The pool party of Tablets

Even as laptop and notebook sales are soaring high in the domestic market, tablets have come into the forefront poised to overtake the growth of the laptop segment in the next 2 years. Further, with mobility solutions on the rise in the enterprise segment, solution providers are considering tablets as a viable mobility option compared to BlackBerry and Push Mail services. As per CyberMedia Research ending June 2011, sales of tablets in the domestic market alone have touched 1.58 lakh units.

As companies continue to boast about their latest technologies and product development in their quest to have a larger market share the price factor is poised to drive the growth for tablets. For retailers as well as distributors, tablet is poised as the device for convergence with most of them agreeing that the real fight is between the smartphone and the tablet. The decision for opting for mobility business with BlackBerry Enterprise Solutions as well as the Playbook helped Ingram Micro boost its revenues even as the share of telecom products in its portfolio decreased by 12% last financial year.

For Redington too, non-IT business contributed to about 18% of its pie, primarily on account of the contribution made by Apple and BlackBerry with the distributor taking a leap forward in helping its partners in setting up BlackBerry zones.

Same is the case for most of the retail counters in the country. As an example, Eastern Logica Infoway, one of the largest retailers in the country has reportedly sold out nearly the entire stock during the festive season.
"So far, the response I have received for Samsung Galaxy tablets have been very convincing; people are opting to buy it not just because of the form and price factor, but I believe that it must be doing some value addition for the buyers; or else why would they buy it?" echoed Gaurav Goel, MD, Eastern Logica Infoway.

In this backdrop set amidst speculation over the success of the tablet and the optimistic market trend, DQ Channels takes a look at the channel strategies of the major vendors in the tablet space.

SONY CORP Tablet S & P

Sony forayed into the Android tablet category in India with the launch of Sony Tablets S&P in 2011 with a promise to deliver the perfect combination of hardware, content and network with seamless usability for a high-quality, engaging entertainment experience. Sony's rapid response technologies efficiently load website information for faster browsing, with the swift and smooth technology. In India, Sony has collaborated with local content developers to design unique applications for the Indian consumers. Priced at `33,990 and `36,990 for the 3G + Wi-Fi version, Sony Tablet S & Tablet P is available across 500 stores in India starting Mid-January 2012.

True to Sony`s design philosophy, ‘Sony Tablet' devices are optimally designed, and is differentiated from all other tablet devices with its uniquely asymmetric design that shifts the center of balance to one side. Sony Tablet S has a wedge-shape, similar to a magazine that's been folded over, that gives it a finely balanced feel, as well as a sense of lightness that makes it a true pleasure to hold and use for hours on end. On the other hand, the dual screen design of Sony Tablet P provides optimized entertainment experience and portability.

One can watch video on one screen while using the other to control it, or check email while using the other screen as a keyboard.

Like Samsung too, Sony has a non-competitive regional distribution structure in place with several RDs spanning across India. These RDs in turn bills directly to the resellers and the retailers both in IT as well telecom channel. However, unlike Samsung, Sony doesn't have a demarcation over IT and non-IT channel partners. Also, Sony's primary focus apart from its channel billing is over several Sony Worlds.

RESEARCH IN MOTION Blackberry Playbook

RIM seems quite committed to the PlayBook platform and has claimed to be ‘excited' by the customers' reaction to PlayBook OS 2.0. A report released by CyberMedia Research indicates 21% marketshare for BlackBerry PlayBook in India. As per the market standards, RIM has seen positive momentum with the promotional pricing levels and has decided to maintain an aggressive pricing strategy in order to help continue the momentum. The company is of the view that the factor of attractive pricing combined with the compelling features in PlayBook OS 2.0 and locally relevant applications make this offering extremely competitive.

As its channel policy, RIM is routing its products with numerous tie-ups. Ranging from telecom service provider tie-ups inclusive of Vodafone, Airtel and numerous others, the company also took the route to distribute its products through Redington India taking a bold step to set up BlackBerry Exclusive outlets across India. However, the distribution pattern for India is governed by its product line.

