African Android!

Saheed Adepoju, CEO and Co-Founder of Encipher Limited; has just come out with something interesting! As a self-confessed obsessed tech head, I am excited to see such a Tablet PC (usually referred to as a 'tablet') come out from Africa. It's refreshing to see Africa innovating in technologies that are relatively new to all industries- Adepoju is looking for investors and, according to an interview with VC4Africa, he feels that African investors don't want to invest.

"Talking about venture capitalists in Africa, I am yet to see one that will invest... when I mean invest, I don't mean give seed funding of $50 000. I mean actually give $2 million to a business that is already gaining traction. So I believe they are very risk averse in investing in a market where they are not sure of a return on investment," said Adepoju in a recent CNN article.

Saheed Adepoju holding the Way-C, Africa's first tablet

But let's get back to the device for a minute. It's a modest device to be honest, at 7 inches, running Android's outdated '2.1 Eclair' software with a resistive instead of capacitive touchscreen. It has 512MB memory on a Telechips Tcc8902 ARM11 processor, which is decent, and a less decent 1.3MP camera. It does however, come with a nice and hefty 16GB of storage. On the ports side, it has the usual Mic-in, DC-in, a 35mm headphone jack, an HDMI output up to 1080P plus playback, a USB host and a Highspeed USB OTG 2.0 to plug thumb drives, USB devices and hard drives, a very useful and rare feature. It also has 3G on top of its WIFI 802.11, with an impressive 6-8hrs on a 2600 mAh battery, a mix-match of old and new tech, but with the processor, and the 800×400 LCD resolution it might not be enough to run HDMI. As time passes on, perhaps future interations will sport better screens and memory. But for the time being, it looks like Encipher has made an honest and commendable attempt at the new, and as-of-yet uncertain future of Tablet PCs.

Now, some people will already say that the future is not so uncertain for Tablet PCs. And the answer would probably be the iPad. But in terms of global PC sales, it only accounts for 16% of global sales, there is still a lot of room and opportunity to give the rest of the world a reasonably priced (something iPads are not) device that does a few things, but does them well.

There is no mistake where this product sells well, and where it doesn't, why is that?

 Android is closing in fast behind Apple, in terms of market share and exposure in this tech-nouveau. Now I'm not an Apple hater, I'm typing this article from a MacBook Pro! I just don't believe Apple does much to diversify and establish smartphones and Tablet PCs. My adoration for Android is purely based on the wide array of possibilities that are only seperated by imagination. In such a short time, we have seen screen resolutions jump to actual 720pHD displays, 8MP cameras are becoming the norm, screen sizes are getting larger, we have high-end, expensive devices, and mid-range, economical devices, we also have hardkeys for those still in withdrawal from the ill-fated Blackberry! None of this would be possible if the only form factor around is an iPhone and an iPad. But I'm also equally grateful for Apple's success in the mobile market. Without it, there would be no scramble by Samsung, HTC, and the others to entice consumers with a melange of awesome features and designs.

But as far as Africa is concerned, the iPad and other Tablet PCs is just an accessory to wealth. The average middle-income household makes considerably less in Africa and Asia, compared to the US and Europe. The standards and consumer projection is mainly aimed at them, who will buy more than 100 million devices this coming year. This is where the Inye tablet is different. It may still be out of the price range for most middle-income homes, but it's a start. African consumers are going to demand the features that are more to their aesthetics. For example, as most devices are making the transition to 4G, Africa depends heavily on the more stable 3G network. Radio streaming is popular, but streaming movies is not, unique services like 'M-Pesa' are not integrated into devices like Google Wallet or App stores, despite Africa leading the world in mobile money transactions.

We can only hope, and this device definitely gives that. Perhaps we will see a dust-resistant, M-Pesa integrated device with a 'Matatu Meter' imbedded into Google Maps!

sources:


Michelle Atagana, "Where are Africa's Gadgets?" CNN© 2012 Cable News Network
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/24/world/africa/michelle-atagana-gadget-makers-opinion/index.html

Michael Gorman, "VMK Way-C tablet shows off its full figure, on sale for $300 in select countries this October" Engadge © 2012 AOL Inc. All rights reserved
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/20/vmk-way-c-tablet-shows-off-its-full-figure-on-sale-for-300-in/