India's communications giant Bharti Enterprises said Thursday it had launched a $220 tablet computer as a domestic challenger to Apple's iPad. Bharti's Beetel Magiq tablet is the latest entry as the so-called "tablet war" heats up in the nascent market where manufacturers are seeking to tap predicted strong demand in the country of 1.2 billion people.
Beetel Teletech, the phone-equipment arm of Bharti Enterprises, whose stable also includes Bharti Airtel, India's top mobile phone firm by users, hailed the 9,999 rupee ($220) seven-inch (18-centimetre) tablet a "ground-breaking product". "Our tablet is about affordability," Beetel Teletech chief Vinod Sawhny said in an emailed statement. It offers high-end features not previously "within the reach of the majority of Indian customers," he added.
The Magiq tablet uses Google's Android 2.2 software, has an 8 GB memory expandable to 16 GB, 3G and WiFi, long battery life, a radio and front-and-rear two-megapixel camera. The device's launch came a week after India's second-biggest mobile company, Reliance Communications, announced a $290 7-inch Android tablet. Other Indian companies have also announced tablets that significantly undercut the prices of Apple's iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab and other big-name competitors. Apple's iPad 2 in India starts at around $499 while Research In Motion sells its seven-inch PlayBook in India for over $600. Samsung has announced a 10.1-inch tablet for around $800 and an 8.9-inch tablet for $750 in India.
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