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Indian made e-reader to take on Kindle
| Thursday,28 January 2010, 03:13 hrs
|
New Delhi: After two years of hard work, Vishal Mehta, an ex employee of Amazon.com, launched the Infibeam Pi, an e-reader that looks like the Amazon Kindle. It has the same e-Ink screen that the Kindle sports, reports Sruthijith KK of The Economic Times.
Mehta, who is having an engineering degree from Cornell and an MBA from MIT-Sloan, worked in Amozon.com for five years and was a Senior Manager at the company in 2007. To start his own online retail venture, Mehta quit his job, sold his house and his car.
The Infibeam Pi, which is priced at Rs.10,000, can be ordered online now and is likely to be shipped in February, is priced at Rs. 10,000. The Amazon Kindle, when shipped to India, costs about Rs.18,000. The Pi supports 13 Indian languages. Infibeam.com, an online retailer that sells everything from flowers to jewellery to books to electronic goods, has more than one lakh ebooks.
Mehta said, "It's pointless in India, there is no 3G. When we have wireless connectivity, we probably won't restrict what users can browse. Our essential philosophy is to be as open as possible."
The Pi has also a micro USB port to connect to a PC. Users will just be needed to create an account with Infibeam.com, register the device and then download the ebooks. The ebooks can be read on the PC as well as on the Pi. The ebooks typically cost 5-20 percent less than the hard copy versions, but in some cases, especially with bestsellers, digital rights are expensive and it's cheaper to buy the physical books. With the help of Pi, users will be able to read any documents documents (word or pdf, for instance). "A test prep firm can load their proprietary content on this device and give it to students, without worrying that the material will get passed around," said Mehta.
The company plans to sell about 10,000 devices in the first few months. The company has started accepting pre-orders on the website and is motivated by the initial response.
Mehta, who is having an engineering degree from Cornell and an MBA from MIT-Sloan, worked in Amozon.com for five years and was a Senior Manager at the company in 2007. To start his own online retail venture, Mehta quit his job, sold his house and his car.
The Infibeam Pi, which is priced at Rs.10,000, can be ordered online now and is likely to be shipped in February, is priced at Rs. 10,000. The Amazon Kindle, when shipped to India, costs about Rs.18,000. The Pi supports 13 Indian languages. Infibeam.com, an online retailer that sells everything from flowers to jewellery to books to electronic goods, has more than one lakh ebooks.
Mehta said, "It's pointless in India, there is no 3G. When we have wireless connectivity, we probably won't restrict what users can browse. Our essential philosophy is to be as open as possible."
The Pi has also a micro USB port to connect to a PC. Users will just be needed to create an account with Infibeam.com, register the device and then download the ebooks. The ebooks can be read on the PC as well as on the Pi. The ebooks typically cost 5-20 percent less than the hard copy versions, but in some cases, especially with bestsellers, digital rights are expensive and it's cheaper to buy the physical books. With the help of Pi, users will be able to read any documents documents (word or pdf, for instance). "A test prep firm can load their proprietary content on this device and give it to students, without worrying that the material will get passed around," said Mehta.
The company plans to sell about 10,000 devices in the first few months. The company has started accepting pre-orders on the website and is motivated by the initial response.
Reader's comments (35)
2:Please read the specification before
venturing to buy.PI does not have backlight
meaning you can't read in dark(bedtime).Pure
waste of money.Better buy Kindle or something
else.
R.Sathish Kumar replied to: Kavita
post - 15 Feb, 2010
post - 15 Feb, 2010
4:be Indian ! buy Indian ! devolope India ! hai
hind
caldwell replied to: Samir
post - 29 Jan, 2010
post - 29 Jan, 2010
5: This is just another copycat.
The second thing is amazon has a better option for the same price. did you compare the specifications of Kindle DX and Infebeam Pi, Infibeam Pi is no where in comparison to Kindle Dx, see the screen size, for DX, it's 9.7' for Infebeam pi it's 6'.
yes, It compares to Kindle(not to confuse with Kindle DX) which costs $259, i.e approximately RS.12000 INR.
Why would anyone prefer Infibeam Pi instead of the better option Kindle. I need some reason to convince, simply saying an Indian has created is not enough to convince, It should be convinced on the basis of specifications.
The second thing is amazon has a better option for the same price. did you compare the specifications of Kindle DX and Infebeam Pi, Infibeam Pi is no where in comparison to Kindle Dx, see the screen size, for DX, it's 9.7' for Infebeam pi it's 6'.
yes, It compares to Kindle(not to confuse with Kindle DX) which costs $259, i.e approximately RS.12000 INR.
Why would anyone prefer Infibeam Pi instead of the better option Kindle. I need some reason to convince, simply saying an Indian has created is not enough to convince, It should be convinced on the basis of specifications.
Posted by: bsingh - 29 Jan, 2010
6: This is great! I'm an avid reader. I wanted a
specific ereading device. Not a netbook pc.
Something to hold in one hand like a book.
Tablet PC's are for now more expensive and
not as convinient for reading as ereaders
with e-ink. Trying to buy this device in
india has been a real headache. Just too
expensive with all the duties. 10k for this
device is a good deal. Good work Vishal!
Posted by: Venky Mayya - 29 Jan, 2010
7: Great job done Vishal...Congrats and best
wishes for your grand business success.
Posted by: ankush singhal - 29 Jan, 2010
8:It looks like a case of an employee running
off with the inner secrets of his
organisation.