While RIM relied on its carrier network to sell their products and solutions for the enterprise segment, a consumer segment demanded renewed focus on the way BlackBerry products were distributed. It appointed Redington India as the national distributor thus significantly increasing our presence in India. Further to the success of retail distribution for GSM smartphones, RIM appointed Brightpoint India and Ingram Micro to manage its CDMA products and enterprise solutions distribution nationally. With a pan-India retail footprint RIM today has a retail presence in over 80 cities and has over 4,000 point of presence. It also introduced over 500 BlackBerry Experience Zones which are specialized stores wherein product experts offer consumers complete insight to BlackBerry range of smartphones, its features thus helping them to choose the right product and service plans that suits their communication needs.

However, ‘BlackBerry 10' has been the latest buzzword and this line of device is expected to be available in the latter half of 2012.

ASUS INDIA Eee Pad

ASUS recently launched its line of tablets being a recent entrant in the field. Although the entry was late, ASUS has been able to leverage its potential targeting the users to create a limitless potential for itself. As its strategy, it has rolled out tablets with technology and innovation at the forefront. From the build to the performance, it has focused on overall basis, so as to enable users to have a superior computing experience.
In 2011, ASUS had a market share of 5% in the tablets market. This year it has set a target of 15% market share with the launch of some new variants targeting different segments. Recently ASUS launched Transformer Prime which is a high-end tablet.

In order to focus on the high growth areas, it is aiming at having 11 branches in India with primary targeted markets being the tier-2 and tier-3 areas. To cater to that, ASUS is working on increasing the regional distributors and manpower to be able to reach each and every partner in each state. It is also aiming at adding 2 national distributors in 2012 to increase the presence in more channel partners.

Furthermore, the company claimed to have been quite upbeat about escalating its presence in tier-2 and tier-3 cities with the ongoing retail expansion venture.

The company has been working on strengthening its distribution channel and has recently appointed new partners. At this time, ASUS has 12 regional distributors and more than 300 AGP partners. However, the prime focus for ASUS is to carry on escalating regional level distributors to help us to ensure that our products reach tier-2 and tier-3 cities apart from the tier-1 cities. As a channel strategy, it conducts various channel meets and seminars.

APPLE iPad

When it comes to tablets, Apple definitely stands on top with the vendor credited for ushering the era of tablets with its premium iPad. What came in as an electronic status symbol soon became a cult especially with the youngsters and soon other vendors following suit.

The buzz for iPad came in from the very fact that like the iPhone, iPad allows all third party apps to run on the OS without modifications opening up the Apple apps market. Also, HTML5, the still-developing next generation of HTML, has been thoroughly embraced by the iPhone's OS, and, by extension, the iPad's. Also, the 3G support and Wi-Fi capabilities adds up to the positives of the tablet. On the other side, there has been rounds of complaints among the end-users about the performance impact and the simultaneous running of apps. Added to it, flash support is also an issue pointed out.

Although Apple maintains a low profile, the vendor is known to have 3 national distributors in its loop across its numerous product lines. The distributors comprises of Ingram Micro, Redington India and Neoteric Infomatic which features as the ‘authorized distributors'. Apple is reported to be contributing a healthy double digit percentage to Ingram Micro's top-line. These distributors in turn, bills to the channel network often direct billing to the retailers eliminating the scope of reselling. On the other hand, Apple maintains a good chain of Apple Exclusive Stores where billing is reportedly direct.

Following the estimated global success of the iPad 2, Apple has brought into focus the new iPad 3 although the availability of the iPad 3 has been postponed by 3 days. iPad 3 is claimed to be four times faster than its predecessor and features retina display with 5 megapixel camera and 4G LTE capability. Above all, Apple has boasted about the screen sharpness and claimed about the picture resolution is so crisp that words will appear sharper than words in print.

CISCO Cius

Networking solution provider Cisco has joined the tablet bandwagon by launching Cius in India and is targeting the enterprises for the product. The tablet device, unlike other tablets, aims to provide productivity solutions like emails and business applications-on-the-go to executives. Cius is not just another tablet. It has got more to do with providing applications helping productivity in a secure environment. The device would be available at about `35,000 in India and with the docking station, the price would be about `50,000. The company will target its existing clients and users of its IP telephony services, the base of which is about 7,00,000 users in India.
The seven-inch touchscreen tablet works on Intel Atom Processor and comes with 1GB RAM (expandable memory up to 32GB), dual cameras (front and back) and 3G/4G and Wi-Fi support.

The device comes integrated with collaborative applications like web conferencing, Cisco Jabber Instant Messaging, telepresence, email and calendar, which can help colleagues stay in touch with each other. Its only competitor in the segment, at present, may be Avaya's Flare, which is a 11.6-inch tablet.

