India's Simmtronics launches $81 XPad Tablet

Delhi-based Simmtronics Semiconductors Ltd, a computer technology company, has launched one of the most cost-effective Tablets called XPad. The Tablet is priced at $81, which roughly translates to Rs 4,500 and has been launched in Dubai, UAE.

The Tablet has a 7 inch screen and runs on the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system. It is powered by a 1GHz processor and has 4GB of internal memory, which can be further expanded up to an additional 32GB with the help of a microSD card. On the connectivity front, the Tablet has 3G (via an external dongle) and comes with a USB port and a HDMI port (which means it supports high definition (1080p) video playback).

Simmtronics has appointed Sharaf Electronics as the exclusive distributor of the XPad in the UAE and claims that the company has already placed an order for an assorted range of 10,000 units. Also, although XPad is a family of 7, 8, 9.7 and 10 inch Tablets, as of now, the company has only launched the 7 inch model. The other models will be launched in the coming months.

"The 10-inch tablet will be launched next month and it will compete with the Samsung Galaxy Pad, iPad, Acer and Toshiba tablets," said Arif Khan, director, Simmtronics. The company is also planning to launch a version exclusively for students in the Middle East.

The Tablet is definitely cheap, but it is not the cheapest Tablet in the world. Datawind's Aakash Tablets are priced at only Rs 2,500 and even Aakash's elder cousins UbiSlate 7+ (priced at Rs 3,499) and UbiSlate 7C (priced at Rs 4,299) cost less than the XPad Tablet.

So when will Simmtronics roll out the tablets in India?

Indrajit Sabharwal, chairman and MD, Simmtronics, told Techcircle, "We definitely recognise India as a market, but as of now we are focusing on the Middle East and there are no immediate plans of launching the Tablets in the India."

He said the company already has a partnership with Airtel and Micromax in India. Simmtronics is manufacturing Tablets for both companies. While Airtel is using the Tablets for in-house consumption, Micromax's popular Tablet Funbook is also manufactured by Simmtronics.

The company claims to manufacture 3 lakh Tablets per month in its India plants and it wants to double that number by the end of this year.

(Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)