HP launches dual-SIM, quad-core voice tabs at Rs 17,300

Tech giant Hewlett-Packard has launched two voice-calling tablets and appointed actor Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador in a fresh bid to strengthen its position in the Indian market.

HP India launched its 'Slate6' and 'Slate7" VoiceTabs, along with four other new mobile devices, targetted at young Indians. The Slate6 is priced at about Rs 23,700, while Slate7 is priced at about Rs 17,300.

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"India is a unique market. There is a huge population of young people who are demanding and aware of the latest technology. They want fast performance, long battery life and multi-tasking, all of which are addressed by these new devices," HP India VP and GM (Printing and Personal Systems) Rajiv Srivastava told PTI.

The tablets are being launched only in India at the moment, he added.

According to research firm CMR, about 12.04 lakh tablets were sold in the July-September 2013 quarter, a growth of nine per cent year-on-year. 

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This was led by Samsung (15 per cent share), followed by Lenovo (13.3 per cent) and Datawind (12.4 per cent).

India is a big market for handheld smart devices. According to Gartner, smartphone sales in India grew 166.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013, the highest growth among the countries it tracks.

Worldwide smartphone sales grew 36 per cent to 282 million units in the October-December quarter of 2013, accounting for 57.6 per cent of the overall phone sales. 

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The HP Slate VoiceTab series is powered by a quad-core processor running on Android 4.2.2 (Jellybean) operating system and offer 3G connectivity with dual SIM.

HP six-inch phablet 'Slate6 VoiceTab' and seven-inch 'Slate7 VoiceTab' also feature dual front firing stereo speakers, front and rear HD cameras. The VoiceTabs have 16GB built in storage expandable to 32GB via MicroSD card. 

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The company has also roped in Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone as its first brand ambassador in the country.

HP also unveiled its Omni10, a 10-inch Windows 8.1 Full HD tablet. Its price will be announced soon.

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Besides, it also launched its notebooks - HP Envy17 Leap Motion Special Edition (SE) (priced Rs 1.18 lakh), HP Pavilion 15 TouchSmart Notebook (Rs 51,825) and HP 15 Notebook (Rs 29,995).

"Our new line up represents the focus that we have on the Indian market. The requirements and aspirations of the young Indians is changing and our future lineup will also reflect that," he said.