Interesting devices RIL can consider for bundling
What Mukesh Ambani did ten years ago with CDMA, he is all set to recreate with broadband. His company had then introduced low cost handsets bundled with the connection, which helped mobile telephony reach the masses.
His plan for Infotel is similar: to work with device manufacturers to sell low cost broadband wireless access (BWA) devices to consumers. High price of consumer premise equipment (CPE) or consumer access devices have been the biggest hurdle in the proliferation of broadband in the country, and this is the hurdle that Reliance Industries (RIL) wants to remove by offering handsets and CPEs bundled with BWA capabilities.
So, what are the ready options in front of RIL? Below is a brief list, and though some of these are not WiMax or LTE devices, they can certainly be tweaked to include those capabilities.
$35 Tablet (Rs 1,500)
HRD minister Kapil Sibal recently showcased a touch screen tablet PC developed by IIT students. The tablet will cost only Rs 1,500. It is a Linux based computer with basic functions such as a web browser, multimedia player, PDF reader, WiFi, and video conferencing ability. It has USB ports and 2GB of RAM, but no hard disk as it instead uses a memory card.
Although the device is yet to find a manufacturer, it is certainly going to attract RIL’s attention. Even if it costs $70 (about Rs 3,000) to make this 4G capable, it will still make sense for RIL.
Nova Neon (Rs 900 to 17,900)
Novatium has been working with Indian operators including Bharti, Tata Teleservices, MTNL and BSNL to market its cloud computing devices such as Nova NetPC. These devices have very little computing power and utilise cloud based services for both computing and storage. Novatium has recently also announced a netbook that works on similar principles but has more computing power than other products in Novatium’s portfolio.
Augen Gentouch tablet, ($149 or Rs 6,900)
This product made in China and sold in America by Augen, a small Florida-based company could suit RIL’s plans of low cost broadband access devices. This Android based tablet with a 7 inch 800x480 color TFT touch panel screen with all the bells and whistles of a tablet comes in the price band of a mid range mobile phone. It has an 800MHz CPU with 256MB RAM and 2GB internal memory expandable up to 16GB via an SD/MMC card. It further has WiFi capability and supports several media and ebook formats.
Velocity Micro CRUZ reader ($199 or about Rs 9,000)
This is another Android based tablet with a 7 inch touch screen and resolution of 800X600. It has a 256MB RAM and 256 MB internal storage, expandable through an SD/MMC card. The device supports WiFi, many media formats and is also an ebook reader. There is another device from the company with better specs such as better capacitive screen and more memory, but it costs a further $100 (about Rs 4,700), and will deliver slightly better quality than the Micro CRUZ does. This device could work as a mid range tablet in the RIL lineup.
Freescale smartbook tablet PC ($199 or Rs 9,154)
This Linux based tablet from semiconductor giant Freescale has a 7 inch touchscreen, 512MB RAM, 4 to 64GB internal storage, removable microSD slot, an optional 3G modem, 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, USB, audio ports, SIM card, speaker, microphone, 3 megapixel webcam, 1900 mAh battery, accelerometer and light sensor. It has all the requisite hardware to become a powerful contender in the tablet space. The device uses a modified Linux OS.
Noa Interpad ($518 or Rs 23,828)
Noa's Interpad is a 10 inch capacitive multitouch Android 2.1 device with a dual core 1GHz Tegra 2 T20 chip in a package only half an inch thin. It also has 1GB of DDR2 RAM and 16GB of flash storage.
It comes from a German manufacturer and one may therefore expect good quality. The device is slated for a December launch.
Wireless capabilities include 802.11b/g, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, USB 2.0, and a high definition multimedia output. The device is powered by a 3900mAh battery which is reportedly good for 8 to 12 hours. According to some reports, for $649 (about Rs 30,000), the device will come with Android 2.2, GPS, camera and 3G capability.
Though it is not cheap, with the kind of processor and features available, it is an interesting device. RIL can package it as a premium offering for its metro consumer who wants a substitute for a full fledged laptop.
This list is not exhaustive, but is just indicative of what kind of devices might be looked at.
Further, there are companies which have already announced devices for the Indian market that are WiMax and LTE capable:
MotorolaGoing by industry buzz, Infotel is likely to go with WiMax initially at least. And in this domain, Samsung and Motorola have a decent range of products including CPEs, dongles, smartphones and tablets. Motorola said it will develop WiMax handsets to be bundled with services of Indian operators. The company plans to develop these devices at its centres in Hyderabad and Bangalore.
SamsungThe company has already showcased many devices bundled with WiMax capabilities. It is selling Epic 4G through Sprint in the USA. It has also showcased dongles which are capable of using any broadband service that is available, 3G, WiMax, or WiFi. During a recent press conference in Delhi, Samsung showcased an entire range of products with 3G, WiMax and WiFi capabilities and claimed that these devices are only marginally costlier than the regular 3G devices it makes.
HTCHTC too has several smartphones under its belt which it is selling through the Sprint network in the USA. But cost competitiveness might be an issue as HTC smartphones are not as cost competitive as Reliance would have desired. Given the scale however, HTC might lower prices to be in the game.
NokiaNokia has some products in the offing and though these are increasingly on the LTE side now, the company has the required technology and team to come up with devices that can access other forms of broadband.
ZTE-HuaweiWhen Reliance entered the CDMA business in India, these two Chinese companies provided it with low cost handsets for bundling. And just in time for the BWA launch, these Chinese giants are entering the smartphone market in India. Both the companies have LTE as well as WiMax expertise and have very interesting devices in the offing.
Indian playersIn the recent past, many Indian companies have entered the mobile market and have gathered a share of it. These companies have a good vendor base in China, from where they source their phones. These companies could come up with WiMax and LTE devices to suit RIL’s requirements. Most of them have already announced plans to introduce 3G handsets in India. Some of these brands, such as Micromax, Lemon and Karbonn are backed by some established companies, and are capable of making the required investment to enter this business.
