Slashdot Mirror
Simputer Available?
Anonymous Coward writes "The Simputer (marketed by PicoPeta, the inventors and manufactured by the Defence Electronics PSU - BEL) has a website now and is available for sale (including outside India). Some pics can be found at the picture gallery. This story has been discussed a few times before here at /. here, here and here. Of particular note are some of the features, notably the device goes beyond the typical handheld/PDA and has some brand new innovations. For instance, it uses accelerometers to sense motion and this is used to give commands to the computer (for instance, to zoom a picture, you just have to move the Simputer towards you and to turn a page, you flick it like you would turn a page for a book. Also has an integrated smart card reader plus writer, very useful for several business applications."
Moderate this comment
Negative: Offtopic Flamebait Troll Redundant
Positive: Insightful Interesting Informative Funny
Nothing to see here
From the Google cache:
What is a Simputer?
Bridging the Great Digital Divide
The Simputer is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the benefits of IT can reach the common man.
It has a special role in the third world because it ensures that illiteracy is no longer a barrier to handling a computer.
The key to bridging the digital divide is to have shared devices that permit truly simple and natural user interfaces based on sight, touch and audio.
The Simputer meets these demands through a browser for the Information Markup Language (IML). IML has been created to provide a uniform experience to users and to allow rapid development of solutions on any platform.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Whether you think this should be a patentable idea or not, using accelerometers to scroll a PDA display has been patented. I wonder if Simputer will be getting a "cease and desist" letter in the mail. Of course it's possible that they have already licensed it from the patent holder.
Patent number 6,466,198:
"View navigation and magnification of a hand-held device with a display"
The patent holder is called Innoventions
Congratulations to Amida, you made it. There are some Linux PDAs, which where announced, but never became available for sale. See this survey about Linux on PDAs.
I know few people read the articles, but why don't people read the articles before they complain about the article's percieved lack of information?
Try the buy link. Or just compare models.
And next time, make sure you read the article and not just the Google Cache when somebody says a website was updated.
The ______ Agenda
Perhaps the reason you don't get it is because you're just making wild guesses without bothering to try find out any facts? It currently costs Rs.17000 (~$377) and is expected to cost about Rs.9000 ($200) when mass-produced. Even at $377 it costs way less than high-end PDAs
Try guessing a little less, and obtaining a little more information next time.
pretty crappy accelerometer costs 25 - 40$
You can get a 2-axis Analog Devices accelerometer kit for $19.50 for the Mark III mini-sumo robot at The Mark III Store (scroll down a page to the "Accelerometer Kit"). There's a handful of discrete components, and this is essentially a retail price, so figure $15.
The part is actually a MEMS device, so figure 1) a manufacturer can probably buy it at half that price in volume, and 2) there are cheaper non-MEMS devices available on the market.
to the Engineer, the glass is neither half full nor half empty. Its just two times too big.
It would seem from the FAQ that it doesn't run anything else!
/.er, you already know whether or not it can be used to create a Beowulf cluster!
Actually, they want to release the hardware specs under a GLP type license.
And apparently, as you are a
You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough. - Blake
Yes
Since their site is overwhelmed with hits, thought I should start this thread. This is good for research in India. We have all known that India is now a major player in the outsourcing market. With many other institutes also setting up R&D units in India, India's contribution to the world of research and technology will increase. This project came out of IISc - Indian Institute of Science , Bangalore and is a major step forward in the research to commercial movement in India, an area which the USA has mastered and is really good at.
For those who can't access the site because it is /.ed or do not want to read the site in the ususal /. tradition, here is a summary of major features ...you get the idea)
1. Runs Linux
2. Can connect to Internet though a regular phone line or CDMA cellphone
3. Has 2 USB ports built in
4. Has a inbuilt voice recorder
5. Aslo works as a MP3 and movie player(combine with the USB storage and
6. Has lots of inbuilt apps including internet browser, email, accounting and a panchanga ( Indian calender system used to figure out auspicious inauspicious days) etc.
7. Can wrie in multiple languages using a "bhasha" notebook software inbuilt and a special keyboard.
8. Gesture input using a inbuilt accelerometer
Other benefits
http://amidasimputer.com/benefits/
And you can buy it from here:
http://www.amidasimputer.com/buy
Ya know I saw a Leapster at a local big box store. It can do color and decent sound via Flash 5 and uses normal batteries. Plus the Leapster costs less then half of the price of the Simputer.
When the Simputer was first announced it was a great idea, cheap portable computing. Now I can get alomst the same thing as a toy.
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
Since the site is getting /.ed (just got this error- Warning: Too many connections in /var/amidasimp/includes/connectdb.php on line 4 Cannot Connect to MySQL), I decided to copy and paste from my browser cache:
Why Amida? - Innovations
Power and Simplicity Built-in
The Amida Simputer was built on the premise that a computer is more useful when if it is easy-to-use. To achieve that simplicity however, our engineers have toiled hard. And, introduced a number of innovations, so that you (the user) can have the most versatile, most mobile personal computer in the world. Here are the top ten innovations:
Doodle n' Mail: Amida allows you to scribble on any screen using a stylus, and email it. is the world's first instance of any computer (handheld or otherwise) permitting annotation on every screen
Flip Flip Motion Sensor: Amida is the world's first and only computer that responds to your gestures - eg. you can turn the pages of an e-book with a flick of your wrist
Indian Languages: The Amida Simputer allows you to work and play in the language of your choice
Amida Chikki: Easy way to carry programs, music, movies, pictures...
Connectivity: Amida is the world's first handheld computer to have two USB slots (master and slave. Helps it work well with a range of other devices - Reliance CDMA phones (for Internet connectivity), PCs, digital cameras etc.
Pocket Hercules: The Amida Simputer combines portability and power in a manner that no other handheld in the world does. Check out the specs
Simplicity: The Amida Simputer includes a number of innovations that makes computing simple and enjoyable. If you want to work (and play) with consummate ease, then the world's easiest-to-use computer is for you!
Auto Updates: If you need to update your Amida Software, all you have to do is, open an application called Package Manager, connect to the Internet and tap "Update" - no "Install Managers", no visits to showrooms!
SmartCard Reader / Writer: The Simputer is the world's first computer to have an integrated SmartCard readr / writer. Use it for identification, sharing and security
Personalize: Amida lets you transform its appearance to suit your unique tastes and needs
Amida as coffee-maker: No, Amida does not do this. Not yet, anyway!