However on the partner's front it seems that all is not going well with Cisco's strategy to tap the Indian market with its enterprise tablet. The company had launched Cius Android tablet targeting the enterprise segment in India in September last year but it seems that the product has failed to create buzz in the market.

Right now, Cius is at the pilot stage wherein Cisco is handing out 10-15 units to its customers for them to see how it is working in their environment. Cisco's collaboration partners are taking Cius to market by either seeding or pushing it with other collaborative devices. The reason being that they have not seen major or rather any demand from the customers yet. For them, its more like pushing it and asking the customers to try the product.
Although the company has been able to sell below 500 units in India till date, its expectations are to sell at least 5,000 units in the first year. It also expects that the real conversion of sales will start picking up in the AMJ quarter this year. And going forward, Cisco expects to sell 10,000 to 20,000 units year-on-year.

DATAWIND Aakash

The world's cheapest tablet, Aakash, was launched in the month of October 2011. Since its launch it has revolutionized the tablet market worldwide, with a cost of about `3,000. It has received about 3 lakh pre-launch bookings for its commercial version that goes on sale later next month. A subsidized model of this tablet, made by UK based Datawind, is already being distributed free in schools and colleges. Aakash's retail booking exceeded India's estimated 2,50,000 tablet PC market, dominated by Apple, Samsung and Reliance.

This device has been made by Datawind, with collaboration of IIT Rajasthan. Datawind has designed, developed and manufactured it locally in India. The Aakash is a 7" Android 2.2 touch screen tablet that has a HD video co-processor for a high-quality multimedia experience and core graphics accelerator for faster application support. The company claimed the data streaming technology offered by his company could make internet access costs virtually free. It hopes to make internet free on our devices with that technology. With this low-cost device a user can stream a 700MB file compressed into a 25MB on a tablet.
Datawind has supplied about 10,000 tablets to the government's National Mission for Education at a price of `2,250. The devices are being used by students from colleges such as the IITs, RECs, BITS Pilani, Teri University and others.

The company will be taking an IT channel route, however the core challenge before the company is to gear up for supply chain. For Datawind scalability is not an issue but sourcing multiple components from various countries in bulk is what delaying the entire supply chain. Thus, company feels that the demand crunch will be improved in next couple of months as they are adding additional facility lines.

Aakash, in its next version, will be upgraded with a capacitive touch screen and a processor with double the speed. Datawind plans to supply an attachable `400 keyboard, turning the device into PC-lookalike at `3,400. The government is also considering a proposal to procure the next lot, called Aakash 2, with a faster 700 MHz processor, albeit at the same price.

VIEWSONIC ViewPad 7e

ViewSonic, a consumer electronics maker, has launched a new Android 2.3 based tablet in India for just `13,000. Named as ViewPad 7e, the tablet comes with dual camera, rear camera at 3 megapixel resolutions and a front VGA camera. ViewPad 7e also supports HDMI output so you can connect with your TV set as well.

The tablet will be available this month at all leading stores in India including Reliance Digital stores for a price of `13,000. ViewPad 7e has a 1 GHz processor and will fully support videos of HD 1080p resolution. The tab has 4 GB internal storage capacity that can be expanded up to 32 GB with a micro SD card. "Mobility would be our key focus in the coming months for ViewSonic business in India.

Appointments of IRIS and Pacetel reinforce that commitment. IRIS Computers has got a nationwide network and a great experience in the channel which will revamp our sales. Sales increases with the commitment of better service and none could have been better than Pacetele for the service support of our mobility products .

Together with Iris and Pacetel as its partner, ViewSonic brand will build on these strengths and focus on increasing its reach in the Indian market.

LENOVO ThinkPad

Lenovo, one of the fastest growing PC makers, has entered both the enterprise and consumer tablet market, with 3 offerings which include-IdeaPad tablet K1 and A1 for consumers and the ThinkPad Tablet for business customers. Retail space is one of the growth drivers, and currently, Lenovo has leveraged the existing consumer retail space. Consumer business unit has got 840 stores as of now, and in around 250 stores, it has SMB corners for commercial products, which target SMB customers.

The company is also focusing on enabling the partners with a portal through which it can monitor, track and incentivize the partners.

As per the company's go-to-market strategy for the tablet series, first, they will be targeting their exclusive 700 retail stores across the nation for tablet distribution.

