I prebooked an Aakash Ubislate tablet on its first day of availability. Two months later, I’m still waiting, and the email chain with Datawind’s support team tells the whole story.

The booking confirmation

Dear Shafiq,

Your Booking ID is : xxxxxxxxx

Someone from our sales team would get in touch with you and provide you with the payment and delivery options.

The commercial version of the UbiSlate would be launched in early weeks of December.

After the commercial launch we would get in touch with you to deliver your device as soon possible.

Regards, Anand Support Executive

Fair enough. Prebookings are expected. You get a confirmation and a timeline. December sounded reasonable.

The follow-up

Hello Anand,

I haven’t received any update from you. Is Ubislate7+ available for purchase? If so could you please send one to my place.

This is my booking id : xxxxxxxxx My address is : xxx payment mode : cash on delivery contact number : xxx Regards,

Nothing. No callback, no email, nothing. So I write back.

The reply

Dear Sir/Madam,

Ubislate7+ is expected to be launched by February end. The company will endeavour to fulfil all orders on a first come first served basis.

An offer exclusively for you if you decide to make the payment in advance:

  • You can have a prioritised delivery of your Ubislate7+ in March!
  • Free shipping! Normal shipping charges Rs.199/- will be waived off!

If you decide to avail this offer, please mail a Cheque/Demand Draft for Rs.2999/-, payable to Datawind Innovations Pvt.Ltd. at the following address: Datawind Innovations Pvt.Ltd. 8148, Jubilee Complex, Sultanwind Road, Amritsar -143001

So the commercial launch has been pushed to end of February. My prebooked tablet — booked on day one — would arrive in March. And the “exclusive offer” for early payment is free shipping on a Rs.199 delivery charge.

My response

Why are you asking me to pay in advance? I had prebooked this 2 months back… I believe on the first day itself… now you are saying even after paying in advance I get the tablet in March!!!

What happened here?

This is a textbook case of poor capacity planning. Datawind knew they were going to supply tablets to schools and colleges across the country. They also knew the consumer demand from the initial sell-out. Yet they opened prebookings without a clear delivery timeline or inventory commitment.

The result is exactly what you’d expect: frustrated customers, broken trust, and a product launch that feels more like a marketing exercise than a genuine release. The government-backed Aakash tablet was meant to make computing accessible. Instead, the purchase experience mirrors the grey market — unreliable timelines, no transparency, and customers left chasing support teams that can only offer generic responses.

I’m not angry about the delay. Delays happen. I’m frustrated by the lack of basic planning and the way the company treats prebookings as a way to generate hype rather than a commitment to deliver.