BANGALORE: Bangalore-based startup Tvara Tech solutions announced the launch of an interactive mobile solution that is a combination of a convergence device with streaming ads. The device can handle voice, data and video.

At present, the device has a high degree of customization for the hospitality and the automotive travel industry.

Consisting of a 8.9 inch proprietary touch screen, the device has a built-in payment gateway to enable swiping of credit and debit cards; GPS-based location aware applications which can be customized to beam ad content depending upon the location or interaction - the company has the framework in place for content deployment; mobile communication and data access, which at present is limited to GSM and GPRS.
 
The device has the capability of channeling third party services – this could be travel, shopping and entertainment; industry specific software applications for the hospitality and automotive industries, hosted, multi-tenant web based applications.

For the hospitality segment, there is menu automation software designed to upsell, and hence enhance billing, while in the case of the automotive sector, the device enables access to infotainment and card swiping for payment. A fare in a taxi could use the device to book tickets, if they are available online, or watch a movie, during a cab ride.

There is a clutter of devices in the automotive industry which have a number of convergence capabilities. The differentiator that Tvara offers at present is that it is focusing the product as a B2B solution rather than the direct consumer who uses such devices as a car computer. 
 
Tvara also wants to have alliances with media buying companies for using a part of the screen as a sort of a ‘live’ digital signage that could have some degree of intelligence to determine the type of ads that can be beamed based on the browsing patterns or the inputs of a person.

Another differentiator is the price – Tvara is looking at a price point of Rs 35,000 to Rs. 40,000 each for the B2B segment; similar devices cost up to $2,000 in the case of a car buyer.

Once 3G services are launched on a much larger scale, a chip for enabling 3G services can be added to the device, say company officials. Modules for other applications can also be built or added, depending upon specific requirements. The company is looking at introducing 10,000 devices during the first year and claims that the market potential for such devices could be as high as $500 million over the next three to five years.