Nigeria’s Saheed Adepoju answers to the iPad lunches INYE tablet!..Video

Two African entrepreneurs have released their answer to the iPad

Nigeria’s Saheed Adepoju has unveiled the Inye this week, a tablet computer designed to be Africa’s answer to the iPad.

The 29 year old entrepreneur has designed a cheaper alternative to western tablet computers to appeal to an African audience, which wish to browse the internet on a low-cost device.

The key selling point of the tablet is its low price- only $350, half the price of an iPad, which retails at around $700.

Adepoju also plans to sell his device (which runs on the Android operating system) to the Nigerian Government. At 8 inches, the device is half-way in size between a laptop and a mobile phone.

“The Inye is a mobile internet device. It gives you access to the internet; it allows you to play media files and watch movies”, Adepoju told the BBC. “You have the standard software applications that come pre-installed and then you have the ones that we are working with various local developers to bundle on.”

Adepoju, who is trained in Java programming, also hopes to provide educational apps raising awareness about water, sanitation and HIV.

This new invention joins a similar release from Congo in January this year, from Congolese inventor Verone Mankou.

The tablet, dubbed the ‘Way-C’ (meaning “light of the stars” in Congolese dialect) was invented in Congo by 26 year old Mankou, under his company VMK. Originally planning to create a low-cost computer for Africans, the device is designed to bring the internet to as many people as possible.

On the official device website, Mankou described the tablet as being affordable, without being cheaply made; filling the gap in the market for a tablet specifically designed for Africans, and has marketed his device at $300 per tablet.