The Indian government, along with Indian Institutes of Technology and C-DAC (Center for Development of Advanced Computing) launched an upgraded version of Aakash 2 last November. The device shipped with a capacitive touch screen, upgraded 1 Ghz processor with 512 MB of RAM and Android Ice Cream Sandwich. According to a Times of India report, the makers are planning to make it more open by including Linux as the default operating system in its next edition, Aakash 3.

This device is also planned to ship with a SIM slot (for calls and SMS) along with other hardware level upgrades. As per estimates, 5 million Aakash 3 tablets are scheduled to ship by next February.

“Our aim is to imbibe the usage of tablets in the education system and create an ecosystem for this. We have distributed Aakash tablets to 250 colleges across the country and asked them to come up with newer ways to use the device," said Deepak B Phatak, committee member and a professor in IIT- Bombay's Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

There may be two versions of this tablet, one for schools and one for colleges. The version for school kids will cost lesser. Even after so many upgrades, the price of Aakash 3 will remain unchanged at 2236 rupees ( US $41). This will largely help Indian students to get a cheap and reliable mobile computing device for educational needs.