"We were very bullish about this category and thought it would be an addition to a business phone or laptop. But it's not taken off," says a disappointed Nilesh Gupta, managing partner, Vijay Sales. Gupta is not the only one who expected tablet PCs aka tablets to take the Indian market by storm.

It seemed likely considering they worked their magic elsewhere. A Gartner report in September last year estimated total global tablet sales at 63.6 million for 2011 and 326.3 million units by 2015. In its last quarter, Apple sold 15.43 million iPads, a 111% increase from last year.

After over a decade or so in development and many cumbersome metamorphoses, tablets suddenly took the market by storm with the success of iPad. It made just about every electronics/computer brand bet on its own version of a tiny touchscreen powered device.

Many of these reached India, some of them via simultaneous global launches. And yet, the category's performance has been lacklustre. Depending on who you ask the total sales hover between 150,000 and 180,000 units in India; everyone is in agreement the number is well below 200,000.

The most obvious obstacle is price. Apart from aberrations like the ultra low budget Aakash tablet (Rs 2,999 for the Ubislate 7+), most products start at a little over Rs 15,000 and go up to near Rs 45,000. Some of today's budget tablets were launched at twice the price just a little over six months ago.

The BlackBerry PlayBook offered a massive 50% discount towards the end of 2011. While initially advertised as a week long scheme, the price cut was still in effect at the time of going to print. PlayBooks flew off the shelves and some retailers even reported shortages. Krishnadeep Baruah, director, marketing, BlackBerry, says the schemes had begun as early as Diwali when a free entry level smartphone was bundled with the PlayBook: "The tablet by itself is an indulgence. We wanted to make sure there was a good value."

With the year end gifting season looming, BlackBerry decided to fill the market with PlayBooks and halved its asking price, doing away with the free phone. The price tag on Samsung's Galaxy Tab plummeted shortly after launch. Ranjit Yadav, country head – mobile and IT, Samsung explains, "The tab came bundled with some special offers. After a couple of months, those introductory offers were taken away, and the product sold at a price which has remained more or less consistent." Even the notoriously premium Apple made its original iPad more affordable once the iPad 2 was launched.

Price has taken many back to the drawing board. The so-called magic price point is missing in action: the tag at which a purchase seems a bargain to the value conscious Indian consumer; and the sheer volume of sales ensure the marketer is happy too. Brands and retailers alike are racking their brains over this conundrum, with high manufacturing costs leaving them little room to manoeuvre.

Skewing the mix is the market leader, the iPad which calls the shots on pricing. With a relatively small price gap between the most famous product and everyone else, many potential consumers opt for it by default, according to Gupta. He believes sales will rise once manufacturers supply a 32GB 10 inch tablet with Wi-Fi and 3G at Rs 19,990.

Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner is even more conservative: "The price needs to be in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for a 10 inch screen and connectivity via Wi-Fi, 3G and dongle." Some brands see hefty discounts as evidence of a faulty strategy. Lenovo, Motorola and now Samsung have several different options at various price points thus appealing to a broad swathe of consumers, with at least one model in the super premium bracket.

However, price is only part of the problem. The larger issue is that brands have been unable to sell the concept of tablets to the Indian consumer. It's a secondary device that sits somewhere between a notebook computer and smartphone. Giving people a reason to fork out cash, even less cash than before, is a huge ordeal.

Says Shailendra Katyal, marketing director – Lenovo, "People find it funky but are not sure what they will do with it. It's not an alternative to either PC or smartphone and more of a consumption device than a creation device. Education is the biggest challenge as people think they can do everything but find they can't. These are category issues and not brand level issues."

Many brands tried to create a splash with gimmicky launches, PlayBook was unveiled by Salman Khan and Lenovo launched its range on an air field. But the greater focus has been on hooking potential consumers: both tech savvy early adopters as well as people who are curious but not as well informed.

For the first category, what works are mentions and reviews in well regarded tech blogs and an effective social media presence. Brands hope the second category will get influenced by the first. Says Sachin Thapar, head – IT and mobile business, Sony, "Once we have first movers, we want to harness word of mouth aggressively. Hardly anyone in our friend circle owns a tablet. It's easier to familiarise people with a new product via this route."

Marketers are spending time and money training store staff, placing several unusual demands on their teams. For instance, making sure display environments have a Wi-Fi connection; something that many tablets are crippled without. Or making sure the other devices a tablet can interact with are close at hand. The ultimate objective is a demo calculated to wow a person who'd never considered the product before, to the point where it gets on the shopping list; even if the purchase is not made immediately.

Conspicuous by its absence are mass media spends, apart from Samsung and Reliance. BlackBerry's communication strategy for PlayBook involves testimonials from satisfied users; however they can only be seen on its website.