Apart from the Lenovo exclusive stores, they will also distribute their tablets through they 2,500 plus channel partners. Seeing the huge benefit for the channel partners, Lenovo has also organized training programs in 13 cities.

SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab

Definitely the first vendor to launch tablets in India back in 2010, Samsung has been the focal point of the market with its premiere Galaxy brand tasting success right after iPad. While tablets of most of the prominent vendors continue to be debated, Samsung has clearly taken a lead being the first entrant in the tablet space.
According to Samsung, the company believes in offering the consumers a ‘wide choice' to meet their specific requirements and continue to innovate over the technological front in the process.

Last year, the company launched the world's slimmest Galaxy Tab 730 and Galaxy Tab 750 and this year, it augmented the range with Galaxy Tab 620. At present, Samsung has three variants of Galaxy Tab -750, 730 and 620, which are available in the price range of `30,000 ~ `36,000.

To enhance the retail experience of its customers, Samsung initiated the concept of ‘Smartphone Cafes' in India last year. Currently it has more than 100 Smartphone Cafes in the country, wherein consumers can walk-in to get a richer and a more informed experience. In addition, it has over 300 Samsung Plaza's and various other touch points for the customers to connect with the brand.

Essentially routed through the telecom channel network, Samsung has appointed regional distributors in each of the zones with exclusive billing rights. These RDs directly bill the devices to the retailers which comprises both from the IT channels as well telecom channels. Also, as a policy, the company has restricted the pay-off from these RDs limiting them to billing restrictions.

Samsung is likely to come up with a change in distribution structure shortly putting regional distribution in IT and non-IT in place for the tablet range. Like HCL, for Samsung too, the move may come in on account of the maturing tablet market.

ACER Iconia tablets

Acer launched two versions of its Iconia tablets with a bigger 10.1 inch screen size. With this, Acer Iconia became the first Android and the first Windows 7 based tablet to hit Indian market. While the Iconia A500 features the Android Honeycomb 3.0 operating system, the Iconia W500 has Windows 7 OS in it. While the Android version's price is kept at `27,990, the later would cost `32,499 respectively.

Acer has now a total of five products in the Iconia range in India including the Iconic dual screen Iconia tablet, the 7 inch Iconia A100 Android tablet and the Iconia Smart S300 Android smartphone with the 4.8 inch touchscreen, whose details on price and availability will be announced by Acer soon.

The company aims to start the sales in all the cities across India soon with products being available across all major Acer and franchisee outlets. Supertron Electronics introduced Acer Tablet PC range ie Acer ICONIA TAB A500 and Acer ICONIA TAB W500. The A500 runs on the Android platform, while W500 runs on the Windows 7 thus catering to the needs of both segments of buyers.

As the national distribution for the tablet PCs Supertron Electronics will broad-base the marketing of Acer Tablet PCs in the cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh. Supertron makes it available through its nationwide chain of reseller partners, who has the knowledge of current technology.

HCL INFOSYSTEMS ME Tablet

The ME tablet was launched with much gusto amidst rising market expectations. According to HCL, the tablet PC has given a new way of convenient working for the SOHO segment. Key features of the tablet like on-the-go mobility has lent a new capability for this segment.

Availability of internet connectivity and services like 3G is deemed to play a very crucial role in determining the adaptability of the SOHO segment with the Indian customer. The important aspect for this segment will be the number of value based and relevant services that they will be able to access and use in a tablet. This will determine future uptake of the tablet in this segment.

Traditionally a very strong channel player, HCL, implemented the regional distributorship model doing away with the national structure. Having a 3-tier distribution structure in place, the decision to opt for the regional model was spurred by the ongoing market trend of low demand for tablets, often limited to the metro markets. In this approach, the vendor appointed 93 regional distributors across 4 regions in non-competitive product category. This gave the vendor the assurance of channel dedication. In the next tier, the vendor had atleast 220 micro distributors placed directly under their RDs which in turn billed to the retailers.

The company is expecting tablet sales to cross 70,000 units by the end of 2012 which according to HCL will be a huge surge. Addressing it, HCL is shortly restructuring its distributorship pattern and is about to appoint a national distributor by the end of the next fiscal quarter. However, HCL assured that the ND will just be an addition to its existing distribution layer and will not impact the current layout. Also, the vendor is considering shifting over to object-oriented operating system for the tablet range.