DQW Exclusive: Datawind to take two-tier distribution channel

Datawind, maker of the low-cost tablet Aakash has further delayed the commercial launch of its UbiSlate 7+ aka Aakash II tablet, which was earlier expected to hit the Indian market in first week of March. Now the company is planning to introduce it by the end of March 2012, subsequently it will launch its enhanced model.

In an email interview, Suneet Tuli, co-founder and CEO, Datawind told The DQWeek about its go to market strategy for UbiSlate 7 tablet and said, "We intend to deploy a two-tier distribution channel. As our products are manufactured in India, we don't need to have an importer as part of the equation. We will supply directly to regional or state-wise exclusive distribution partners, who in turn will sell through independent mobile phone and IT retailers. Our go-to market strategy focuses on education as the demand driver for the devices."

The company offers low-cost internet device at a price point of Rs 2, 999 at a very aggressive monthly data plan Rs 98 for 2GB with ubiquitous internet access across Wi-Fi and GPRS networks. The company feels with 92% of the Indian population not having access to computing/internet devices, this is an opportunity to bring a billion Indians on the internet. Tuli added in terms of challenge, "Our tablet is not a large/established consumer-devices brand. Moreover, people perceive a low-cost inexpensive device as ‘cheap' or ‘low quality."

When asked about Datawind's market share in the Indian tablet market Tuli replied, "Based on the figures for 2011, we believe our market share is approximately 20% for that year. For 2012, we expect the market to grow by a factor of over 30 times, and based on the demand we are currently expecting our market share to sustain at 50%"

The company is further planning to introduce a bouquet of products in the next few months. In late March it will introduce 7 inch UbiSlate7 at the price of Rs 2,999 with resistive-screen tablet with GPRS and Wi-Fi on a Cortex-A8-800Mhz processor followed by UbiSlate7c for Rs 3,999 in the month of April with capacitive-screen tablet with GPRS and Wi-Fi on a Cortex-A8-800Mhz processor; wherein in June it will launch UbiSlate7g at the price point of Rs 4,999 with 3G and Wi-Fi. It also plans to launch 4.5" UbiSlate5c smart phone with GPRS and Wi-Fi Rs 2,599.