Reliance Industries Ltd.

Reliance Industries is said to be in talks to invest in the Hyderabad-based Notion Ink, which is developing a made in India tablet computer that is already being pitched against Apple's iPad. It is learnt that the talks, which could even lead to RIL picking up a majority stake in Notion Ink, are centred on the Adam tablet, which is scheduled for a worldwide launch later this year. A tablet PC is a laptop equipped with a stylus or a touchscreen.

RIL's interest could have been triggered by the fact that the Adam has been touted as an “Apple iPad killer” in many quarters. The product has been generating enormous buzz on tech Web sites and gadget blogs since an early prototype was put up for demonstration at consumer tech trade shows earlier this year.

Notion Ink was established by six IITans and an MBA graduate who were able to integrate two breakthrough power saving components — nVidia's Tegra 2 chip and a PixelQi screen. The buzz is that Adam has twice the battery life and performance of the iPad.

Starting at $325, the Adam tablet PC is around 36 per cent cheaper than the starting price of an iPad — $499. Moreover, Pixel Qi screen technology makes it easier to read under bright light, technology experts say.

The deal with Notion Ink is also expected to help RIL in its quest to garner a significant share of the Indian broadband market. RIL recently re-entered the Indian telecom market through its Rs 4,500-crore acquisition of Infotel, which has bagged broadband wireless access spectrum for all 22 circles

Given the high propensity of a tablet PC to consume bandwidth, RIL could bundle the Adam tablet with its broadband services to target high-end users in India. The funds infused by RIL could help in setting up its manufacturing and distribution networks.