in retail".

Economic Times. 5 October 2011.

11. ^ a b Tuli, Suneet Singh. "UbiSlate 7+". http://www.ubislate.com. DataWind Ltd.

Retrieved 7 February 2012.

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12. ^ a b c NDTV Gadget Guru Gadget Guru exclusive: $35 laptop is here. Retrieved

13 August 2010.

13. ^ Guardin-India untiels cheapest laptop Retrieved 25 July 2010.

14.^ HarsimranJulka&GulveenAulakh, "Tender for $35 laptop project cancelled", The

 Economic Times, ET Bureau 18 Jan 2011. News clipping by PragadeeshSekar on public

interest

15.^ "HRD press release". Retrieved December 30, 2011.

16.^ "News Article about launch". Pluggd.in. Retrieved December 30, 2011.

17.^ "Aakash Tablet's commercial variant in November". Hindustan Times. Retrieved

December 30, 2011.

18.^ "Develop apps for Aakash, get rewarded". Times of India. Retrieved December 30,

2011.

19.http://zeenews.india.com