The Apple iPad may be all the rage in most countries but it seems not so in India. According to reports in the Indian media, fewer than 200,000 tablet devices have been sold in the country! The issue is mainly price. According to the report, most ‘western’ tablets retail between Rs15,000-45,000 (about £200-£600), frankly unaffordable for many Indians. There has been heavy discounting, of course, with the ill-omened Blackberry PlayBook going for half price PLUS a ‘free’ entry-level smartphone (an offer since withdrawn). RIM’s local marketing directory referred to tablets as ‘an indulgence’. Apparently Samsung’s Galaxy tablet was also heavily discounted after launch.
In October last year, India saw the launch of the heavily subsidised $35 Aakash tablet (thirty-five dollars, in case you think this is a misprint), developed by UK -based DataWind and Indian Institute of Technology (Rajasthan). It is now showing as ‘sold out’, though this appears to be because of quality issues. The Indian government hopes to have V2 out by April.