Retailers like Gupta are starting to suspect the lack of mainstream brand building is perhaps another reason for the category underperforming: "Marketing and advertising is more important here than anywhere else. You need to make people feel this is convenient, easy to use and here to stay." Experiential marketing works but only for people who walk in and have leisure enough to browse. Admits Gupta, "People are time poor. They come in, buy and leave."

Tripathi adds, "Apple has not really marketed itself. More than any other player, Samsung made people aware of the category. There are currently 20 to 25 players but tablets have not been marketed that well. Even Samsung's focus appears to have shifted to the Samsung Galaxy Note (smartphone). Efforts need to be made by other vendors, since one cannot market to 1.3 billion."

Device manufacturers have a lot to talk about on the rational impulses to go in for a tablet. BlackBerry's Baruah cites the many enterprise friendly features and the power of multitasking. Rajeev Karwal, founder & CEO, Milagrow Tab Tops, talks about how his firm's tablets are customised to various professions. Thapar points to Sony's tablet being an "ultimate convergence device", incorporating games from PlayStation, doubling up as an infrared remote control and as a media player that can stream content to TVs and other devices.

What's missing is a solid emotional reason to make what is as of now, a fairly irrational purchase. Maybe in the thick stew of social media connections and experiential branding, a good old fashioned commercial is just what the doctor ordered.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, launched the country's first cloud-based tablet solution for school students called 'e-tutor tablet'.

This can be used by students from Class 1 to 12.

Priced at Rs 7,500, inclusive of content, the product would be available in the market from April onwards.

The e-tutor tablet is a joint effort of Technopark-based e-tutor and Oztern Technology.

Ranjith Balan, founder and managing director of e-tutor, said that this will be the first complete solution for education to be made available on Tablet PCs.

"The teacher can easily explain concepts using the digital whiteboard that is set up in the Tablet PC. Using e-tutor learning tablet the students can access what was taught in the classroom and can also access the collaborative learning platform for discussions on relevant topics taught in the classroom," said Balan.

The product is also aimed at making internet a safer place for children. E-tutor tablet safeguards the connectivity from the personalized Tablets PCs provided as a part of the solution, and restrict it to connect to internet only through the synchronization module in the product.

Detailing on the technology, Saiju V Stella, CEO of Oztern Technology, said cloud computing technology can bring about a major leap in the way technology is being used in the educational sector.

"Most of the technology products available in the market today for education act as teaching aids rather than learning aids. Cloud computing also fulfills another major social commitment by reducing the carbon emissions, from dedicated servers and data centres that consume huge amounts of energy, thus making computing more energy efficient and green," said Stella.

Lessons will be made available to the learner through personalised Tablet PCs, and regular content updates will be made available through a unique cloud – tablet synch mechanism, thus making sure that the device connects only to the relevant locations to access content.

Rajinish Menon, director, Business Strategy and Operations, Microsoft, who was present at the occasion, expressed his happiness to see partners like Oztern coming up with innovative solutions in the education sector using Microsoft Windows Azure which is Microsoft's cloud computing infrastructure.

Cloud computing is a technology that uses internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This technology allows for much more efficient computing by centralising storage, memory, processing and bandwidth.

SHANGHAI: China Communist Party members can now carry a tablet PC to verify identification cards, read the blogs of cadres and manage state-owned firms without fretting that using a bourgeois Apple Inc iPad will ruin their street cred.

Enter RedPad Number One, an Android-based tablet computer filled with software applications (apps) catered to a party official's every need for control. Delivered in a decadent leather case for 9,999 yuan ($1,600), it is twice the price of Apple's most expensive iPad 2.

The eye-popping price has China's microblogs alight with chatter over just why this device is so expensive and who is footing the bill.

"Is it the god of toys? Why don't they throw in a free iPad with it," said Looperrr on Weibo, Sina Corp's, microblogging platform.

RedPad Number One spokesman Liu Xianri said in an interview with the Southern Daily on Wednesday that sales of the tablet were completely market driven.

"We are looking to compete against the foreign brands," Liu said in response to a question on whether public funds may be used to buy the RedPad.

RedPad's price was high, Liu said, because of the number of pre-installed apps that cater to bureaucrats and state-owned company managers.

For example, it has apps that allow users to check the validity of a journalist's government accreditation as well as read state-run newspapers and microblogs.

But an online survey on Thursday showed that more than 2,000 netizens believed that the RedPad was meant to be a symbol of privilege, while another 1,500 thought its purpose is to fleece taxpayers.

"After reading all the articles about this, I am impressed," said microblogger Xixizhiniu. "What an honor it is for you, the taxpayer, that you place a 9,999 yuan into the hands of the leaders!"

