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Indian Company Shows Off Sub-$200 Laptop
geo_2677 writes "The Indian company which came out with the Simputer has now come with a
PC which cost roughly INR 10,000; that's just about US $200. The project
was backed by the Indian government R&D department Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)." Geo2677 points out an article on the low-cost computer
at hinduonline.net and another at the Times of India, and writes "The new PC is Linux-based and has office applications, a browser and audio/video capabilities. With a keyboard that can be rolled
up, it looks pretty sleek. A U.S. company is already using it in pilot projects, and many more have shown interest. The Indian government hopes that this will push the PC revolution to the masses. It aimed for home users and small businesses/shops. The PC penetration in India is very low, at a measly 13 million, due to the high costs involved."
I like how they call it "Linux based", yet in the photo its clearly Windows XP running on it... wodner what percentage will remain linux based.
The PC penetration in India is very low
That's because it hurts a lot.
It will have no hard disk but will have built-in memory and facility to plug in memory cards for any storage over and above that provided for in the built-in memory. It will not have games. High-speed computing is ruled out. The reasoning is that "while adding to the cost, these are of no use to many users.''
The one link is slashdotted already and the other doesn't say how much memory it has built-in. Yeah, it's sub-$200 until you realize that you have to pay another $150+ for a decent sized memory "stick" (or two or three).
after watching a few "internet PC's" drop off the face of the earth due to the fact that it was $300 and all it did was internet, it would be interesting to see how well this actual PC would end up doing. $200 for basically something that can do work processing, internet, music?(not sure since they didnt specify what they mean by audio...) but still. thats a hell of a deal. and big surprise.. it came from india :).
The radio show Marketplace has a http://members.aol.com/adnascar/thepark.html> story about the same machine. Not much details in the story. It doesn't mention linux, but says "it doesn't do windows".
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That's certainly interesting, but the screen (with a size of 7,5") really seems a bit small. I understand that you can't attach a huge screen to a laptop and still be able to charge a low price like that, but I'm not sure whether this is big enough to actually use the thing as a real computer instead of as a better PDA or cell phone.
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
But how will they be able to take my job if these computers have no processing power?
Looks a lot like the Tandy 100. I still have one, last time I used was 4 years ago to take some notes abord a ship. Even if have more than 20 years, is still useful. I think this "notebooks" is conceptually based in that machine :)
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The Marketplace has a story online about this pc.
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FTA: It will have no hard disk but will have built-in memory and facility to plug in memory cards for any storage over and above that provided for in the built-in memory. It will not have games. High-speed computing is ruled out. The reasoning is that "while adding to the cost, these are of no use to many users.''
The main aim, Mr. Deshpande said, was to develop a system that was affordable and provided the essential features, "without the unnecessary fluff of the conventional systems.'' The target audience is households, small shops, professionals such as lawyers and chartered accountants, and field staff of pharmaceutical, insurance and other industries. It could be used as e-book readers by educational institutions, for telemedicine and as a nurse's aide.
Well, this doesn't look much like a market for Microsoft to play in. I wonder how long it will be before the intended users want to play games, or run Excel? Something tells me that it will be day zero.
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http://www.ncoretech.com/mobilis/index.html with pics and info
Can you imagine the American version of this? There would be two versions; free + 24.95/month for internet service or the Premium version $400 + 99.95 month including phone, iTunes and a hundred other things you don't need.
India will eat our lunch because they stay focused on the goal instead of stupid glittery Paris Hilton tech like we do.
A very basic computer needs very little memory. I've got some older machines that are more than functional (for basic office work) that have only 16 MB of RAM and 200 MB of disk space. They're fine for word processing, spreadsheets, small databases, and email. I can even use the web, although the high level of graphics and gratuitous formatting on many websites makes it a slow experience.
Just because new machines need 1 GB RAM and 60 GB HDs, doesn't mean you can do anything with 1/10 or even 1/100 of the memory of a modern PC.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
One article says it has "built-in memory".
Now that's something! What's next? Computer
with CPUs and keyboards!
