Now you can buy a tablet PC for just $99!

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Even though HP is laying its TouchPad tablet to rest, the Indian tablet market is booming like never before and new players are literally waging a price war in tablet arena, challenging the big-timers.

The new entrant in this 'war zone' is Bangalore-based LACS (Lakshmi Access Communications Systems), which has launched a tablet PC that is priced around Rs 4500 ($99).

The company today introduced in New Delhi its Magnum range that consists of 14 models, varying from 4.3 inches to 10.9 inches in the price range of $99 to $799, to its portfolio. The company is also giving liberty to customers to upgrade, which it claims, is first-of-its-kind in the industry.

Magnum is all-in-one device bundled with infotainment features. Based on Android 2.3, the new tablets are 3G dongle compatible with Wi-Fi, gaming, MP3 player and eBook capabilities. The company is also working with a multitude of applications.

Mahendraa Kumar D Jain, MD, LACS said their focus is to reach out to the common man.

“We will open exclusive showrooms, Experience Zones and we are planning out to reach out to 15 cities in next one month,” he said. With ICICI and HDFC banks, the company has come up with unique finance option for customers.

Initially 15,000 tablets are set to be placed in the Indian market, and the company expects to sell 3 to 4 lakh PC tablets by the end of 2012. LACS said it will leverage the existing showrooms and go direct as well as adopt franchise model to further penetrate deeper in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Targeting the education sector, the company plans to invest Rs 35 crore in marketing campaigns for Magnum and is expected to open 10,000 EZs in the FY 2011-12. The company also projects to get Rs 800 crore in sales revenues.

This month RCom had launched its Android tablet priced at Rs.12999, while Bharti's Beetel unveiled Magiq tablet at Rs 9999.