Only 366 units of Aakash tablet delivered to students

The Aakash tablet has continued to be marred by a spate of controversies ever since it was launched in October last year. First there was an IIT-Rajasthan versus DataWind over specification issues. Then there were talks of launching an upgraded version of the Aakash tablet at the original price. Recently, DataWind entered into a war of words with its ex assembly vendor Quad Electronics with both the parties suing each other. All the controversies, however, only jeopardised the Aakash tablet – which Union minister Kapil Sibal is confident of launching next month. It’s learnt that so far only 366 units of the Aakash tablet have reached students. These units were given to the students on October 5 last year – the day when the Aakash was unveiled – for testing them and give their feedback.

These 366 units are part of 650 Aakash tablets that IIT Rajasthan had procured from the lot of 6,440 tablets supplied by DataWind. Union minister Kapil sibal in Parliament revealed that IIT-Rajasthan had turned down rest of the devices as a number of defective LCADs (Aakash tablets) in those lots exceeded the stipulated 5% of devices".

Speaking about any distribution strategy for the Aakash tablet, Sibal revealed that the units given to the students were for the purpose of testing; therefore, no norms for distribution were laid down. He also said that DataWind will provide upgraded Aakash tablets at the same price of the original Aakash.

"DataWind is still to supply 1,00,000 LCADs of higher specifications at the same price. These higher specifications (which include 700 MHz Cortex A8 processor, 3200 mAH Battery and capacitive touch screen) have been necessitated to overcome the initial difficulties observed in the devices," he said.

Separately, Kapil Sibal at an event in New Delhi said that the government is in talks with various manufacturers across the world about the Aakash tablet. “After freezing the technology, we will start manufacturing it. We are calling people from across the world to manufacture it and some people have shown interest,” Sibal said.

Aakash tablet in trouble as DataWind-Quad Electronics feud escalates

Quad Electronics has sued DataWind accusing the letter of not procuring its contracted inventory or pay for the Aakash tablets. DataWind has hit back at Quad saying it will not procure tablets until the matter is resolved legally.

In the legal notice, Quad has accused DataWind of defaulting $1.12 million dues. Quad has also claimed that DataWind procured only 10,000 out of total 50,000 tablets manufactured. "The letter of credit (LC) given was not honoured by Barclays bank as our bank (Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait) is yet to receive a single dollar on the LC given by them. The banks have proof of non-payments,"

Quad MD also rejected DataWind's allegations that his company had breached intellectual property rights by signing MoU with IIT-Rajasthan. "The software and PCB Gerber (printed circuit board file format) required to design a product were not given to Quad and therefore there is no question of infringement since Quad was restricted to only manufacturing as per the specifications and instructions received from Datawind," Soin added.

Soin clarified that the MoU with IIT was for developing convergence products not for LCAD (Low Cost Access Device) and that DataWind was aware about the deal.


DataWind, however, has turned down claims made by Quad Electronics. On the issue of not honouring the letter of credit, DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said, "Quad should show why they weren't able to submit required documents in a timely manner to get payment through letter of credit. They've been entirely paid for their services. It'll now be resolved in the UK courts.”


The verbal spat between Quad and DataWind comes at a time thousands of retail customers wait for what has been touted as the world's cheapest tablet. The continuous delay has already dented the popularity of the Aakash tablet. DataWind is supposed to supply upgraded Aakash tablets to the government at the same price of the original Aakash. The government is planning to launch the device in May – which seems unlikely considering the spate of controversies engulfing the project time and again.

DataWind-Quad Electronics rift delays delivery of Aakash tablet

Controversies have continued to chase DataWind. The Canadian company, which was spearheading the original Aakash tablet project, has been accused by its erstwhile assembly partner Quad Electronics Solutions Pvt. Ltd of not clearing dues. DataWind, on the other hand, has accused Quad Electronics of infringing intellectual property rights and trying to sell the Aakash tablet directly to IIT-Rajasthan.
DataWind further claims that Quad Electronics signed an MoU with IIT-Rajasthan and unsuccessfully tried to develop a UbiSlate 7+ competitor. The two partners have already parted their ways and claim to have served legal notices to each other. However, thousands of people who booked the device are suffering because of the rift between the two companies. It may be recalled that DataWind had opened booking for the UbiSlate 7+, upgraded version of the original Aakash or UbiSlate 7 last year, but has not yet started shipping. A lot of people had paid in advance for the device.

“We will provide an update on the number of pre-bookings, units delivered and schedule to clear the backlog at our launch event, planned for the third week of this month,” DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told Live Mint via e-mail. Tuli had previously revealed that DataWind had received three million bookings for Ubislate 7+ and was likely to launch the device in a few weeks.

Back to back delays have already dented the popularity of the Aakash tablet, which is also touted as the world's cheapest tablet. The Indian government wants to use the Aakash tablet for bridging the digital divide in the country; however the device is yet to see the light of day. Union minister Kapil Sibal recently said the Aakash 2 tablet will launch in May with improved specifications.