First off, not to nitpick but the title of the article is misleading. The laptop is not sub-$200, 10,000INR is $230 http://www.xe.com/ucc/
/ us.html
/ in.html
The PC penetration in India is very low, at a measly 13 million, due to the high costs involved
Although a $230 laptop is great for people in developed nations unfortunately it is still in the realm of high cost for someone in India.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos
The GDP per capita in America - $40,000
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos
GDP per capita in India - $3,100
For someone in America, hell a $2,000 computer would be 1/20th of income, while a $230 computer in India is 1/13th.
The cheapest "Alternative OS" desktop from Dell is $319 and that includes no monitor. Would you like to prove your claim?
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Here are some good looking pics of the laptop. Im not sure you can call it a laptop though, it looks more like a hybrid version of a pda and laptop. New segment?
h +style/2009-1005_3-5701496.html
Check out http://news.com.com/Photos+Low-cost+computing+wit
Why should they want to? You assume that they need Excel because it's your point of reference and de-facto standard in the US. But this cheap device is aimed at people who don't have a computer now, clearly even a slow comp is way better than none. Consequently, any spreadsheet is better than counting on a sheet of paper and that's the alternative for the target users of these devices.
This unit was also featured on NPR's Marketplace last night. One of the features that they touted in the interview was the units very low power consumption. It's designed to be run off batteries or unreliable (which I assume means varying voltage) power sources. As they mentioned, this will help many more third-world villages have computer access. Remember even at $200 it's still a substantial amount of a year's salary.
1 0/PM200505102.html for more details
See http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2005/05/
You know there's something wrong when you see a homeless guy in India pull out a mobile better than yours and say in a perfect british accent "Hello, BT help desk"!
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I've tried to buy Encore's Simputer. They're not really into retail or for that matter anything close to "consumer electronics" as we understand the term. They like to sell stuff "vertically" - i.e. they use their Simputer as a platform for specific applications. Look for a link to their handheld military version with GPS etc. Very cool.
I would expect them to do something similar with this device.
You can see a bit of that happening already with the reference to the US company which is planning on using this for some kind of security application.
Also, they are a very Linux centric shop.
Most people can't do this, usually out of ignorance.
Ignorance? So, can you do brain surgery? If you say no, do I get to call you ignorant, as well?
I'll admit that assembling a basic computer isn't really a brain straining activity. However, you can't just go out and buy whatever parts cost the cheapest. What type of RAM do you need? Is the price difference between a 2.3 and a 2.5 GHz processor worth the higher one?
Even with the mouse, you have so many options. Wireless? Optical? Two button? Four? Eight? For the plebians, it's easy to get get confused. If someone buys the parts for them and gives them a small picture book detailing installation, then, yeah, most anyone could probably do it. Would they be able to run Linux on it? Doubtfully.
And I'm saying this considering the American population, where most people, even if they don't own their own computer, have used one to some degree at some point in their life. In India, you have a much larger group of people who may have seen a computer from afar once in their life. I bet most of those 13 million computers come from outsourced helpdesk setups, basic "You get this question, you give this answer" computers (like what's used in telemarketing places) by Microsoft and what have you.
Yammering that these people should be able to set up a computer like you or I can makes you ignorant, not them.
Where the hell is my coffee.
Car GPS systems with smaller displays cost $600 and up. A $400 system that includes a GPS and can also be used for other things would sell like hotcakes!
If the IR module is powerful enough, you could also use it for home automation and as a remote for your entertainment system.. or just use the wireless to connect to your network and control everything that way.
Touch screen would be ideal. If I could get one of these, it would be my car GPS and home automation pal.
if everyone in india got one. This company would make $200 billion dollars...
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why PC "penetration" is really low in India is because a majority of the population has to fight hard every day to *eat*.
The reality is quite different from that created due to the "outsourcing mecca" image. IT and related services employ only about 6 million Indians (out of a 1.1 billion total). IT related products/services are only about 1.5% of the Indian GDP.
It is going to be a long time for the PC to become a part of the average Indian's life.
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India's focus on IT is really starting to pay back the dividends... The problem now is that their focus has to start to shift to quality.
Although they are becoming a threat for people in NA (in terms of job competition) I wonder how long NA customers can go with the quality issues in the Indian IT market and work force. Anyone who's dealt with an outsourced call center in India will certainly relate to that
I'm by no means flaming India, in fact, I'm pretty amazed at how far they went and wish them all the best; but I believe unless they shift to the next gear (Quality) they will fall as fast as they climbed up..
