We have already told you about the launch of the iPhone grand-daddy, the Apple iPad, some time back. And with so many tablet like devices already debuting in the market, it won’t be wrong to say that the tablet revolution is coming!
But it looks like we Indians have to wait for a while before it becomes available in the Indian market. According to an official release from Apple both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will start shipping to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April and the international pricing will be announced during the same course of time. And as far as other countries (including India) are concerned, the iPad will ship later this year.
However experts believe that the iPad will altogether create a new user segment in India. Although the iPad provides some very good features but it has many constraints such as it’s inability to multi-task, unavailability of external drives and USB drives! Going by the current US prices of the device, it is going to cost nothing less than 22K to 23K INR for the basic model in India. If we Consider price sensitive nature of the Indian market where consumers always look for a product that can offer maximum features at the cheapest price, iPad may remain limited to the upper middle class segment only. And with various Computer brands already selling laptops in the same range, consumers may have to think twice before they invest in an iPad.
The concept of a tablet PC is still not very famous among Indian consumers. And iPad being a device in the tablet PC category has to go through these mass market hussles. Experts say the iPad would create a niche market for itself and emerge as a lifestyle product and not a mass product in India. Akhilesh Tuteja – Executive Director of a consulting firm KPMG is also of the same opinion. In his words, “This product will create a new class. But given the Indian market scenario, iPad it is not going to have a mass market. It will be a niche product … it will be a lifestyle product …”
