BANGALORE, INDIA: Reliance Communications is one of the latest entrants to the media tablet market predominated by international brands like Apple Inc., Samsung and BlackBerry.

The telecom carrier which released its Reliance 3G Tab recently for a ground breaking price of Rs..13,000, hopes to make it big in the fast growing tablet market by bundling the services with its 3G network.

In an interview with CIOL, Kaushik Pillalamarri, Sr. VP, Data & Devices, Reliance Communications, talks about the USP of the gadget and plans of RCom for the tablet market venture.

Q: What is the USP of the new Reliance Tab?

Ans : USP of the Reliance 3G Tab is that it is a fully loaded Android tablet bundled with attractive data plans on the best 3G network with seamless end-to-end IP connectivity.

Also read: Business uses of tablets

Q: How were you able to price the Reliance Tab at just around 13k when other gadgets in market are selling for around Rs. 25k?

Ans : We are not looking at making money on the device as we are focused on getting customers to experience and use our superior 3G network. To drive revenues in 3G the device ecosystem needs to be built. Given our leadership position in the wireless data business we want to further extend it to building this ecosystem.

Q: How do you expect to perform against bigger brands like Apple or Samsung whose devices are more popular in domestic market?

Ans : These companies have had a first mover advantage in the tablet space. We will use our superior 3G network along with our experience in the wireless data market to get our fair share of this segment.

Q: Do you have plans to sell Reliance Tab outside India too?

Ans : As per company policy we cannot discuss our future plans in specific businesses.

Q: Can we expect newer versions of Reliance Tab or new models with newer versions of Android OS (HoneyComb OS) or web-based OS in future?

Ans : We plan to build and grow the 3G device ecosystem through smartphones and tablets and continue to provide attractive value propositions to customers.