Luna Ergonomics To Launch Panini For Android

Noida-based startup Luna Ergonomics Pvt Ltd is readying an Android version of its flagship mobile application Panini Keypad.

So far, the regional language texting app was only available on Java-based handsets, but The Mobile Indian now reports that the company has tied up with Micromax and Spice to pre-install the application on new handsets.

Panini Keypad uses a statistical predictive mechanism called CleverTexting to help users type in regional languages of their choice with ease. It supports typing in 22 languages including Korean and Mandarin. Amongst the Indian languages available are Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi (Gurumukhi) and Assamese.

Panini is available for a direct download onto mobiles from the company site. It is already available for the iPhone and iPad. The app is free for a ten day trial period, after which users have to pay Rs 150.

Luna also offers Panini as a white labeled product to phone manufacturers and PoS makers. It is now raising Rs 15 crore ($3.3 million) in order to fuel its global ambitions and the addition of more micro-languages. Luna faces competition from Rediff-backed Tachyon Technologies' Quillpad and IndiSMS by Bangalore-based Eterno Infotech Pvt Ltd.