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 reported on Thursday quoting the Russian office of the company.
“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 seven-inch 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).