Priced around Rs 5,000, Magnum Pepper tablet is set to hit the Indian market today

Low-cost tablet PCs are set to become a reality in India, with the Magnum Pepper tablet priced at $99 (nearly Rs 5,000) set to hit the market on Friday. The Magnum Pepper, India's cheapest Android-based tablet PC, will be followed by Beetel Teletech's Magiq priced at Rs 9,999.

The tablet, developed by Lakshmi Access Communications Systems Pvt Ltd (LACS), the Bangalorebased Wireless Infomedia Services arm of the Devraj Group of companies, will target consumers in tier-I and tier-II cities of India.

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Companies such as Lava and Micromax are soon coming up with tablet PCs that cost less than Rs 10,000. "The idea of bringing out a $99 tablet PC is to reach out to the masses with a smart computing device," said Mahendraa Kumar D. Jain, managing director, LACS. The Magnum Pepper will be available in sizes ranging from 4.3" to 10.9" and will have a menu with 11 Indian languages.

LACS is banking on the four As of awareness, accessibility, availability and affordability to build a foundation for its products and is also aiming to create awareness by opening 10,000 experience zones.

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"There has to be a well-planned marketing strategy and good distribution network to make it happen, focusing on a richer and satisfying buying experience for the end customer along with rich earnings for the sales franchisee partner in the market," he pointed out.

Low-cost tablet PCs are basically aimed at a particular market segment, said Jitendhar G.S., CEO, EAFT Technologies of Bangalore. Beetel's $220 Magiq will be available with an expandable memory of up to 16 GB, the tablet will support 3G, Wi-Fi and voice calls and runs on Android 2.2.

Courtesy: Mail Today