Zinox gearing-up for Tablet market as Mecer Xpress debuts

As Mustek officially launched its new Mecer Xpress slate PC, aimed at the consumer and business markets, all eyes are now on its Nigerian brand Zinox to follow suit and present its own Zinox (Mecer) tablet soon.

According to Mustek, which is a leading PC brand operating from South Africa but with interests in other home-spun PC brands across Africa including Zinox, the Xpress Slate device is aimed not only as a content consumption device, but also as a device for business use. It sports an Intel Atom N450 1.66 GHz processor, 2GB DDR2 memory and a 32GB solid-state hard drive. As connectivity options the device has 2 USB ports, 1 mini-HDMI port, and 1 SDHC slot. On the wireless front, the device has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support. Powered by Windows® 7, the Mecer Xpress is said to feature trusted operating and application software, as well as easy integration and compatibility with all applications and devices such as printers and cameras.

It also sports a SIM card slot, though according to the Mecer website 3G support is optional. For multimedia purposes the Mecer Xpress has a built-in webcam and speakers.

Included with the device is a capacitive touch stylus pen and carry case. A docking station is also available at a price of around R500. According to the Mecer website the device ships with a one year warranty and is set to retail for R5, 959 (subject to exchange rate fluctuations).

Mustek retains a significant footprint in Africa, with anchor operations in Kenya and Nigeria. Mustek's African presence is primarily based on partnership agreements reached with competent local companies. Mustek has a huge stake in Zinox Technologies in Nigeria as well as in Kenyan in the form of Mecer East Africa. With the Nigerian market currently awash with various tablet PC brands like iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Huawei, Motorola Xoom, etc, the market may have become already saturated should Mecer introduce its Nigerian Xpress version under Zinox.

Though no official statement concerning this approach could be obtained from Zinox, with the marketing strategy of Zinox, which seeks to exploit the emotional nationalistic approach, the expected Zinox tablet may well find a veritable market in the public sector like all of its other computer products. Only time will tell.