Aakash maker Datawind tops India's tablet market

Britain-based hardware manufacturer Datawind, maker of the Indian government's Rs 2,500 Aakash tablet, emerged as a market leader in India's newest tablets market during the first quarter of 2013, according to latest data from market research firm Cyber Media Research.During the January-March period, Datawind had about 15% market share in the tablet market, compared to homegrown firm Micromax that had about 12% share, according to the research firm. Datawind shipments do not include its sale of Aakash tablets to the government.

Surprisingly, sales of tablet computers fell more than 17% in the first quarter of this year, even as consumers shift from desktop and laptops to touch-based devices. About 905,000 tablets were sold during the period compared to 1,097902 units in the previous quarter.

According to Cyber Media, nearly 10,000 latest android tablet were shipped everyday during the January-March quarter and overall shipments recorded a 150% growth, compared to the same period last year. iPad maker Apple was in third place with a 12% market share.

"The continued long-term growth in shipments of tablets in the India market further points to the fact that a large proportion of first time users of computers in emerging markets like India are getting to experience computing through this highly portable, converged form factor," said Faisal Kawoosa, analyst at Cyber Media.

Kawoosa said the fall in tablet sales is "not substantial" and it could be attributed to seasonality. According to the report, only nine tablet vendors shipped in significant volumes of more than 20,000 units during the period.It features an 11.6-inch 1080p screen and a detachable keyboard, allowing the user to operate the device as a tablet or a laptop computer. It can also be plugged into an external monitor and function as a desktop PC, the company said.ds3SDdsd34

When the screen and keyboard are connected the system operates as a Windows PC, while separating the screen allows it to be used as an Android tablet.The hybrid is likely to be launched by the end of this year, the company said.Asus also unveiled a low-cost seven-inch Q88 Tablet called Asus MeMO Pad HD7, priced at $129 for an 8GB model and $149 for a 16GB version.The low-cost tablet was unveiled after Acer launched the industry’s first 8.1-inch tablet to run Microsoft’s Windows 8 software.

Many people spend their last moments before sleep reading on a tablet computer or checking messages on a smart phone. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic wondered whether the light emitted by such devices might be disrupting users' sleep patterns.

Dr. Lois Krahn, a psychiatrist at Mayo's Scottsdale, Ariz., clinic, conducted the study to determine if smartphones and tablets were interfering with melatonin, a hormone that helps control the body's sleep cycle."The question is does a tablet or mobile device emit enough light to be a problem?" Krahn said on the Daily Circuit.

Krahn's research involved measuring the light two different cheapest tablet and a smartphone emitted in a dark room. The measurements were made at various distances.