Ved from Victoria Institutions replied to: ankush singhal
post - 29 Jan, 2010
post - 29 Jan, 2010
9: It is an Taiwan made and he bought it from
there and selling
I too had seen several devices like this in Chinese market
It is not Indian design but Indian Reselling the product bought from Taiwan or china
I too had seen several devices like this in Chinese market
It is not Indian design but Indian Reselling the product bought from Taiwan or china
Posted by: Krishnan - 29 Jan, 2010
10:Don't forget Kindle also design and produce
by Taiwan company for Amazon
Ravi replied to: Krishnan
post - 29 Jan, 2010
post - 29 Jan, 2010
12: Do we need a dedicated e-book reader\?
Is it worth\?
I prefer a tablet PC\?
Is it worth\?
I prefer a tablet PC\?
Posted by: ProFx - 29 Jan, 2010
13: Great job done Vishal! Congrats and best
wishes for grand business success.
Posted by: subodh Saxena - 29 Jan, 2010
14: looks like a typo in here
New Delhi: After two years of hard[ly] work[ing] Vishal Mehta an ex employee of Amazon[dot]com.
its an OEM product repackaged! see these: replace the [dot] with a full stop and [slash] with fwd slash
www[dot]ctaindia[dot]asia[slash]index_files[s lash]Page1168[dot]htm
wiki[dot]mobileread.com[slash]wiki[slash]EGri ver_eBook
wapedia[dot]mobi[slash]en[slash]File:Egriver[ dot]JPG
well sigh! atleast we Indians we good at copy-paste
New Delhi: After two years of hard[ly] work[ing] Vishal Mehta an ex employee of Amazon[dot]com.
its an OEM product repackaged! see these: replace the [dot] with a full stop and [slash] with fwd slash
www[dot]ctaindia[dot]asia[slash]index_files[s lash]Page1168[dot]htm
wiki[dot]mobileread.com[slash]wiki[slash]EGri ver_eBook
wapedia[dot]mobi[slash]en[slash]File:Egriver[ dot]JPG
well sigh! atleast we Indians we good at copy-paste
Posted by: John Bandaru - 28 Jan, 2010
15: Well, the image shown is different from what
is shown on their site. But I like the fact
that we dont have to shell out 8k more to a
monochrome version. Good job there, but yes,
I kinda have to agree that I would've rated
Vishal Mehta's company much better if they
hadn't copied Amazon so much. What, are you
trying to imitate them?
Posted by: Vishal - 28 Jan, 2010
16: once again a fantastic job done by an INDIAN
............
all the best to all INDIAN in each & every field.........
all the best to all INDIAN in each & every field.........
Posted by: BHUPENDRA TIWARI - 28 Jan, 2010
17:Just chuck this Indian, Indian song. He
studied in Cornell and MIT-Sloan, Then worked
in Amazon. And finally imitated the same.
Good Job indeed.But what is this
Indian-Indian. Huh!
Amit replied to: BHUPENDRA TIWARI
post - 29 Jan, 2010
post - 29 Jan, 2010
19: Good job man...reinventing the same wheel
works.. but could been more original with
more features. Above all you should have
changed the logo. Too much similar to amazon!
Posted by: Maxblack - 28 Jan, 2010
20: This is amazing, the most awaited product is
now available in India. Good Job, I wish to
see the Indian Colour in Kindle.
Posted by: srikanth - 28 Jan, 2010
21: Its great to see that an Indian had done it
again for the world.I appreciate Mehta for
that and wish him all the best.
Posted by: Sandeep - 28 Jan, 2010
22: :( I ended up ordering Kindle Dx from
http://amazonkindledeals.com/. But this is
great news.
Posted by: Rob Chandra - 28 Jan, 2010
23: We can save some trees ! What an idea sirjee
Posted by: KA Prabbu - 28 Jan, 2010
26: Is it not business competition judged on the
basis of better device/service.
rama mohana rao anne
sydney australia
rama mohana rao anne
sydney australia
Posted by: Rama Mohana Rao Anne - 28 Jan, 2010
27: Wish they had been more original and not
copied the Kindle, including the Amazon logo.
Posted by: Raj - 28 Jan, 2010
28:MAny of the think tanks in Amzon are Indians.
I am sure Vishal would have anyway
contributed to Amazon and their original
stuffs in his 5 year stint. Its not atall
wrong to get the same at an affordable cost
for India market. How many Indians know abt
kindle by the way...
I am sure there will be lots other features or adjustments made for India - Asia Pac market.
I am sure there will be lots other features or adjustments made for India - Asia Pac market.
Vishal replied to: Raj
post - 28 Jan, 2010
post - 28 Jan, 2010
29: Yes, Many of us even do not know what is
Kindle. India is an ocean market place for
such product. Any Indian product with
competitive specification can bring lots of
fortune.
Kailash Joshi replied to: Vishal
post - 08 Feb, 2010
post - 08 Feb, 2010
30: Hmm,
not interesting at all.... doing what has already been done.
I guess its fine to have a bunch of different e-readers.... kind of like having multiple brands of cars. They all do the same thing, some in more style.
not interesting at all.... doing what has already been done.
I guess its fine to have a bunch of different e-readers.... kind of like having multiple brands of cars. They all do the same thing, some in more style.
Posted by: masseo - 28 Jan, 2010
31:Yes, some originality and unique features
would have been nice.
Raj replied to: masseo
post - 28 Jan, 2010
post - 28 Jan, 2010
32: Commendable. However, that is a nook, not a
pi, in the accompanying photograph.
Posted by: Shekhar - 28 Jan, 2010
33: Fantastic. Good job done, vishal! all the
best.
Posted by: Mayur - 28 Jan, 2010
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