Jeotex

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Jeotex Inc., formerly DataWind Inc., was a Canadian electronics company known for making very affordable mobile internet devices, including tablets and smartphones. It was founded in 2001 in Montreal by brothers Suneet and Raja Tuli and gained international attention for the Aakash tablet, a low-cost educational device developed for India’s government and sold commercially as the UbiSlate. At launch, the BBC called it the world’s cheapest tablet.

DataWind listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2014 and moved to the TSX Venture Exchange in 2018. In 2019 shareholders approved changing the company’s name to Jeotex Inc. The company was delisted and declared bankrupt on June 10, 2021. Jeotex was headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario.

Jeotex produced devices such as PocketSurfer handhelds, UbiSurfer netbooks, and UbiSlate tablets. These devices used server-side compression to reduce data use and help pages load on slow networks.

The business model focused on offering low-cost hardware with slim margins, while earning revenue from services like bundled data, content, warranties, and advertising. In some markets the company operated with mobile network partners to bundle data with devices, and some models offered free or bundled internet browsing through partnerships with local operators.

Jeotex announced partnerships to preload educational content and apps, including CK-12 Foundation materials, The Indian Express and Yahoo services, and worked with Happiest Minds to develop an app store for first-time Android users. It pursued network operator partnerships in places like the UK (Vodafone) and India (BSNL and Reliance Communications) for bundled data.

The company also engaged in social initiatives, including tablet donations, education-focused programs, and app-development contests and hackathons with nonprofits and other programs. Despite these efforts, the company faced ongoing challenges and ultimately went bankrupt in 2021.