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World’s most affordable tablet launched in Dubai on demand

DUBAI — India’s Simmtronics on Wednesday officially launched its tablets for the Middle East market in Dubai and claimed it’s the world’s most affordable tablet.

The Simmtronics XPad tablet series is aimed at consumers who seek reasonably priced products without any compromise on quality, convenience or functionality.

“We started selling the tablet six months before in the Middle East markets and got huge enquiries and orders,” Simmtronics chairman and managing director Indrajit Sabharwal told Khaleej Times at the launch news conference.

In the region all Gulf countries are doing well, Sabharwal said, adding: “We are doing 10,000 units a month right now [in the Middle East] and we are looking to move to 25,000 units a month.”

The company plans to introduce exclusive version for Middle East students and it is expected to be unveiled during forthcoming Gulf Information Technology Exhibition, known as Gitex, in Dubai.

“At Gitex we are going to launch another four models with advanced features,” the chairman said.

Simmtronics has four manufacturing facilities globally and offices in more than 21 countries around the world. At its plants in India, Simmtronics manufactures more than 300,000 tablets per month and hopes to double that capacity by the end of 2012 to meet the increasing demand globally for its products, he said.

The most affordable tablet in the latest XPad series is the 7-inch Cortex Arm8 Multi-touch WiFi tablet priced at Dhs299. This Simmtronics tablet is the hottest selling product in the Asia-Pacific region with a current order booking of nearly half a million units.

Speaking at a Press launch, Sabharwal described the new development as result of a revolutionary leap in computing technology that enabled tablet makers to incorporate the most advanced features in their products at lower cost. He added that the company also plans to shortly launch a version exclusively for students in the Middle East, fitting their budget.

“By launching the XPad in the UAE, we believe in taking the tablet revolution to as many people as possible,” Sabharwal said. “The multi-touch XPad has already been acknowledged as a formidable companion — whether for businesspersons on the go or for gamers requiring quality graphics for their entertainment or for those seeking to enjoy high-quality entertainment.”

The XPad comes in 7”, 8”, 9”, 9.7” and 10” versions and the company claimed that these are way ahead of its competitors by incorporating both calling function as well as high-definition displays on its robust Android ICS4.0 operating system. The tablet offers maximum connectivity to the Internet, printers, high density TVs, or any number of external devices for easy and reliable on-the-go access to email, movies, videos, music and photos.

The XPad’s six-in-one architecture supports 3G connectivity, 1080p high-definition video playback, audio processor, and dual 2D/3D graphics.The tablet comes with powerful 1 GHz CPU that can handle multiple tasks at considerable speed and packs 4 GB of internal Nand Flash memory for data storage.

The tablet also features a Micro SD card that can be expanded to provide storage of up to 32GB. Additionally, the presence of the USB and HDMI ports allows users to connect their hard-drives and other devices to offer full operating flexibility and larger viewing.

Arif Khan, director, Simmtronics Semiconductors Limited, said that the multi-functionality and versatility of the XPad were its most attractive features. “The XPad will certainly appeal to those require high-speed Internet while on the go. Through the USB Dongle feature, the XPad puts an end to connectivity limitations. This makes it not only the most robust Tablet PC but also the ultimate productivity tool,” Khan said.

At the Press conference, Simmtronics also announced that the company had appointed Sharaf Electronics as the exclusive distributor of the XPad in the UAE. The product is already available at leading electronics stores across the region, including Lulu Hypermarket, PlugIns, Ansar Mall and Sharaf DG, among others.

— abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com