Upgraded Aakash to be unveiled in May: Sibal

Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal Monday said the upgraded version of tablet PC ''Aakash'' will be unveiled in May.

"The upgraded Aakash will be fabulous. The processor will be 700 mega watts, the live battery would be of three hours uninterrupted, you will have a capacity screen. We will unveil it in May," Sibal said on the sidelines of a seminar organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The minister, who also holds the education portfolio, had earlier said that two state-owned technology companies had been roped in to manufacture the upgraded version.

He had then admitted that there were problems with Datawind, the original developer of the tablet.

Datawind has come under criticism for missing delivery deadlines and for failing to provide a proper customer service platform.

The government was also unhappy after various faults were detected in the tablet, and officials had indicated that the government may not extend the contract for manufacture of more tablets to Datawind.

"Now it is at testing stage. There is no commercial production of Aakash. We ultimately want to give out a product which is a quality product and therefore we are going through different versions of Aakash.

"Aakash 2 will also go through tests. Only when we feel that quality is clear, and that children will accept then only we will commercialize it," he said.