Pakistani Military Introduces Android-Based PACPAD

Pakistan’s military has introduced a new home-built tablet called the PACPAD 1, an Android-powered device being offered for approximately US$200. Built by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, who put the PAC in the name, the device uses Chinese hardware and Android 2.3.

PACPAD 1

The PACPAD-1
(Click the image for a larger version)

The device features a 1GHz ARM 11 processor, 256MB of RAM, and comes with either 2, 4, 8, or 16GB of storage. It has a 7” Capacitive TFT display with a resolution of 1080 x 720.

PACPAD is being sold in limited quantities, but represents a new effort by Pakistan’s military to enter into the consumer electronics space. According to an Associated Press report, this isn’t being universally embraced within the country.

“I just can’t figure it out,” Jehan Ara, head of Pakistan’s Software Houses Association, said to the AP. “Even if they could sell a billion units, I can’t see the point. The air force is supposed to be protecting the air space and borders of the country.”

Ayesha Siddiqa, author of Military Inc., which the report said is a critical study of military businesses, said, “The defense industry is trying to justify its presence by doing more than just produce weapons. Some smart aleck must have thought we can make some money here.”

The PAC also sells a laptop called the PAC-nBOOK 1 and an e-reader called PAC-eBOOK 1. Only a few hundred of the PACPAD tablets have been built, but another batch will reportedly be complete within the next few months.