An Indian start-up has developed a smartphone called 'Firstouch' that can translate English text into Indian languages and vice versa by swiping across the screen. The smartphone is priced at Rs 6,000.
The smartphone has been developed by three IIT-ians, Rakesh Deshmukh, Sudhir Bangarambandi and Akash Dongre. They have developed and patented the virtual keyboard and the predictive text engine and say that they want to break the language barrier with their device. The smartphone also comes with a 48-key virtual keyboard that is designed to accommodate Indian alphabets. The Mumbai-based start-up aims to target rural customers who may not be comfortable with English language.
The Firstouch smartphone is expected to be launched this month in Rajkot, Gujarat and will be for Gujarati users. When asked in a recent interview that why they launched their first device in Gujarat? 31-year-old Deshmukh, CEO and co-founder of MoFirst Solutions Ltd, the company behind Firstouch replied, "Gujjus are far more experimenting."
The company plans to launch devices with Hindi and Marathi in June and also targets to launch the device in all Indian languages within an year. "Firstouch is the first regional smartphone which brings millions of rural and semi-urban customer a perfect smartphone, made in their language," Deshmukh said.
The company is also planning to launch an indigenous App Bazaar with operator billing for local customers. The money will be debited from a customer's prepaid or postpaid account when an application is bought. Customers can access App Bazaar without having to register on the company's website. The company has even created a tool for app translation, allowing those in English to Gujarati. The company is also exploring tie-ups with other online retailers and developers for creating more apps in the App Bazaar. It has already built more than 200 apps so far.
Source: ET
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