India's homemade $50 tablet has already reached a milestone just 2 weeks after going on sale online. Manufacturers Datawind tell us that over 14 lakh units of the device have been booked online since December 15th.
The Aakash made national and international headlines when it launched on October 5th 2011. It is entirely assembled in India and, though pricier than the $35 tag originally announced, still the world's cheapest tablet.
The tablet itself is sold out but you can pre-book the Ubislate 7, a slightly upgraded version of the Aakash for Rs. 2999. The Ubislate 7 is sold out for the month of January and Febuary 2012 but you can preorder for March onwards.
The newer version will come with a slot for insertion of a SIM card, for accessing the Internet via GPRS or 2G connectivity. The current version of the tablet can access the Internet via Wi-Fi only.
To match the huge demand, Datawind has decided to set up three new factories in Cochin, Noida and Hyderabad.
Read:
The Aakash Tablet: From prototype to realityRead:
Is Aakash the Tata Nano of the mobile industry?Read:
How the Aakash compares to other tabletsRead:
The $50 Aakash: The Government buys one lakh tabletsWatch:
An in-depth look at the Aakash tablet