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Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America

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Re: Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America

#51

Post by trocker »

msinghai wrote: post #21

Not to discourage you guys, but, this tablet is horrible. I am a class X Indian student, just got this for 2300 from the government outlet at Delhi. Its too slow. The battery only lasts an hour or so even if it's plugged in for 5 hours. YouTube, is also way too bad. Wifi connectivity is messed up. To switch to a new network, you have to restart the device. It feels a bit cheap on the outside too and neither my USB Ke…

let those little ones play with the system, some of them will soon realize how much there is in the world outside and some of them will attempt to change the world!

its not about how fast it is or what all things are wrong in that. its about whatever is right in that - which indeed will be amazing for them.

Re: Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America

#52

Post by suhastech »

I seriously think the Indian government is wasting money on this.

Funding projects like Rasberry Pi would have been much better. They don't even understand what a tablet is. It's a crippled device where all you can do is watch videos and browse the Internet on your couch. You can almost do nothing productive with the device.

Tablet is a rich man's device. Giving that to poor people is nonsensical.

Re: Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America

#53

Post by pacemkr »

I know its $35 and all, but we have to contemplate the fact that it's running a 366 MHz processor, and that used be enough to do all sorts of things.

I look at this device and think of the many levels of failed abstractions this poor CPU chews through every time you tap the screen.

Something is terribly wrong here. Not with this device in particular. With our abstracting complexities to create more complexities; wasting cycles away. Sometimes I feel like throwing it all out the window and just making the machine do what I need.

Re: Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America

#54

Post by irahul »

politician wrote: post #47
irahul wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My maid does the job because the job is pretty light weight and takes about half an hour on an average day. This setup enables her to work at other places. Maids aren't paid highly here because there is no welfare, the general income is quite low, and my maid can either make those 800 bucks working for me, or has to find another job. Depending on the situation, it might or might not be working well for her.

Wait, are you saying she'd make more if there was welfare? How does that work?

I am saying since there is no welfare, and she needs money, she might be going through a job which doesn't pay enough.

I don't know how does the minimum wage calculation work, and it might be more than 800 INR for about half an hour of work(+/- 10 minutes - most of the days I don't cook, so no dishes. Sometimes I use almost every dish in my house) per day.

But consider the minimum wage were much higher and enforced say 5000 INR. I don't need her - I don't cook very often and I can clean the house once in a while. In that case, she would lose the job she has now, and would be eligible for welfare. Depending on the amount, she might be better off with this scenario.

This is all hypothetical though. She does multiple jobs, and works for me because it's convenient for her. She gets some cash for light weight work. That spares her time for her own home and other jobs. A minimum wage and welfare system might result in a scenario where she makes slightly more than she does now, but might prove more demanding in terms of time spent and labor.

Re: Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America

#55

Post by ido »

Cherian_Abraham wrote: post #14

Imagine what this would do to the PC sales in India? PC Sales were at 4.68 million in 2010 and it was expected to go up 22% in 2011. A significant chunk of those potential customers will opt for a far cheaper and mobile Aakash now. Ofcourse, there will still be some who will opt for a PC (as Aakash does not put a significant dent in their wallets), but the Tablet does it for a lot of people, with out having to worry…

Seeing as 4.68 million new PCs for a population of largely previously off-line 1.2b people is a very small drop in the bucket, I expect it will continue to go up rapidly very quickly for many years to come as India gets richer and PCs get cheaper.

Re: Hands On: India’s $35 Aakash Android tablet lands in America

#56

Post by pbhjpbhj »

anmol wrote: post #37

it could be revolutionary if it helps create a slew on android education/entertainment apps meant for low CPU / low network tablets. note the official poverty line in India is about $1/day and 30% of the population is below it. These people are not worried about YouTube videos.

My first computer cost me just under a months wages (on special offer) as a recent graduate. Now we're looking at offering a computer with a similar performance to people on the official poverty line for just over a months wages ... seems like good progress.

Aside, I wonder how good these are at being repaired.

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