India’s richest man wants to turn every TV into a PC

JIO Platforms, the digital arm, has launched an virtual desktop service for the fund’s users. This means that the richest man in India, the Chairman of the Relialing MUKESH Ambani, hopes to convert millions of TVs in the world’s most populated countries into computers.

JIOPC, the service provides a cloud computer experience through the Set-Top JIO box, which is assembled for free with home wide domain service or can be purchased separately for $ 5,499 ($ 64). Currently in a free and available experience on the waiting list, users can access the virtual desktop on the TV by connecting a keyboard and mouse once you receive an invitation and prepare their account.

Nowadays, the service has some restrictions, including any support for external peripherals, such as cameras and printers. Likewise, it supports open source LibreOffice, which is pre -installed. To use Microsoft Office applications, users need access to the available browser.

However, Ambani’s move with Jiopc appears to be promising – at least on paper.

I told Tarun Pathak, Countpoint Research Director, Techcrunch that Jiopc is a very effective way for the Mumbai -based company in Mumbai, which has an increase in its user base, which already has more than 488 million users.

About 70 % of Indian families have a TV, but only 15 % of them have a computer, per phalac. But JIO platforms can have their hands with marketing and interpretations. “You need to convince people that you can still use a computer on the TV with the preparation box,” he said.

The base of the paid -paid TV boxes in India is about 57 million, for every government data. However, the traditional direct TV market to the home (DTH) is shrinking as more consumers turn into Internet existing services. As of March, the active DTH joint base decreased by 8 % on an annual basis, as data appears.

Prapo Ram, Vice president of the Industrial Research Group (IRG) at Cybermedia Research (CMR), with JIOPC, said, JIO can aboard new users in the box from rural and low income sectors.

“Although its potential arrival is wide, its success depends on implementation – especially in dealing with communication gaps and digital literacy – and its ability to expand beyond the first adopte to effectively serve the disadvantaged societies,” he pointed out.

In the first quarter, the total computers market in India witnessed more than 8 % on an annual basis in shipments, as it reached 3.3 million units-on the occasion of the seventh quarter in a row of growth, per IDC. However, the penetration of computers in the country is still relatively low, and is behind the main markets, including the United States and China, mainly due to the limited income available and the widespread use of smartphones as initial computing devices.

Pathak stated that in order for JIO to reach potential buyers of personal computers with JiOPC, it requires partnerships with many application developers and productivity providers and guarantees enough productivity applications to make the service valuable for consumers.

Companies, including Microsoft and many other cloud service providers, have provided virtual desktop services targeting institutional customers for some time. However, Geo’s step is the first dangerous step directed towards the consumer.