DataWind to sell 5 mn units of Ubislate variants

DataWind, the maker of world's low cost tablet PC Aakash, has finally introduced its two upgraded commercial variants-Ubislate 7+ and 7C at the price point of worth Rs 2,999 and 3,999. Also known as Aakash 2, the government version is expected to be available in the next couple of months. However, it will take another 1 month to make it available off-the-shelf. The company's first priority is to clear over 3 lakh pending online pre-booking orders in next 1 month, with the help of appointed state-wise distributors.

Speaking on the sideline of the launch, Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, DataWind said, "We are not selling it off-the-shelf at the moment. Currently we are getting the product delivered through free courier to those customers, who have paid money for the device within next 2 weeks. And the rest of the pre-booking orders will be completed in 1 month time. Till a month ago we were having pre-booking order of Ubislate 7+ more than 3 lakh. Also,we are getting 8,000-10,000 orders in a day."

Meanwhile, the company has not yet started the pre-booking orders for Ubislate 7C, which will be opened by the end of this month. Nevertheless, the company is offering both the choices to customers, after paying an additional amount.

After breaking its tie-up with Quad, DataWind has signed up with Hyderabad based sub-contractor VMC Systems. Meanwhile, the company is also in talks with other 4-5 sub contractors in India and abroad.

Tuli further added, "Although there is a delay in retail. But we are ready with our channel. We have appointed 12-13 state-wise distributors and 200 sub-distributors, which is a mix of IT, telecom and FMCG. They are geared up to deliver pre-booking orders state-wise. Our intent is to have broad distribution system so that we can be commonly available in all the cities."

The company is targeting to sell 5 mn units of both the variants in next 12 months. In addition to the supply to various State Government, Tuli claimed, "Our plan is to sell 5 mn units in next 12 months, which means sale of worth $4 mn/Rs 2,000 crore worth of business in India in next 12 month."

After the launch in India, the company will be launching the same device in 15 countries through domestic manufacturing.