# Humble tablet, sky-high goals (HT Tech) > Forbes magazine included Suneet Singh Tuli, the maker of India's low-cost tablet 'Aakash', and MIT professor Anant Agarwal in its 'Impact 15' list of education innovators who are harnessing technologies to reinvent education globally, Vivek Sinha reports. # Humble tablet, sky-high goals ## Forbes magazine included Suneet Singh Tuli, the maker of India's low-cost tablet 'Aakash', and MIT professor Anant Agarwal in its 'Impact 15' list of education innovators who are harnessing technologies to reinvent education globally, Vivek Sinha reports. Nov 10 2012, 08:55 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) ![image caption](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/rf/image_size_800x600/HT/p1/2012/04/26/Incoming/Pictures/846829_Wallpaper2.jpg) We-are-committed-to-providing-one-lakh-Aakash-tablets-to-ministry-of-HRD-and-today-s-launch-is-to-announce-that-we-are-honouring-the-bookings-made-by-our-other-retail-customers-across-India-Suneet-Singh-Tuli-chief-executive-officer-Datawind-told-HT-HT-Photo-Vipin-Kumar ![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png) ### By VIVEK SINHA If the rich can have their iPads, the humbler aspirants of the digital revolution have their own answer. Not as cool and sleek perhaps as Apple's revolutionary tablet but something that will do pretty much the same for those with limited budgets. It is this dream that Suneet Singh Tuli wants to fulfill as he charts out a second coming for his UbiSlate device, also known as Aakash in India. A cosy relationship with government agencies turned sour after the ambitious device failed a controversial and belated set of tests. Up again on its feet, it is now ready for a second launch this Sunday. Also read click here. A Canadian of Indian origin, Tuli bet on the bottom of the pyramid. His company, DataWind, based in the UK and Canada, seemed to have hit the bull's eye last year when it won a bid to supply 100,000 low-cost tablets branded Aakash, for the ministry of human resources after winning a tender. Priced at ₹2,276 for the government these 'Nano of tablets' cost a mere ₹3,000 in the open market and immediately caught fancy of the world. Compare that with the iPad, whose lowliest variant costs ₹23,000 in India. 'We never intended to grab the tablet market targeted by iPad or other costlier tabs. Rather, our effort was to create a completely new market,' Tuli said. He has already met with success. DataWind has supplied 350,000 of its tablets while sitting on an order-book of four million from its pre-bookings. Tuli has set up four manufacturing facilities in India, two in Delhi, one each at Hyderabad and Amritsar, to make the device that aims to cut costs through smart techniques such as Internet-linked efficiencies and low-cost distribution. President Pranab Mukherjee will launch Aakash2 - the improved version. If it clicks as Tuli expects to, it would mark a fruitful finale to a roller-coaster ride he has been on for the past 12 months. Weeks after human resources minister Kapil Sibal launched 'Aakash' last year Tuli was inundated with orders. Equated with the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car that faced questions on quality and reliability, Aakash too ran into problems. While independent analysts gave a thumbs-down to the device for its clunky features and questioned its efficacy even for students in the hinterlands, worse still, the IIT, Rajasthan, named the technology partner for the HRD ministry, said Aakash failed its tests. This was vociferously contested by DataWind. The two are involved in a legal suit. One year later, IIT, Bombay has replaced IIT, Rajasthan as the government's agency and it has approved the Aakash. The newer version is said to be a smarter and wiser variant of the one that failed. The new variant has a capacitive screen, an improvement on the earlier resistive screen. The price is up by a notch. The UbiSlate would now be available at ₹3,500 -- and still be the cheapest tablet in the market. DataWind aims to launch its tablet in screen sizes of 5 inches, 10 inches, and 14 inches over the next one year. It already has a 7-inch version. 'By the end of this year we aim to start manufacturing 10,000 units per day,' said a beaming Tuli. It might help that Forbes magazine on Friday included Tuli in its 'Impact 15' list of education innovators who are harnessing disruptive technologies that changes education. Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 09 Nov, 22:23 IST 71,589,382,199,243 NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Tips & Tricks ![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide ![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide ![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it ![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how ![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more ## Editor’s Pick ![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple ![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained ![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on ![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini ![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update ## Trending Stories ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside keep up with tech ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png) ![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png) ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ## Gaming ![Check out these five gaming monitors under ₹20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider ![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off ![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges ![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it ![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Trending News ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ## Trending Gadgets Mobiles Laptops Tablets ![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif) - https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/humble-tablet-sky-high-goals-story-CqoR4auyTzqED35Z4Bim9K.html