Cost efficient tablet PCs are in vogue when it comes to India. These tablets are no iPad competitors but OEMs and vendors seem to be cashing in on the iPad phenomenon. The latest and surprising entrant in the segment is Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan starrer Ra.One, a movie about robots and emotions, has a movie branded 7″ tablet PC being sold for $172 as part of the official movie merchandise.
Shahrukh Khan is known to leave no stone unturned for marketing his movies or his Cricket team. As part of Ra.One’s promotions, an online store has been setup to sell movie merchandise. The actor’s production house, Red Chilli Entertainment in partnership with IndiaGames, released an action game for iOS and Android. According to an article, the RaOne game was the top free app on the iTunes App Store charts. While I haven’t watched the movie, Ra.One is the bad guy (a spin on the symbolic evil dude Ravan) and G.One is, well, the Good guy. Despite the lack of creativity in naming the characters, mobile games and an online merchandise store for the movie are quite innovative. In many ways it is an attempt to make an iconic superhero out of the movie character. (I have my doubts if G.One will be India’s Batman, we’re still bullish on our Gods turned to toons.)
The tablet PC specs are:
- 7″ touch screen (I assume resistive)
- VIA 8650, 800MHz Processor,
- Google Android; 2.2 OS;
- Card Slot- 32GB
- 3G, Wi-Fi
- Camera
My first reaction on learning about the tablet via the movie’s Facebook page was that this is pushing things a bit too far. The G.One tablet specs are similar to the Government of India’s $40 Aakash tablet and might attract some kids. In my opinion $172 is a steep price for the gimmick; a use & throw price around $50 would’ve made sense for parents to buy it for their kids to use and abuse. The online store lists Netbook PCs and kids laptops too but unavailable.
And for those intrigued, here’s a trailer of Ra.One:
