Aakash 4 to have calling facility, 4G services support

The next model of the low-cost Aakash project will possess calling facility and high speed 4G services support, as per specifications released by the government.

The next model of the low-cost Aakash project will possess calling facility and high speed 4G services support, as per specifications released by the government.

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The specifications suggest it will have "driver for phone functionality with external dongle" and support "data functionality with external 2G or 3G or 4G dongle".

The Aakash project was telecom minister Kapil Sibal's brainchild, when he was the HRD minister.

The idea is to provide low-cost computing devices at subsidised rates to students so that they can access the internet for educational purposes.

The first version of the tablet was launched on October 5, 2011. The tablet PC then launched had basic features and cost the government around Rs 2,276.

The government later upgraded the tablet with some advance features at the same price.

The latest version will have multiple new features, but the final price of the tablet has not been disclosed. The new version of the tablet will have an in-built Bluetooth facility, which was missing in the previous versions.