According to Kumar Chopra, the managing director of TCEIL, Mathemagic has something for everyone in the family.

However, as children influence buying decisions in a family to a large extent, the company is concentrating most of its advertising on the TV channels and publications that are popular among the youngsters, like Asia music. It is also coming out with some attractive point-of-sale material.The new TV combines four modules-maths, messages, telephone directory and games. In the maths module, aimed at children, random arithmetic questions are generated in a space of 20 minutes. Every correct answer adds to the score and thus tests the mathematical knowledge and skill of the user.

While the telephone directory module allows storage of 20 numbers, five messages each of 48 characters can be stored in the messages module. The Mathemagic TV also combines two games-Fun drops and Speed. In the two-minute Fun drops game, rain drops falling from the cloud need to be collected, each drop adding to the score. In the Speed game, the time taken for a car that travels a particular stretch of road filled with blocks to reach the destination is the measure.

This value-added television is available in three models 14", 20", 21", priced at Rs 10,990, Rs 14,990 and Rs 15,990, respectively, Rs 1,000 more than its standard models. To start with, the company is producing 3,000 units per month-1,000 in each model-size. However, it is confident that the production figures will go up to 7,000-8,000 units per month by September this year.

Chopra disagrees with the forecast of the Francis Kanoi Marketing Planning Services (P) Ltd that the Colour Television (CTV) volumes will fall drastically this year unless the prices of the baseline TVs (20") drop to Rs 8,000 from the current Rs 10,000 plus. In fact, according to Chopra, the Indian CTV market has grown by 30 per cent in the first three months of this calender year and the trend will continue for another 10 years.

Apart from traditional media, the company also has plans of participating in school and college programmes across the country.

But, before that it is focusing on distribution and placing the product with all its 2,000 dealers across the country. Currently, it is also training its own employees as well as the staff of its dealers to demonstrate the product correctly.

The company has 23 models, of which 20" and 21" CTVs contribute to 80 per cent of its revenue. Its marketshare is estimated at five per cent of the five million CTVs.