With Tablets being the center of focus and attention and mobility concept catching up, ITVar News gets engaged in an exclusive interaction with Sachin Thapar, Head IT and Mobile Business, Sony India, shares details about the Company’s positioning statement with regards to the tablet market in India, size of tablet market, verticals targeted by the Company, his views on the form factor and other vital details.
ITVAR News: What is your positioning statement with regards to the tablet market in India?
Sachin Thapar: Since Tablet is a new category, we are in the testing phase and have not yet firmed up the sales numbers. We will evaluate the initial sales period in a couple of months and then decide.
ITVN: In your opinion how big is the market for tablets in India?
ST: In India, more and more consumers are accessing internet for social networking, news, entertainment and gamimg. Tablet being the most suitable device for such features and applications ,is expected to gain momentum in the near future.
ITVN: What kind of market segments are you targeting for the tablets in India?
ST: Sony Tablet is an ultimate on-the-go entertainment hub, and is fitted with numerous thoughtful features and applications. Powered with the latest Android operating system, it is built to appeal to a cross section of users from avid gamers, busy professionals, thrill-seeking youngsters or multi-tasking homemakers. It is for individuals who want to regularly access the internet and enjoy rich music, movie and casual game content.
ITVN: Please share your go to market strategy for tablets in India? How many channel partners are pushing your products in India?
ST: We invested Rs. 10 crore from Jan-Mar’12 towards marketing activities including television commercial, outdoor and shop-front. We also targeted the influencers’ in this space - online community & bloggers, WOM publicity, Media reviews and PR for tablets. Basically, Sony India adopted a pull factor rather than pushing the product through advertising in the market.
Sony Tablets is available across 500 stores in India including Sony Center, VAIO flagship stores, Organised IT channel, national retailer and Mobile stores.
ITVN: According to you what kind of importance does form factor of a mobility oriented device like tablet has in the eyes of an end customer? How do you look at the tablet space in India? What kind of trends is likely to firm their footing in this space in the coming months?
ST: Form factor is gaining importance as consumer nowadays demands for device which is portable and is feasible to carry in their hand/pocket and Tablet perfectly fits the bill.
The outlook for the Tablet PC’s market in India seems very promising as the overall consumer spending and acceptance is increasing in the country. Ease of use, long battery life, mobility, ability to multi-task, instant on/off and substantial breadth of applications available have caused rapid growth and change in demand patterns. The ease of use and multi-task ability is driving enterprises to experience Tablet PC in workplace rather than traditional PC’s or notebooks.
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