A lot of vendors in India as well as a few international brands have expressed their interest in manufacturing the Aakash 4, but there’s a problem. The companies say it will not be possible to sell the device for a price of Rs 2,500 and they are blaming the fluctuating rupee for it. However, it could be possible with a little support from the government.
Even Datawind that has been the company behind the first three iterations of the low-cost tablets meant for students, thinks it may not be possible to maintain the price level that the government expects. Suneet Singh Tuli, the CEO of Datawind spoke to PTI and said that the company can bid for an amount lower than the stipulated one, but the fluctuating rupee may create issues when it comes to maintaining it.
A tender for the Aakash 4 has already been released and the government will be accepting bids until January 28. Some of the specifications that the Indian government wishes to see in the device include 4G network compatibility in addition to 2G and 3G. Wi-Fi is likely to be present as well and the device will continue to have a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with scratch-resistant properties. A front camera and 4GB of onboard storage with expandability of up to 32GB are a couple of its other expected features.
While a lot of companies are bidding for the manufacturing rights of the Aakash 4, it remains to be seen if they manage to sell the end product for Rs 2500 or not.