Pixelkraft Media, a startup developing web-based applications and content delivery solutions on emerging media platform, is looking at raising initial funding of $5 million (Rs 23 crore) by way of either angel investments or Series A funding to start commercial production of Vubox, its mobile Internet device.
Pixelkraft director Siddharth S Kumar said Pixelkraft was talking to vendors in China to set up a manufacturing facility for VuBox and roll out the device in the first half of 2010. “We will select a manufacturer very soon. We own the IP for the device and have been talking to applications as well as hardware vendors, telecom service and content providers. The device will also have a GPS (Global Positioning System) map-based application, which we are working on currently,” Kumar said.
The Chennai-based company has designed and developed Vubox to bridge the functional gaps between a smartphone and a netbook. The handheld 3G (third generation) mobile device features a 7-inch touch-screen and will come with a 3G SIM card, GPS, live news feeds, video viewing applications and document reader.
Kumar said Vubox, which will not have a web browser, would be an always-on, portable mobile Internet device offering services on a subscription-based model. Under its cloud-based content delivery model, services can be accessed from the Internet and shared with other users.
“We believe that Vubox can help aggregate paid content from news portals more efficiently than Google does without the need to download proprietary applications. We are looking at giving users instant access to maps, news headlines, books, comics and video clips through the day via Vubox’s high-end processing power,” Kumar said.
He said the company would port its own version of the Linux operating system on Vubox. “We are now choosing between processor manufacturers like Intel and Freescale. As the device is completely cloud-based, the speed of the processor will be paramount. Once we decide upon the processor, we will tweak our operating system to its requirements,” Kumar said.
The manufacturing process will be outsourced to third parties, but will be overseen by a subsidiary to be set up for the purpose, according to market sources. “PixelKraft will own the IP and licence for usage of the software shipping with the device,” sources added. The device is likely to be priced at Rs 10,000-15,000 — in the same range as a middle level smartphone.
