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Low-Cost Simputer Fails to Win Indians' Interest
prostoalex writes "The Associated Press looks at the Indian low-cost Simputer project and registers it as a failure. Picopeta sold 2,000 units over the past year, while Encore Software sold 2,000 Simputers. Only 10% of the devices were bought for rural areas, which the device was originally designed for. The reason? The companies need to sell quite a few simplistic monochrome devices to allow for the low price tag of $200. Meanwhile, anyone can buy a powerful device with a color screen for $199 from a major vendor."
But if it is for rural villages how do they expect to power these units. And what about dust and computer illiteracy, those things would be bigger obstacle than cost in general.
Move on people nothing funny here.
You mean a project to create a low-priced commodity failed to compete successfully against something that is already entrenched as a low-priced commodity? That's unpossible!
I wonder what this means for my own startup company. We're going to make a lot of money selling inexpensive versions of pencils. Since people all over the world spend almost nothing at all for pencils, and there's really not much opportunity to improve a pencil, I'm sure my company will be a great success.
Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
So you can't get support if you import one. Plus I doubt they'll be localised appropriately.
Also, prices vary region to region - the same PDA costs 1/3 more in the UK for instance.
Not every effort to do a Good Thing is going to work out as one might hope. My hat's off to the people who did this project.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Is anyone actually surprised? Look how Windows XP Starter kit has been doing!
Having never been in India, but I did spend a lot of time in third-world Africa, I think the biggest issue is that the third world does not really get a huge gain from computers. The typical third-worlder does not need to write spreadsheets or take digital pics and does not have an urge to contact his buddies over IM. The typical third-worlder does not have a phone (heck hasn't even used one) has no running water or electricity. $200 is a lot of money - might be a whole familie's yearly income. Would you buy a PDA for $50K? Rather spend it on some food/medicine or a new sheet of plastic to put on the roof.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
It's kind of like all of those Internet Appliance things that didn't sell back during the boom, but were fun for hackers to pick up cheap and modify.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
So what features were removed -- colour screen? -- it never had one. In any case, the idea was never about eye-candy but simple practical business and educational use, and low power consumption. You, and "prostoalex" are comparing two quite different devices. The article cited does not mention the cheap Dell handhelds he linked to, apparently Prostalex imagines Indians can buy from Dell online and get them delivered by FedEx for the same price he can. Dell India doesn't even sell handhelds.
Linux-based systems like the Simputer have a problem competing against Windows/x86 machines in third world markets.
The problem is that Windows-compatible software is effectively free, due to piracy. And, even if it isn't strongly marketed locally, that software is made more attractive by all the money spent promoting it elsewhere.
You minimize the advantage of using standard batteries as though it doesn't matter. That's a big part of the reason I still use a Palm IIIxe and my Tandy Model 102.
Do companies get it yet? Rural or less economically powerful countries don't want watered down computers. They don't want to be treated like second class computer users. They don't want a gimped version of windows when they can pirate a fully functional one. They don't want cute small, yet utterly useless computers. Those who don't have computers now, either cannot afford a several hundred dollar computer, or cannot afford even $200. And those without electicity don't have a need for one.
and some 70% of the country doesn't know what a computer is either or what it is used for
Why is there so much of this drivel posted about this topic?
People in India aren't retarded monkeys, you know. Seriously. They have things called 'cities', and 'automobiles', and even poor rural folks go into the city to sell their shit and see rich urban Indians using their cell phones and laptops.
India is not some sort of medieval wasteland of mindless serfs who run away because they've never seen electricity before - it's just a country with a lot of people who can't afford most luxuries that we take for granted, and quite a few people who can't even afford necessities. They still *see* the technology, and they know it exists.
I think it's similar to the famous Yugo failure. The flawed premise in "cheap computer" or "cheap car" strategy is that people in the market for sub-$5000 car or sub-$200 computer are actually willing to buy them brand new. No, they are not. People in the market for a cheap car will rather go for a 5-year old Ford. People in the market for a cheap computer will either buy something second hand or try to build their own system. Especially that you still have better service options with a 5-year Ford than a brand new Yugo - or a second hand Dell or Compaq than a brand new Simputer.
Up to the mid-1990s telecommunications were a state monopoly in Brazil, and a fixed phone cost the equivalent of $7000 in some areas, a cell phone went for about $4000. Today you can get a fixed phone installed for about $15 and a cell phone for $70 in ten installments.
So what, will you ask? How does this help someone who has no running water? Take a typical illiterate single mother living in a slum? It means she can advertise and sell whatever skill she has. It will still be very low-paying jobs, because she has no sophisticated job training, but she can get more for it. Instead of working for one employer at $100/month she can do jobs for different people at $15/day.
Technology is always useful. And technology that enables one to be more productive is always better than handouts. There are many well-meaning people in the rich countries who would better learn this very simple lesson. Give poor people a technology to become more productive workers and they will get their own running water.