Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said in an interview that his company had not yet made a concerted effort in the smartphone space. Flush with new funds after an IPO last year, the company is now able to aim at a much larger market.Lana Slezic/The Globe and Mail
A Canadian company known for ultracheap tablet computers aimed at emerging markets has teamed up with one of India's largest telecommunications firms to launch cheap smartphones loaded with a year's worth of free Web browsing and messaging.
Datawind Inc. – which has offices in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States – is set to launch new smartphones costing as little as $40 on Tuesday in partnership with Reliance Communications Ltd., which has more than 115 million subsribers. The agreement, first announced in January, sent Datawind's shares rising on the Toronto Stock Exchange, although the company would not confirm at the time that Reliance was the partner.
Datawind chief executive Suneet Singh Tuli, who has long focused on providing low-cost tablets for the "next billion" consumers who cannot afford more established brands, said in an interview that his company had not yet made a concerted effort in the smartphone space. Flush with new funds after an IPO last year, the company is now able to aim at a much larger market.
"With smartphones, we've sort of been watching from the sidelines," Mr. Tuli said. "We're now ready for a push."
With roughly 824 million wireless subscribers, India is the world's second-biggest mobile market after China.