Samsung forays into budget tablet market in India

As tablet shipments continue to slump in India, Samsung India on Thursday said the company will launch affordable products this year, predicting the tablet industry is set to make a strong comeback.

"2017 was a de-growth year for the tablet industry as a whole but we, as a brand, performed well over 2016 by registering near double-digit growth by market value," Vishal Kaul, Director, Mobile Business, Samsung India, told IANS in New Delhi.

Bullish on its performance in 2017, the South Korean tech giant on Thursday forayed into the budget tablet market with the launch of Galaxy Tab A 7.0 at Rs 9,500 that sports rounded edges and a "non-slip" pattern.

The device will be available across retail stores, starting January 5.

"On using this device with Jio, get an exclusive cashback of Rs 2,000 in your JioMoney account, on recharging with Jio Plan of Rs 299 for 24 months," the company said.

The 4G tablet comes with HD display and a hefty 4000mAh battery that claims to provide up to nine hours of video playback.

"Galaxy Tab A 7.0 caters to consumers' on-the-go and, thereby acts as a perfect companion for their active lifestyle," Kaul added.

The device has 1.5GB RAM and 8GB onboard storage that can be expanded via a microSD card to up to 200GB.

The tab also comes with "Kids Mode" that provides educational and beneficial content designed especially for children.

It also has parental control that offers features such as setting usage time limits and restricting access to specific applications.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 is powered by 1.5 GHz quad-core processor. There is a 5MP auto-focus (AF) primary camera and a 2MP front camera.

The shipment of tabs witnessed a decline of 11 percent over the previous quarter in India — with just 0.68 million shipments in the second quarter of 2017.

According to market intelligence firm CMR India, Indian market recorded 29 percent year-on-year decline for the second quarter of this year.

However, in this falling tablet market, Samsung and Lenovo — with 14 percent market share each — ranked third, with Canadian manufacturer Datawind being the leader.

"We are also positive about doing better in 2018 than last year in tab category," Kaul told IANS.