World's cheapest tablet 'Aakash' receives 3 lakh pre-launch bookings

 The world's cheapest tablet, Aakash, costing about Rs 3,000, has received about 3 lakh pre-launch bookings for its commercial version that goes on sale later next month. 

A subsidised model of this tablet, made by UK-based Datawind, is already being distributed free in schools and colleges. Aakash's retail bookings exceed India's estimated 250,000 tablet PC market, dominated by Apple, Samsung and Reliance. 

"The bookings have been done without any money received in advance. We have identified an operator for a data plan at Rs 99 a month," said Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli, who claimed the data streaming technology offered by his company could make internet access costs virtually free. 

"We hope to make internet free on our devices with that technology." Tuli is experimenting with a technology that can stream a 700MB file compressed into a 25MB on a tablet. Aircel could be the likely operator, said executives of the two companies, requesting anonymity. 

iPhone 4S lowest model at Rs 44,500

Apple fans in India are set for a shocker. They will have to shell out Rs 44,500 for the lowest model of the iPhone 4s. 

The handset's prices were out after Bharti Airtel revealed them on its website and launched pre-bookings on Friday, prior to the official launch on November 25. The 32 GB model is priced at Rs 50,900 and the top-end 64 GB model for Rs 57,500. 

Aircel, the other operator to announce the iPhone 4S on its network will also sell this phone at the same price band. 

Apple's earlier model, the iPhone 4 sells in India for Rs 35,500 for 16GB and Rs 41,900 ($816) for 32GB. 

On November 24 (12am, Nov 25), select stores in all big cities across India will be opened for sales of iPhone 4S. But unlike the US and other markets such as Japan and Singapore, the midnight launches have failed to draw crowds in India. 

The iPhone 4S is launching in India more than a month after it was unveiled in the US market. 

Evernote for Android v3.3 brings notebook sharing, more Skitch features and a new widget

Evernote for Android has been updated to version 3.3. This includes lots of new features such as option to share notebooks with everyone or individuals, better picture editing with Skitch inside the Evernote app, Separate homescreen widget and much more. The previous Evernote version 3.2 brought tighter integration with skitch.