In 2009, the Indian government pledged a low-cost laptop to improve the quality of education within the country; however, the development process was beset by delays until Datawind won the tender for the tablet in late 2011.
[20] To encourage the growth of nationwide internet use, the Indian government announced at the October 2011 launch of the Aakash tablet that it will be offered to students at a subsidized price of $35[12] and to the public (as the Ubislate 7) for $60.
Datawind also considered working with governments, NGOs, and distributors in Latin American and African countries, where its products were being deployed.
[26] In 2012,[27] Forbes magazine named the CEO of Datawind, Suneet Tuli, among the Impact 15 list of "classroom revolutionaries", who use innovative technologies to reinvent education for students and teachers throughout the world.
Datawind claims that its patented, acceleration technology allows its devices to deliver the fastest, mobile-web experience across cellular networks.
A product review by PC Magazine of the PocketSurfer stated that "it’s the only device that allows users to browse the web on a GPRS connection with any alacrity."
[38] Datawind's business model focuses on providing to entry-level users a cost-effective, web-access device with free Internet access.
[40] In November 2012, in an interview with the New York Times, Datawind's CEO explained that the company's business model was focused on pursuing price-sensitive, entry-level consumers, on forgoing hardware margins, and on driving a recurring revenue stream (i.e. after sales revenue from network operators, content, subscriptions, device warranties, page impressions, location-based content and advertising).
[30] The company has formulated a full-service ecosystem of revenue streams that drive down the cost of hardware; hence, the devices act as customer- acquisition tools that provide "free mobile-internet services".
Datawind has partnered with numerous firms as part of a comprehensive supplier-and-partner strategy to build applications and generate content for its devices.
On 20 November 2013, according to an article published in The Financial Express, "Datawind, driving its mission to see smart devices as education tools, partnered with American education provider CK-12 Foundation providing high quality free mathematics and science learning content that can be used by teachers, students, schools and parents."
On December 3, 2013, Datawind partnered with IT firm Happiest Minds Technologies to develop applications for its UbiSlate range of tablets.
Under the partnership, Happiest Minds will develop Datawind's app store, which will be designed for first-time Android users.
[43] In July 2009, Datawind collaborated with Vodafone to offer a bundled SIM and GPRS modem within the price of its PocketSurfer devices, thus allowing free access to the Internet[44] across the United Kingdom.
In December 2013, BSNL, one of India's largest network operators, entered a partnership with Datawind to offer its services on the company's tablets.
[45] In March 2015, Datawind partnered with Reliance Communications to offer bundled, unlimited, internet browsing for one year with any of its devices.
A senior figure said that the Pheu Thai party would fulfill its promise by importing the $35 Android tablets from India.
On 29 November 2011, the Nasscom Foundation partnered with Datawind to announce a contest wherein 10 NGOs will have an opportunity to win 20 tablets each, mainly to improve their operations and program-implementation procedures.
[49] To develop a new generation of software programmers who would focus on applications for humanitarian causes, Datawind regularly sponsors "hackathons".
On 23 October 2013, in an article published in The Washington Post, Chris Evans, a renowned philanthropist, donated 100 Aakash tablets to Raleigh schools in Wake County, North Carolina for its "Smart Summer" program—a summer camp that prepares disadvantaged African-American children for school.
As part of their ongoing field testing at the community level, World Vision used the Ubislate tablets in Niger and Rwanda to collect data at the project level to monitor change and to measure the impact and the effectiveness of their development in the areas of health, education to families, and aid to children in need.
Datawind has partnered with Reliance Communication, one of the largest Telecom operators in the India to offer one year of free internet browsing along with its devices.
The device offers Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity, an in-built cellular modem, and an embedded SIM card that allows access to the internet with a mobile-phone signal.
This netbook offered users free Internet access in the UK and low cost roaming in Europe and USA.
It had a nine-inch screen and weighed 700g, its free-usage model eliminated the user from any form of binding contracts, activation fees or credit checks.
In late 2011, Datawind won the Indian government tender to design the Aakash tablet computers with an initial trial run of 100,000 units.
This updated new version had a better processor based on the ARM Cortex A8 architecture and had a multi-touch projective capacitive screen in place of a resistive one.
Other features included Google's Android 4.0 operating system, a VGA camera, G-sensors, an internal microphone, speakers and a headphone jack.
In addition to a microSD card slot, a full-sized USB port is integrated into the unit allowing pen-drives, external keyboards, web-cams, dongles and other inexpensive accessories can also be attached.