Esquire Technologies, a South Africa-based lifestyle-focused electronics distributor, has said it will introduce a children’s tablet PC into the southern Africa market this Christmas.
The tablet will cost less than R1,500 (about US$184), it said.
Esquire Technologies’ managing director Asgar Mahomed, speaking to IT Online, said the company decided to introduce kids only tablets after its resellers put in demands following the launch of the Geeko tablet PCs in June.
“This Christmas, it is going to be the time for the tablet,” Mahomed said. “The Geeko Kids is due for release by the fourth quarter of 2012.”
The Geeko tablets were launched in June and over 2,500 units have so far been sold.
Geeko’s has both 7-inch and 10-inch tablets which it says the kids version will resemble. The tablets run on the Android operating system, with Wi-Fi and 3G, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) and USB ports.
According to Mahomed, the firm decided to build tablets as the devices market in South Africa is growing exponentially, with more business users moving from laptop to tablet use.
Even though the Geeko tablets are manufactured and shipped from the Far East, the firm defends their brand as being a South African one.
“In order to ensure that the range is well-suited to the local market, we are doing all the applications locally, as well as the overall layout and design,” the firm said.
Established in 1999, Esquire is based in Gauteng, South Africa and has footprints in Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
