Bharti unit launches Android tablet for Rs. 9999

Beetel Teletech Ltd., a Bharti Enterprises group company, has launched its first tablet, Beetel Magiq, in India. Powered by a 1GHz processor, the Magiq has a 7-inch screen and runs on Android 2.2. It packs an 8 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 16GB using microSD cards. We have 2-megapixel cameras at both front and back. Connectivity is through WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth. One welcome feature of the device is that its bootloader is not locked and can be customized by anybody without much hassle.

It is possible that with Tablet PCs becoming available in such cheap prices, Indians in rural areas might start preferring them to the costlier personal computers. The Tablet PCs could become the device of choice for accessing the Internet for large number of Indians. Earlier RCom had launched its 3G Tablet PC for Rs. 12,999. With this launch by Bharti, there can be a downward revision in the price at which RCom is offering its tablet. With ARPU from voice calls declining, the telecom operators expect increased data usage to bring in more revenues.

The price at which Tablet PCs from international companies get sold remains fairly high. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is retailing its tablets in India for more than Rs. 30,000. Apples iPad 2 retails for about the same. RIMs PlayBook is even costlier.

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