APPLE iPAD WILL TAKE TIME TO HIT INDIAN MARKET

New Delhi: Craving to get your hands on the Apple iPad? Wait for a while as it will be still some time before it becomes available in the Indian market.

Experts also believe that the tablet will create a new user segment in India.

Unveiled in January, the iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read e-books and much more. The 9.7 inch touchscreen tablet is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds-thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook-and delivers battery life of up to 10 hours.

The product, touted as a device between smartphone and a laptop, was officially launched in the US market Saturday. Prices in the US start at $499 and the most advanced model costs $829. But Indians customers who are eagerly waiting to try the 'game changing product', as it is often called, will have to wait for some more time.

"iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. International pricing will be announced in April. iPad will ship in additional countries later this year," said an official release.

Industry observers in the U.S. believe the iPad could well outsell the Apple's iPhone, launched in 2007, of which one million had been sold after 74 days on shop shelves.

However, considering price sensitive Indian market where consumers always look for a package product seeking maximum features in lowest possible amount, iPad may remain limited to the upper middle class segment only.

According to technology experts, besides the great features iPad has constraints too like it cannot multi-task, doesn't have a external keyboard, disk drive or a USB drive.

The experts believe it would create a niche market for itself and emerge as a lifestyle product and not a mass product in India.

"This product will create a new class. But given the Indian market scenario, iPad it is not going to have a mass market. It will be a niche product ... it will be a lifestyle product ...," said Akhilesh Tuteja, executive director KPMG, a consulting firm.

"To start with, it will have buyers who would like to experience it. It will create a class of its own. For a complete experience, one needs to have peripherals. But iPad doesn't have an external keyboard, no USB drive and disk drive," Tuteja told IANS.