LAS VEGAS: Hewlett-Packard Co unveiled a new glass-encased laptop computer as the largest computer maker stepped up its efforts to chip away at rival Apple Inc's stronghold in high-end PC market.

The laptop, called HP Envy 14 Spectre, is the Silicon Valley company's latest entry in the slim, ultrabook category of personal computers and is the first to use glass on the lid, display and palmrest.

The 14-inch laptop also boasts built-in wireless links to speakers and the ability to transfer website links from a nearby phone to the browser on the laptop using an emerging technology called near field communication ( NFC).

The Specter will be available next month for a price starting at $1,400, making it more expensive than Apple's popular 13-inch MacBook Air.

PC sales were lackluster in 2011 as consumers turned increasingly to mobile devices from smartphones to tablets like Apple's iPad, while faltering economies put pressure on corporate spending on technology hardware.

But many analysts are expecting a bounceback in 2012 as HP and other PC makers begin to crank out smaller computers in the ultrabook category.

There’s just something about the Samsung DA-E750 that makes me want to own one immediately. Maybe it’s the fact that it plays just as well with Apple products as it does with Samsung’s own Galaxy devices, or it could have to do with the old-school wood design and its use of a vacuum tube amplifier.

We’ve covered the DA-E750 before, but actually getting the chance to see one in person here at Pepcom’s Digital Experience event only seems to have intensified that sense of gadget lust. It looks so little like anything else Samsung has trotted out today that I almost want to buy on principle — with plastic and glass and metal making up so many of the things that we use on a daily basis, it’s sort of refreshing to see a huge company like Samsung push out something like this.

Of course, it’s hard not to see it for what it is — a pretty brilliant marketing ploy. The wood finish adds nothing tangible to the speaker dock, and it’s pretty much tailor-made to appeal to retro-aficionados who yearn for the days of wood-grain everything. Still, it stands in stark visual contrast to other devices in its class, and that extra bit of wow that the DA-E375 sports could definitely it help it pick up traction among wannabe audiophiles.

LAS VEGAS: As sleek new smartphones prepared to make splashes at the Consumer Electronics Show, a Californian firm was out to prevent water from being the death of them.

Liquipel was showing off a clear coating a thousand times thinner than a human hair that shields smartphones outside and inside from damaging effects of water.

"Water will just run through the machine," Liquipel president Danny McPhail told AFP as he casually tossed an iPhone into a tub of water and watched it sink. "It actually beads right on top of the circuit board and rolls off."

He plucked the unscathed iPhone from the tub and shook the water from the gadget, which continued to work.

About six weeks ago, the Southern California company launched the first public service that let smartphone owners send gadgets in to be coated using the nano-technology.

Liquipel came to CES to close deals with major electronics makers to have protective coating pre-applied to new smartphones.

"Hopefully, the next time you purchase a phone it will already be treated," McPhail said.

"Wine spills, coffee spills, anything like that you are going to be protected," he continued. "I don't want to say a toilet, but that is where 50 per cent of smartphone water deaths happen."

Liquipel charges $60 to coat a smartphone, with shipping adding to the cost.

AHMEDABAD: City-based Cubit computers has announced the launch of first of its kind assembled all-in-one desktop personal computer for the Indian market.

All-in-one (AIO) computers are desktop computers that combine the Central Processing Unit (CPU) containing the hard drive, processor, CD drive and speakers into the same case as the monitor.

"In the next one year the market share of AIO computers is expected to grow 300 per cent triggering a shift from the conventional desktop computer to the all-in-one computer desktops," Cubit Director of sales and marketing Vinay Chopra said while launching the product.

The product is easy to assemble and can be configured according to the needs of the customers, he said, adding that the Cubit AIO desktop computers would be price 20-25 per cent higher than the conventional desktop computer.

"We have over 1000 assemblers, with a network of 100 retailers and 20 distributors who would be marketing the new product in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Maharahstra and Goa where we are present," Cubit CEO & MD Suresh Nair told mediapersons.

He said that they target to sell over one lakh units in year 2012.

Nair further expects company's turnover which was around Rs 30 crore last year to grow to Rs 100 crore by end of they year 2013.

He also targets 50 per cent of its revenue to be generated from the new AIO desktop computers in the next one year. The company's major earning come from manufacturing and sale of computer peripherals at present.

The company also plans to launch its own tablet PC in the next three months time.

NEW DELHI: Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions has launched what it claims is the world's only TabTop PC for women professionals. The TabTop PC can fit in most handbags, comes preloaded with over 50 applications and has a special UI designed for women.

