DataWind
Encyclopedia
DataWind is a company manufacturing and marketing wireless web access products, originally founded in Montreal in 2001 by brothers Suneet and Raja Tuli from the Indian state of Punjab. Now headquartered in London, the company also has offices in Amritsar, India
; Dallas,Texas; and Mississauga, Ontario
.
With its research and development based in Montreal, the company until 2010 marketed its production primarily in the UK, where it is registered as an LLC
. In 2004, the company was described as a "small tech shop" marketing its key product, the Pocketsurfer, a pda/cell phone/web browser device. Several iterations of the Pocketsurfer followed.
Datawind is now widely known for its development of the Aakash, an inexpensive tablet computer
developed in conjunction with India's Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD)
and now seen as a way for the country to leapfrog the problems of educating its large population. Following a development process beset by delays and setbacks, the tablet will be offered at a sufficiently low price threshold – distributed by the government to students at a subsized price of $35 and to the public (as the Ubislate 7) for $60 – to enable ubiquitous, nationwide internet use. At the subsidized price, the tablet will cost about the price of a pair of shoes or a basic cell phone.
to design the Aakash tablet computer – now under manufacture by the Indian company, Quad, in an initial trial run of 100,000 units. The Wall Street Journal called the Aakash, "the world's cheapest tablet."
The seven-inch touch-screen tablet was co-developed with Datawind and Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan as part of the country's aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program with an ultimate production goal of tens of millions of units. Datawind projects the Indian government will buy 8 million to 10 million devices by early 2012. Time Magazine reported in 2011 that Datawind is considering marketing tailored variants of the Aakash in the U.K., the U.S. and Latin America.
In a 2011 interview, the company said it lowered the price of the tablet by developing patents to shift the device's processing burden to "backend servers in the cloud," by eliminating middle men whenever possible (DataWind itself designed the Aakash's boards, integrated components in-house and made the device's touch panel), and by monetizing the operating system – that is, selling apps for the device through its own app store. Despite using the Android operating system, the device does not have access to the Android Market
.
Following the announcement of the Aakash, Datawind met with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt
.
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
; Dallas,Texas; and Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
.
With its research and development based in Montreal, the company until 2010 marketed its production primarily in the UK, where it is registered as an LLC
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
. In 2004, the company was described as a "small tech shop" marketing its key product, the Pocketsurfer, a pda/cell phone/web browser device. Several iterations of the Pocketsurfer followed.
Datawind is now widely known for its development of the Aakash, an inexpensive tablet computer
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
developed in conjunction with India's Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD)
Ministry of Human Resource Development (India)
The Ministry of Human Resource Development is an Indian government ministry, responsible for the development of human resources...
and now seen as a way for the country to leapfrog the problems of educating its large population. Following a development process beset by delays and setbacks, the tablet will be offered at a sufficiently low price threshold – distributed by the government to students at a subsized price of $35 and to the public (as the Ubislate 7) for $60 – to enable ubiquitous, nationwide internet use. At the subsidized price, the tablet will cost about the price of a pair of shoes or a basic cell phone.
Aakash tablet
In 2010 the company won an Indian government tenderRequest for tender
A request for tender, commonly abbreviated to RFT, is a formal, structured invitation to suppliers for the supply of products or services. In the public sector, such a process may be required and determined in detail by law to ensure that such competition for the use of public money is open, fair...
to design the Aakash tablet computer – now under manufacture by the Indian company, Quad, in an initial trial run of 100,000 units. The Wall Street Journal called the Aakash, "the world's cheapest tablet."
The seven-inch touch-screen tablet was co-developed with Datawind and Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan as part of the country's aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program with an ultimate production goal of tens of millions of units. Datawind projects the Indian government will buy 8 million to 10 million devices by early 2012. Time Magazine reported in 2011 that Datawind is considering marketing tailored variants of the Aakash in the U.K., the U.S. and Latin America.
In a 2011 interview, the company said it lowered the price of the tablet by developing patents to shift the device's processing burden to "backend servers in the cloud," by eliminating middle men whenever possible (DataWind itself designed the Aakash's boards, integrated components in-house and made the device's touch panel), and by monetizing the operating system – that is, selling apps for the device through its own app store. Despite using the Android operating system, the device does not have access to the Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
.
Future
ITPro India and other sources report that Datawind is co-developing with Reliance Industries to the world’s least expensive 4G-enabled tablet.Following the announcement of the Aakash, Datawind met with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt
Carl Bildt
, Honorary KCMG is a Swedish politician, diplomat and nobleman. Formerly Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, Bildt has served as Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs since 6 October 2006...
.
See also
- List of technology companies in Montreal
- Comparison of Android devices
- Comparison of tablet computers
- OLPC