Rise of the budget tablet

Moses wrote the Ten Commandments on it, Julius Caesar chronicled his campaigns on it and Aristotle used it as his personal diary — the tablet sure has come a long way since then. Considering its historical antecedents, the tablet in its modern form, barring the pharmaceutical pill, is fairly revolutionary. When Microsoft launched the tablet at the turn of the millennium, it was more or less unsuccessful. But when the iPad was launched by Apple a couple of years ago, it attained worldwide commercial success.

Upward spiral

Ever since then tablets have continued their leap to immense popularity, and are now being manufactured and sold all over the world, from China to Chile. When tablets first began to gain popularity, many wondered — what are these devices actually good for? Barely three years later, there is already talk about them replacing laptops in the near future. After all, the tablet has revolutionised the way we access data — be it music, emails, photos, the internet or just as a means of keeping in touch with our fellow brethren.

Like any other modern-day gadget and gizmo, the tablet is a functional device and a lifestyle statement all rolled into one. At the top of the market is Cystograph — the crystal design firm has enhanced the iPad 2 case with 10,000 Swarovski crystals. The case costs $10,000 (about Dh36,732) and customers get to choose the colour and the sizes of the crystals used.

Easy on the pocket

Moving on from bling to the world's cheapest tablet — Aakash was recently launched by the Indian government and costs a mere $35.

The basic touch-screen tablet can be used for functions such as word processing, web browsing and video conferencing. The tablet also boasts audio library software to manage your full collection of songs, a full sized-USB port and Micro-SD slot and applications galore with Android 2.2

Aakash has been developed for students at a subsidised price and is later to be retailed for about $60. Considering the Indian demographic, products such as Apple's iPad are beyond the reach of millions, including the growing middle class.

In an attempt to bridge the digital segregation, the Telecom and Education Ministry bought this lightweight device at $50 each from British company DataWind. The paperback book-sized Aakash is part of the government's goal of incorporating information technology in education.

Aakash is aimed at university students for digital learning via a government platform that distributes electronic books and courses and uses Google's Android operating system. Even though the tablet needs some improvements, the price is almost unreal. With more than 19 million mobile phone subscribers every month, India is the world's fastest-growing market, and there is hope that someday soon the tablet mania too will grip the country.
 

BLING GADGETS

Defining luxury

If Aakash lies at one end of the price-point segment of tablets, on the other is an iPad 2 encrusted with gold, diamonds and shaved Tyrannosaurus rex bone that has been created by British luxury goods specialist Stuart Hughes. The iPad 2 Gold History Edition is one of the most expensive consumer gadgets in the world, and weighs approximately 2.5kg — that's almost five times the weight of a regular iPad 2.

Price: $7,708,000

— S.P.