Aakash 4 to be available by January 2014: Kapil Sibal

NEW DELHI: Government has finalised specifications of next version of low-cost tablet Aakash which would be ready by January 2014, Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal said today.

"Yesterday we had meeting on the Aakash. The generation 4 Aakash is ready, all the specifications are frozen," Sibal said while addressing at the Telecom Summit here.

The minister also said that around 12 manufacturers from around the world are ready to make the tablet in India.

"There is no problem in terms of manufacture. In fact lines are ready for manufacture, what they need is orders. Now that specifications are frozen, we hope that the Aakash will be available to the people of India by January 2014," he said.

The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) will start the process for orders, he added.

Final specifications of the new Aakash tablet, however, could not be ascertained. As per proposed specifications, the latest version of Aakash should be capable of supporting 4G services, phone calling features, 4 GB in built storage and bluetooth connectivity.

Government had sourced previous version of Aakash tablet for USD 49.98 which translated in to Rs 2,276.