Indian company launches Android-based tablet for $99

A little-known, privately held company Friday launched a tablet computer for $99 in India, adding to competition in a market where local players are bringing in low-cost versions of the device to take on the likes of Apple Inc.'s iPad and Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Tab.

Industry experts expect many Indians, especially in rural areas, to buy tablets instead of laptop and desktop computers to access the internet, just the way they embraced mobile phones over fixed-line phones.

Internet penetration is still very low in the world's fastest-growing telecom market where more than half the population of 1.2 billion people has access to mobile phones.

Designed and launched by Lakshmi Access Communications Systems Pvt. Ltd., the 4.3-inch Magnum Pepper Tablet PC works on Google Inc.'s Android operating system. It is manufactured in China.

"We have made it affordable, we have ensured it fits the pocket," Mahendraa Kumar Jain, the company's managing director, told Dow Jones Newswires. Lakshmi Access plans to also produce and sell other tablets, priced up to $799, he said.

The 4-gigabyte tablet will work both on wireless internet and third-generation communications networks, and comes with a 800-megahertz processor and 256-megabit random access memory.

Competition in India's tablet-computer market has been increasing with the introduction of third-generation communication services that enable high-speed internet access on the move, and its growth is likely to be fuelled with the launch of fourth-generation phone services later this year, or early next.

Earlier this week, India's Beetel Teletech, a unit of Bharti Enterprises Ltd., launched a $220 tablet PC, after Reliance Communications Ltd. unveiled a model at about $280.

Samsung Electronics launched its 10.1-inch and 8.9-inch tablets in India for $799 and $750 in early August. Apple's iPad 2 costs $499 for the 16-gigabyte WiFi-only unit in India, while Research In Motion Ltd. sells its 7-inch PlayBook for $617.

Meanwhile, Jain said Lakshmi Access plans to raise up to INR1 billion from private-equity firms by March and launch an initial public share offering in the next 12-18 months.