Infokairali is a pioneer computer magazine published monthly in Malayalam. Based in Kottayam in Kerala the magazine claims to have a wide readership of over 1 lakh.
The magazine carries articles on different aspects of computer technology. Tutorials on different programmed may help regular readers. As I personally don’t believe in serialized tutorials I didn’t find it of much use. But the technology news , computer tips, website reviews, question & answer session etc are useful even to laymen readers.
The magazine has set apart a few pages for mobile phones and allied technologies. This section introduces new models of phones and latest technology employed.The publishers have introduced a monthly CD and is distributed along with the magazine. The content of the CD includes different utility programmed, software updates, educational tools, games etc.
The layout, paper and printing of the magazine are just ok. The magazine alone is priced at Rs 15/- and with CD it is Rs 50/- Inforkairali has also brought out a series of books teaching different computer applications and programmes in Malayalam. The books are too basic and hence it may not help one much in acquiring the skill. And the price is a bit too high considering its content and quality of the paper.
The magazine has eminent personalities from IT sector like Dr. Achuth Sankar S. Nair, Prof. Jyothy John, Dr. Babusunder etc on its advisory board.
I wonder why the publishing majors like Manorama and Mathrubhumi don’t want to step into the segment of computer/electronics magazines despite huge potential. Though Infokairali is the best among magazines available at present in Malayalam, a much improved version is still expected to cater to the needs of a wide spectrum of readers..