Get Ready For The Simputer

EccentricAnomaly writes: "CNN is reporting that the Simputer will roll out next month. The Simputer is a handheld computer running GNU/Linux starting at around $214 and is aiming to be an affordable computer for the third world that can be used even by the illiterate with its text-to-speech features. From the Simputer website: "The Simputer is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the benefits of IT can reach the common man." Slashdot ran a story in May 2001 reporting the launch of the Simputer project." The same Reuters story is also found at the Hindustan Times.

Comments

It's a thin client, and an overpriced one

[Animats]

"The Simputer is more likely to be used in a client/server environment where it is primarily an access device and the Storage requirements will be met by storage at the Server. Internal storage would have consumed substantially more power and real-estate."

So it's a thin client in the form factor of a palmtop, that can only access content specialized for it. It's not even the cheapest thin client. Why?