HCL joins low-cost tablet war

The competition in the tablet market in India is heating up. While most global companies are already selling tablet PCs at different price points, Indian brands are targeting tablets at a larger audience, at lower prices.

HCL Infosystems on Thursday launched a new device, the ME-X1, at a competitive price point of Rs 10,490. According to the company, the tablet, which runs on Google's Android operating system, offers "localised content". The device has a seven-inch screen and enables an exclusive access to the ME App store, which has over 10,000 applications.

"The X1 has been specially designed to cater to the demands of Indian customers," said HCL Infosystems chief executive Harsh Chitale. "Today's consumer doesn't just look for a product, but complete productivity and service ecosystem around it. This led us to innovations like creating content and local applications," he said.

The ME-X1 sports a trendy user interface that enables consumers to navigate the Android device smoothly, and is packed with 34 pre-loaded applications. The company claims it is the only product in the market with an option of data connectivity through USB dongles. The tablet would also have integrated back-up service from HCL Touch, a 24/7, one-touch service facility. The X1 also has a full blown PC connect, the ME Connect, which facilities the transfer of content to the tablet from any other computer device.

Both tech biggies and lesser known brands are lining up in India to launch their own versions of tablet computers at competitive price points. This year saw the launch of tablets from many Indian companies, including Bharti Group company, Beetel, which launched a tablet priced at Rs 9,999. Reliance Communications also launched a tablet PC, priced at Rs 12,999. Domestic handset manufacturers such as Lava, GFive and Karbonn are also planning to introduce tablet computers of their own. Firms such as Spice and Olive have already launched tablet PCs.

This month, Indian firm Datawind had launched its tablet, priced at $35 (approximately Rs 1,750), for students and teachers. It is expected to retail the product at $45 for the general population soon.

Earlier, Dell had introduced its tablet, Streak, at around Rs 34,000 and HTC had introduced Flyer for around Rs 39,890. Blackberry's Playbook is available at the price range of Rs 27,990-37,990, depending on the memory.

Samsung tablets have been priced at Rs 36,200 and Rs 33,990 (for Tab 750 and Tab 730, respectively) while Apple's iPad is available around Rs 34,500.