Russian mobile providers to sell their own 'iPads'

Having had unpleasant experience of long negotiations and not very profitable cooperation with Apple, Russian "Big 3" operators are going to create their own Tablet PCs. MTS is already negotiating with Taiwanese factories, reports Kommersant.

The iPad prototype, with MTS brand on it, will be presented at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 19. It is equipped with a 7-inch touch screen (about 17.78 cm), supports 3G and Wi-Fi wireless protocols, and will be sold with preinstalled navigation services of the operator. The tablets will not be able to work with other operator SIM-cards.

For now, the mobile operator is negotiating with producers, including Foxconn, where Apple goods are being produced. The first set of gadgets will be on sale as early as the fourth quarter of 2010, and amount to 10 thousand copies. It is planned to sell 100 thousand copies for the first year. Eldar Murtazin, an expert, believes that the real sales figures will be much smaller, and the operator will sell no more than 15,000 devices for the first year. In his opinion, the wholesale price of gadgets will exceed 10 thousand rubles ($ 335).

Other “Big 3” operators, Megafon and Vimpelcom, are also thinking about selling tablets under their own brands.