Bharat Electronics Limited and PicoPeta Simputers has unveiled the new innovations-packed, much-awaited Amida Simputer, including one with a price tag of below Rs 10,000, in Bangalore.

The product -- to be promoted as a global brand -- is ready for the market 18 months after BEL and PicoPeta signed an agreement to jointly produce and market the Simputer platform, developed by technology company PicoPeta.

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"It has been a long wait. But I am sure, and everyone will agree, after experiencing the product, that Amida Simputer is worth the wait," Y Gopal Rao, chairman and managing director, BEL, said.

Stating that BEL was committed to the success of this innovative product, he said the company would bring its quality manufacturing expertise and technical support experience to Amida Simputer.

Several innovations are packed in the Amida Simputer, he said.

Handwriting (in any language) and decoding on every screen, mailing the scribbles with a single tap, gesture technologies that allow changing a page or zooming of an image by a hand gesture are some examples, BEL officials said.

Several versions of the Amida Simputer are on offer to cater to a broad spectrum of people, including the much-awaited under Rs 10,000 Simputer, BEL said.

PicoPeta chairman Prof. Vinay said: "Amida allows people to share information, stay connected and bond emotionally. It does these by breaking the fear of technology."

Amida Simputer would be available through the Web site www.amidasimputer.com and in showrooms that would be opened in Bangalore next month, he said.

"We have taken the first steps of an Indian product company building a global brand," he added.

PicoPeta CEO Prof. Swami Manohar said: "Marketing and sales challenges which will define the success of Amida Simputer are ahead of us. We have innovative and flexible strategies to seize the market."