BANGALORE: The presence of Information Technology (IT) companies has a lot to do with the city’s IT status, but this cannot be the sole reason for the pseudonym. The fact that IT ideas mushroom here is a bigger factor and the same was justified when India got its very own ‘Desi’ Tablet device, from Namma Bengaluru.On Tuesday, city based EAFT technologies launched their ‘Magic Tile’ tablet called the ‘Marathon’. A big feat in itself, the makers of this device, a start up company, may actually have launched the Tablet revolution in the country even before the other major players in the market. “We had a soft launch of the product on March 18, 2010”, Jatinder G S, co-founder of the company said and shared that the concept was “Everything At Finger Tips”. But if anyone thought that the Tablet is an affluent device, then think again as many of the people in the city have already had a first hand experience with these hi-tech devices.Nearly 25 Volvo buses plying from various locations towards the Bangalore International Airport (BIA) are fitted with the company’s creation. “As many as 700 such tablets have been installed in 25 buses of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)”, he pointed out.The devices were installed on field trials and also to check for functioning under heat and vibration. He also shared that the same had been programmed to feature advertisements and also make other important commuter information and messages to the traveller. Many of these buses now ply from ITPL to the Kempe Gowda Bus stand as well.But the version installed on the bus is a stripped down version of the actual tablet launched on Tuesday, Jatinder explained. The touch screen device on the buses were to ensure that commuters had access to the Wifi and other online requirements on their way to the airport, which was largely seen as a successful stint of the transport department. He shared that the technology was also being pursued by transport departments in the national capital as well.Similar to what the “Tablet’ device itself hopes to achieve, EAFT are now flirting with ideas to serve the community as well. “We would explore options to put the product into use in the areas of education and health-care, on the same lines as transportation,” he said and added that they were developing digital signage as well. “We are in talks with many distribution and retails houses to better market our product”, he said and shared that the ‘Marathon’ is now available online to customers.
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