Hyundai to launch tablet PC production in Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hyundai is going to launch tablet PC production under its brand name in Russia, with sales expected from autumn 2012, gazeta.ru on-line newspaper said on Thursday, July 12, citing the Russian office of the company, RIA Novosti reported.

"We are preparing to start sales at the Russian market [in September]. We signed the first distribution agreement with Tekhnotreid firm last week and we are looking for other distributors," Hyundai IT official told the paper.

Hyundai will provide two tablet models, one model with 9.7 inch screen and one with 10.1 inch screen working on the Android Ice Cream Sandwich mobile operating system. Each model will have 1 GB RAM and 8 GB onboard memory, and will support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions, said Hi-Tech@Mail.Ru chief analyst Dmitry Ryabinin.

The South Korean company is looking to produce the first batches of tablet PCs in China until October 2012 and then re-deploy its facilities to Russia. If sales reach 200,000 tablets in the first year, the Hyundai may build a plant in Russia, a source close to Hyundai IT told the paper.

Ryabinin also said that it would be difficult for Hyundai to take a significant share of the tablet market due to strong competition from other producers, adding that tablets could cost from 7,000 rubles ($213.22) to 12,000 rubles ($365.52).