Simmtronics to launch a completely "Made in India" Android device

Indians commonly associate local devices from companies such as Karbonn, Lava, Micromax, or Onida, as Indian phones when, in fact, they're not. 

Technically, these devices are not Indian as the components come fabricated from abroad, primarily China. They are then assembled and sold domestically but, in essence, they're not really Made in India. 

Well, Simmtronic plans to change all of that very soon with the launch of its first fully Indian manufactured Android device from the company's factory in New Delhi. In terms of hardware and software, it will be similar to other devices from the other Indian brands, but it will be the first one that is really Made in India--100 percent from start to finish, reports The Times of India. The only parts that would still be imported from China or Taiwan are the chips, but the circuit boards and main boards will be made locally at Simmtronic's New Delhi factory. Simmtronics Semiconductor Ltd. is an Indian privately held, multinational computer technology company that develops, manufactures, sells and supports - Memory Module, Motherboard, Tablet PC, Simmbook, Low cost PC and other computer related parts.

By manufacturing devices in India, the company saves about 6 percent in import duties, compared to importing them from China. The difference obviously should then be passed on to the consumer who can purchase the devices at even lower prices, and trust me, they've gone quite low in the past. Simmtronics officials said they were putting in place necessary tools and machines needed to manufacture and assemble a smartphone in the company's factory near Delhi. They said that even if they sourced the first batches of their phones from China to meet the launch schedule, they would soon switch to manufacturing the devices in India. "We will manufacture the phones in India. We will get chips like processors from Taiwanese or Chinese firms and manufacture the printed circuit boards and mainboards for the phones in our local factory." said Indrajeet Sabharwal, MD of Simmtronics 

However, because of the weak Indian rupee at the moment, the prices for devices have slowly increased and companies are scaling back on their promotional tradein with 0 percent EMI (equated monthly instalment) offers. It's a money losing scheme for all involved.

Simmtronics has made tablets for other companies in the past, before deciding to enter the market on its own selling its tablets under the XPad brand. The company launched its the latest tablet called XPad Mini today with a price of Rs 9,999. The manufacturer also exports to countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Until today, I've never heard of Simmtronics. I look forward to seeing its devices in shopping malls or local bazaars in the near future. But at the same token, it also isn't the only small company to come from nowhere and begin manufacturing and selling mobile devices.  

Apart from selling India-made tablets within the country, Simmtronics also exports units to Middle East and Africa. Recently, it entered into a partnership with Jumbo Electronics, which manages a chain of electronics retail stores in Dubai, to build tablets for Middle East consumers. 
Sabharwal said he was happy the way Simmtronics had grown but added that Indian government could do more to promote manufacturing in India. He said that Indian manufacturers did not get enough incentives from the government to do well on the global stage and found the going tough due to lack of infrastructure in the country.

There is another popular computer accessory company in India, called Intex, specializing in accessories such as keyboards and speakers. The company now has begun selling mobile devices in India and judging from its commercials, these devices look sleek. However, I've yet to actually see one of Intex's devices in store shelves.

It will be good to see the label 'Made In India' now ! The only question that arises in my mind is that will the devices be powerful enough ? Only time will tell