23. 5. 2011
This information was disclosed in ComNews by the Central Telegraph CEO,
Igor Zabolotni. According to Mr. Zabolotni, the equipment will be tested in the summer, when the traffic ebbs and there is enough time for experiments.
"Already in September, we will appear with this hardware on the market", he added.
According to the PR department of Central Telegraph, the media center will enable subscribers to watch movies, listen to the music, check their e-mail, make telephone calls, use internet services, as well as buy and pay their bills. The media center will be managed via a keypad as well as via other modern means, like cell phones. At the start, the user will be able to select the desired profile: "mother", "father" or "child".
According to Igor Zabolotni, the current price range is between 7,000 and 8,000 rubles. "Thanks to its modular design, it will be possible to have a wider price range – lower-priced and higher-priced versions", he said, and added that the minimum value of equipment is between 100 to 110 US$ or 3,000 rubles, with the price ceiling unlimited due to the unlimited number of external data-storing devices.
According to Igor Zabolotni, the buyer will have to decide which basic set he needs. Later the hardware can be added, as necessary: repositors, internal and external Blue-ray drives or card readers. The basic version will look like a set-top-box. The Qwerty director said that different media center sales modules will be available in the fall. "At the beginning, we will offer the device for lease, as is currently the case with cable TV", he said. "Very probably, we will also try to implement the free-internet provider concept, i.e., in the case of the purchase of hardware – even the basic set at 3,000 rubles – the user will get a one year free internet access."
According to the Central Telegraph CEO, the same principle will go for applications. Since the equipment is based on the open Linux platform, the subscribers will be able to create their own applications. "If a subscriber wants to have an application for commercial use, the application will have to be sent for testing, and after the field trial it will be offered to other network subscribers, like with the Apple Store", said Zabolotni.