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Low-Cost Simputer Fails to Win Indians' Interest

Posted by timothy on from the when-curves-meet-unexpectedly dept.

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."

10 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. Surprise by bostonsoxfan · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I don't find this as a surprise at all. This was doomed to fail because they didn't really have the full backing of a major company. At least someone is trying to cover the technology gap but it will take more time with lower prices in the semi conductor industry.

    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.

    1. Re:Surprise by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, it failed because people want REAL computers, and REAL computers are CHEAP. Why fool around with a toy?

      --
      "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    2. Re:Surprise by bcrowell · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The thing is, if there are frequent blackouts or brownouts, it doesn't hurt a TV the way it would hurt a computer.

      --
      Find free books.
  2. WTF by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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!
  3. Dell India doesn't sell PDAs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  4. Good try. by jcr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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."
  5. heh.. by Aeron65432 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is anyone actually surprised? Look how Windows XP Starter kit has been doing!

  6. Dell PC completely misses the point by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 4, Insightful
    First off, the Dell outlet isn't in India. Second, a PC uses a lot of power, is big and fragile. A Simputer is, OTOH small and uses only a little power.

    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.
    1. Re:Dell PC completely misses the point by flyingsquid · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I completely agree. What people need is clean fresh water, better agricultural technology, basic education, birth control, health care, access to capital, roads, electricity... sure, computers are on my list, but only if you've already got all of those other things.

      Now, what I'm gonna say here may not go over well with the Slashdot crowd. I think America has done really well with technology- semiconductors, cars, aircraft, the A/C motor, the lightbulb, the phonograph, the telephone, TV, the PC, etc. etc. For each of these, America either did it first or made the first practical version of the technology. And America has prospered in large part because of this Yankee Ingenuity. But I think that Americans have drawn the wrong lesson from this- they automatically assume that any problem is a technological problem first and foremost. Throw enough high technology at it, and it'll all be sorted out. Well, it's just not that simple, and this misconception creates major problems whether we're combating poverty, or Iraqi insurgents, or what have you.

  7. Re:Mass production by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Insightful
    D'oh! If you have the choice between making it cheap by removing features XOR making it cheap from mass production with full features, choose to keep the features.

    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.