My 0.2c..but does it run Windows?
You're missing a case and power supply. Also in India the power is not as clean and stable as it is in some other countries, so you'd want a UPS too. Laptops basically have a built-in UPS.
This adds at least 3,000 INR, which puts you at around $400. As another poster stated, you can buy a Dell for less than that.
Because a laptop with a reasonable battery and a good powersupply will let you work on sub standard power grid....
Your desktop pc is going crazy as soon as the ac outlet produces something funny.
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1)"3rd world" is a term that the 3rd world member countries decided to call themselves as an organization of states who needed to have a strong voice on the world stage.
2)India is not part of the 3rd world any longer. they are part of the developing world. that means that they have a stable government and a growing economy.
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Well, look at it this way: stuff like this happened from day zero. Computing power keeps increasing up to a point where there is a viable market for something less powerful but cheaper or smaller.
That's how we got, for example, mini-computers and then micro-computers.
Each of those was awfully under-powered when they appeared. E.g., early minis were _very_ under-powered. Don't think "DEC Vax", think 8 or 12 bit machines that had all the computing power of a C64 or less. E.g., the original IBM PC was a pretty shitty machine, compared to a Vax, and the 8 bit CP/M machines were doubly so. Yet they were a very valid market.
Sure, a lot of companies would have preferred a big mainframe instead of a mini, and they sure could think of applications that would have run better on a big mainframe, but then again a mini was cheaper and enough.
Sometime later, sure, most of us would have preferred a personal mini near the desk instead of a micro-computer on the desk. I mean, again, have you used an 8080 CP/M machine with a 8" floppy back then? Ooer, those were slow. Running some database program off a floppy would give any programmer nowadays permanent trauma. But then again, noone could afford to give everyone a mini. So the micro-computer had to do.
My gut feeling is that the same _could_ work for this kind of machines. If they're not crippled to the point of being useless, which was the mistake of other cheap PC attempts, it could find a niche.
Sure, the users _will_ very much prefer a PC that can play games and run Excel instead, but given enough economic incentive some will settle for these instead.
There are countries for which $200 is a month's pay (or in some cases a _year's_ pay), and you have about a 1/10 of that left after rent and food. So buying a high end gaming PC for $1000 would pretty much mean someone's lifetime savings. I'm guessing they'll settle for the $200 PC instead.
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This is a system for people who need email, productivity, etc; "meat and potatoes" stuff. I would have thought it pretty obvious that with the lack of hard drive and limited memory, we wouldn't be having this discussion. But, apparently not. This isn't a device you're going to see some technophile in the subway attaching his little white iPod earbuds to, so he can jam his iTunes on the way to work-- it's just a productivity machine, designed so low-income families/individuals can have *something* to stay connected and productive with.
I don't moderate anymore. Karma penalty for 90% fair mods? Can I mod that unfair?
Built-in: Ethernet, Analog modem, 2x USB2.0 ports, CF-II, SD/MMC, VGA out.
With 2 USB ports, you can add on a lot of other crap.
Even if this doesn't succeed: it is good to see them experimenting.
My prediction is that all attempts at selling what most people would consider inferior computers will not work. Not in India nor in any other developing country.
What many people from rich countries do not realize, is that people in countries like India have a different set of priorities. If you go to any slum you will notice that even though housing is terrible, plumbing is non-existent, and garbage is strewn everywhere, many people own televisions, refrigerators, radios, cell phones, etc.
I don't see any reason why computer ownership will be an exception to the rule. Poor people will want their kids to have the same computers as rich people do (perhaps with less RAM, smaller monitor, etc), and will not be interested in buying a computer designed for the poor.
One more note... a lot of statistics about computer users in developing countries are very misleading. For example, the CIA claims that there are about 18.4 million Internet users in India, but if you travel to any Indian city you will see Internet cafes everywhere, all crowded with people. There may be 18.4 million subscribers to Internet services, but the actual number of individuals with Hotmail/Yahoo/Rediff accounts is probably a lot higher, perhaps even 10 times higher.
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