By Emmanuel Elebeke

One of the CDMA operators in the country, Starcomms has introduced a tablet PC called ‘myPad’.
Starcomms said the newly introduced  product is  its first ever mobile one-stop shop for all internet and PC needs of Nigerians.

myPad is powered by Android 2.2 Operating System and designed as a high-end data device for the upwardly mobile and according to the company, is affordable compared to what competitors offer.

According to the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari, the introduction of the device is timely in this convergence era and is therefore in line with Starcomms’ passion in ensuring that its customers have access to innovative products and the service that keeps them in tune with technological trends.

For now, myPad is only available in Nigeria on the Starcomms network but can be accessed anywhere Wi Fi not Starcomms network exists.

The device boasts of several entertainment applications for music and games with free downloadable games.
On the specs and accessories, Maheshwari explained that  myPad has a wider screen of 10.2 inches and slightly wider than Apple’s iPad with 9.7 inches.

Starcomms myPad comes with a 10-gigabyte memory that can be expanded to 64 gigabytes, 2 USB and LAN ports, an HDMI out and a 2.0 mega pixel webcam, a user friendly manual and a battery charger as well as an optional branded luxury leather case carrier.

The Starcomms myPAD comes with a bundled offer of free i-Zap Internet Router that connects up to five users and three months Internet.
Without the router and Internet .

But while we’re still envisaging the official release of another tablet called Ovim in January 2011, it’s very interesting to see more companies taking interest in tablet devices for the Nigerian market,” he added.

“In my opinion, tablet PCs would still have a low-penetration rate in the next 5 years as the consumer market in Nigeria is not ready for such devices.

For example, the Blackberry was first introduced in 2006 by Globacom Nigeria, but after 4 years in Nigeria, the smartphone has only about 100,000 active users on 4 mobile networks.” he added.

However, there are indications that tablet PCs would become very popular and eventually a million dollar market in the future as the mobile penetration rate in Nigeria continues to grow.