Kobian launches Mercury mTab Neo Android tablet for Rs. 15999

Kobian which brought us the triple core mTab tablet for Rs. 9500 is now bringing Mercury mTab Neo. It’s an Android 2.3 powered tablet which comes with in-built 3G SIM support, voice calling and dual camera. Mercury mTab Neo is priced at Rs. 15999.

What do you get for paying Rs. 15999?

• 1 GHz dual core processor and
• Android 2.3
• 7 inch (16:9) capacitive multi-touch screen with HD resolution.
• In-built 3G module and SIM support. Supports voice calling (a nice to have feature). 
• Bluetooth 3.0
• 4 GB internal storage expandable up to 32 GB via a micro SD card (of course)
• HDMI port which will allow users to connect to a HDTV.
• Dual speakers
• Dual camera (0.3 megapixel in the front and 2 MP at the rear),
• Powered by a 4000 mAh battery. (Not massive but you can get by).

Unnecessary fragmentation

Kobian is trying a fragmentation strategy which isn’t really asked for. It has earlier launched Mercury mTab priced at Rs. 9500. Most recently it has launched Mercury mTab 2 priced at Rs. 11999. And now Mercury mTab Neo at the price of Rs.15999. All this looks to me as unnecessary fragmentation.  If you look at it, there are subtle differences between these tablets.

One tablet has USB support and one doesn’t. One tablet has in-built 3G SIM capability and other support USB dongles. One has HDMI support and others don’t. And one has dual camera support and others don’t.

There are enough tablets already in the market. Kobian isn’t making the job of a customer any easier with its own set of tablets. In fact, it’s making the job of a consumer doubly difficult. In the mad Android world, that’s not what you want.

Is there hope for Mercury?

The price segment of 12K-14K is highly competitive. There at least 5 tablets in that price range. Mercury itself has Mercury mTab2 priced at Rs. 11999. Mercury is placing its mTab Neo slightly above this price range and is gambling with it. It has become customary for all the device manufacturers to launch at a higher price and drop the price within a week. Is mTab Neo another candidate for a notorious price drop? I think so.

Irrespective of what the specifications are Android tablets need an additional push. Latest and greatest hardware is clearly not selling. Kindle Fire seems to be the only Android tablet which people are buying. Which interestingly is priced at $199 which comes to Rs. 10000.

Via TheMobileIndian