The connectivity options in TabTop include 3G ready, USB 2.0, SD card and WiFi. It has eight+ hours of battery life (4000 mAh). There's a 7-inch A+ grade-LED backlit 4:3 screen. It is available in four colors — pink, sky blue, silver and black.

TabTop PC has a 1.2 GHz processor, 512DDR3 RAM and 8 GB of internal storage expndable to 32GB. The tablet runs on Android 2.3.1 version or Android Gingerbread. It also has dual cameras, Live TV capability and two USB slots. The TabTop PC is priced at Rs 13,990.

"Women have fast evolved as intelligent consumers of electronics. They know and look for features important to them and go for devices that are both easy-to-use and carry. As it weighs only 275 gram, it slides in with ease into a woman's handbag. The Woman's TabTop is created for women professionals who look for an ideal combination of a powerful device, both in terms of performance and portability without lugging around excess weight. We have also preloaded it with special women security and anti theft applications"said Rajeev Karwal, Founder, Milagrow TabTops.

NEW DELHI: The new year may be a year of low-cost computing in India. Sales bookings for the world's cheapest tablet, Aakash, have soared to 14 lakh units just two weeks after it was put up for sale online for Rs 2,500 a piece.

To cater to the 'unexpected' demand, UK-based vendor Datawind, the maker of the $35 tablet, has decided to establish three new factories – in Cochin, Noida and Hyderabad – in the first half of 2012 to assemble the tablet. Datawind currently has only one factory in Hyderabad, with its vendor Quad, which makes the LCD panel for the tablet.

"We never expected such a high response from both corporate and individual buyers. We plan to supply 70,000-75,000 units per day once the factories are in place by April," Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, Datawind told ET from Panama, where he was invited to advise its government on its low-cost computing project.

"Around two weeks ago, we received a call from India's computer emergency response team that our website was probably suffering from a large cyber attack. We had to inform them we had just opened sale through our website," Tuli said. Datawind, which put out a limited 30,000 tablets for sale online with e-commerce provider Ncarry.com, has already exhausted the first lot.

A spokesman for Ncarry.com, said that the website is catering to orders across India, with delivery in 5-7 working days. Ncarry is a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Nimbuzz, which makes instant messaging applications. The Nimbuzz IM comes pre-installed on Aakash.

Pre-sales bookings for the Aakash tablet (about 400,000 in October) had surpassed the Indian tablet market which grossed about 250,000-300,000 tablets till last year.

Even with a resistive touch and slow processor, Aakash has received about 1 lakh orders a day since online launch last month. In comparison, Apple sold about 10 lakh iPads in 28 days and 30 lakh in 80 days of its launch in April 2010. Currently, the cheapest model of iPad at Rs 29,500, is about 12 times costlier than Aakash.

Aakash's maker Datawind is, however, strangulated with supply constraints, compared to Apple which managed smooth deliveries of the iPad. "We are not accepting cash for bookings currently, as we want to sort out supply issues," Tuli added.

Datawind plans to put on sale online the next version of Aakash – Ubislate 7, priced at Rs 2999, by mid-January. The newer version will come with a slot for insertion of a SIM card, for access of internet by GPRS or 2G connection. The current version of the tablet can access internet via Wi-Fi access.

Besides, the newer version will be twice as fast with a 700 Mhz processor compared to a 366 Mhz processor in the current tablet. In another development, the government has extended the letter of credit to Datawind to supply the next lot of 90,000 tablets, even though IIT Rajasthan is yet to provide the test specifications for the next version, which it wants to procure for supply to students. The delay from the government's end is likely to land Aakash in the hands of commercial buyers before students for whom the low-cost tablet was meant for in the first place.

Casio Japan is planning [JP] to roll out the G-SHOCK GB-6900 on March 16 next year, a wristwatch that connects to certain smartphones via Bluetooth LE (LE=low-energy, a standard that’s baked into Bluetooth 4.0). The device will be compatible with the Medias LTE N-04D Android phone from NEC  (to be released next year) and NEC’s Medias PP N-01D.

Casio says that the G-SHOCK not only synchronizes the time with the phones but also shows incoming calls, emails, or SMS on its display. Users can also switch their handsets to vibration mode by pushing a button on the watch or set alarms.

The watch isn’t the first that connects to phones, but the main selling point here is the Bluetooth LE feature (in fact, it’s the first watch with Bluetooth 4.0 on board): Bluetooth LE consumes a fraction of the energy of other Bluetooth versions. In the case of the G-SHOCK GB-6900, Casio says users can expect a battery life of about 2 years with one conventional CR2032 button battery.

The company initially planned to start selling the watch in December but had to push back the release date to March 16 because of the floods in Thailand (which dampened production). It will cost 18,000 Yen (US$231).