Wink - Indian eBook Reader to get cheaper variants
Wink, promoted by EC Media, was supposed to be first e-book reader in India. The first Wink was priced at Rs. 11,000, the company now is planning two variants priced at Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 8,000 in a few months.
The company has planned two variants of the e-book reader with five-inch model placed at Rs. 6,000 and a six-inch model placed at Rs. 8,000. The first launched by the company was also a 6-inch unit with a price tag of Rs. 11,000, that would dissuaded many consumers from purchasing it. With the launch of the these variants EC Media is hopeful that the company will be able to reach more people - re-positioning with price just might help.
The new five-inch model is to be launched in three-four months with same features as the existing Wink model. While there are plans by the company to make new six-inch models with a price tag of Rs. 8,000. Currently, the e-book reader is available 15 languages and makes available 200,000 titles. According to CEO, EC Media, Pradeep Palazhi, “In next four to five months we will double the content that we are offering. Besides this, we are talking to leading newspapers to bring them on our platform. We are expecting 10 national dailies to be available on Wink in the next 10 months.”
Wink is not the first e-book reader and the competition it faces is not only from other e-book readers like the Kindle, but also from the new generation of general purpose computers - and portable devices running Android, iOS, etc. With low-cost tablets and phones doubling up as an e-book reader at the same price of an e-book reader, future for e-book only readers seems bleak.
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