Flipkart launches Digiflip Pro XT712 for Rs 9,999; should Micromax & Samsung worry?

India's largest consumer e-commerce platform Flipkart has entered the already crowded domestic tablet market with a new offering under its private brand Digiflip Pro. Christened Digiflip Pro XT712, the tablet offers a 7 inch display and runs on the Android Jelly Bean operating system. Targeted at the budget segment of the tablet market, it has been priced at Rs 9,999.

"We are the first e-commerce marketplace in India to launch our own device through Digiflip Pro. With this, we have taken another step in our goal towards building an entire e-commerce ecosystem in India," said Michael Adnani, VP, retail and head- brand alliances at Flipkart.

According to the company, the after sales service for the tablet will be handled through a network of over 120 service centres in more than 100 cities. Additionally, customers in 13 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, among others can avail of priority 24-hour service by visiting any of the 22 priority centres Flipkart has partnered with in the cities.

Last week, the company had launched its Amazon Prime-like annual subscription service called 'Flipkart First' for its customers who wish to get exclusive benefits and have access to priority service, at Rs 500 per year. Under the new scheme, subscribers will get access to a bouquet of benefits, including free shipping on orders with no minimum purchase price, discounted same-day delivery at just Rs 70 per item, free in-a-day delivery, besides 24×7 priority customer service.

Here is a look at the specifications of the device.

The tablet has a 7 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen display (1280 x 800 pixels resolution) with 216 ppi pixel density and runs on the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor and has 1GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 16GB that can be further expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card.

It has a 5 megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash that can also record videos, and a 2MP front facing camera for video calling. On the connectivity front, it has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, 3G and a microSD card slot. The dimensions of the device are 185.3mm × 113.7mm × 9.2mm and its weight is 285 gm. The company has provided a 3,000 mAh battery in the device, which also comes with dual-SIM capability. It will be available in black and white colours.

The tablet has gone on sale exclusively on Flipkart.com, and while the black version can be bought immediately, the white one is up for booking. As an introductory offer, the company is also providing shopping benefits worth over Rs 5,000; free eBooks worth over Rs 2,000; a free Bluetooth headset worth Rs 1,199; and 50 per cent off on tablet book cases, which are available in six colours, including yellow, white, red, grey etc.

In the price range at which it is offered (and the 7 inch screen size), the tablet will compete against the likes of Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Neo Tablet (Rs 10,499), iBall Slide 7334Q-10 (Rs 10,355), Dell Venue 7 Tablet (Rs 10,800), Swipe MTV Slash 4X (Rs 9,500), HCL ME Connect 3G 2.0 (Rs 9,999), Micromax Funbook Mini P410i (Rs 9,199) and Zync Z999 Plus (Rs 8,990), among others.

While the tablet offers decent specifications, it will be interesting to see whether consumers will be inclined to buy a Flipkart branded product. If successful, the device can also improve the margins for the company in the electronic category, which continues to remain one of the biggest ones for the e-tailer.

"With one of the largest user bases in the country, we have access to unparalleled data that allows us to predict what kind of products and services will work well in the market. And this has helped us come out with a tablet like Digiflip Pro XT712 that offers high end specifications at an unheard of price point," said Adnani.

Note that the company has mentioned it is the first tablet in the Digiflip Pro series, indicating that there can be more to follow.