India set to follow cheap car with £7 ($10) laptop

[brooklynite]

Source: Times of London

India is poised to unveil the ultimate in credit-crunch computing: a 500 rupee (£7) laptop.

A government-developed prototype, due to be shown for the first time tomorrow, will mark the most ambitious attempt yet to bring computers to the developing world and to bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor.

It is also the latest example of ultra-cheap engineering to emerge from the sub-continent. India has already given the world a 100,000 rupee (£1,420) car, the Tata Nano, and a super-basic £10 phone — goods that are now expected to find favour among relatively affluent Westerners as the global economic downturn bites.

However, the launch of a viable computer that costs less than most paperback books would herald a startling new era in thrifty manufacturing. The Indian laptop, which has been on the drawing board for at least three years, will be the centre of attention at the launch of India's new National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology, a scheme to boost learning in rural areas through the internet.

Read more: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article5639463.ece

[brooklynite]

1. Additional details...

Not much of the specifications of the Nano Computer are known at the moment, except that it would contain Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet connections, expandable memory, power consumption of just 2W,and a DVD drive.The Nano Computer will use the Opensource softwares along with the Linux based operating system.

http://forums.techarena.in/web-news-trends/1113571.htm

[kentauros]

7. Only 2W?

Wow! I wonder if they're using E-Ink for the screen...

[NickB79]

12. It sounds a lot like my Asus EEE netbook

Except my EEE doesn't have a CD/DVD drive :-( Currently it costs $200 at Best Buy. Great little computer for surfing the web so long as you don't have huge hands.

Best of luck to them. I wonder if it will be imported here to the US?

[pnorman]

23. Which model EEE do you have?

Mine is the 904/HA (Win XP) and I really like it! But I know of any models that are that low in price.

pnorman

[Posteritatis]

17. Any corroboration on that beyond a random forum post? I'm genuinely curious about this thing (nt)

[pattmarty]

2. This is the kind of thing America used to be known and respected................

.........for. Now look at us, in another couple of years we'll be just like the Brits, except without the good things like national healthcare and some other "good" things England has.

[KittyWampus]

6. Well, after perfecting the cup-holder in the automobile America deserves to rest on its laurels

[treestar]

3. Interesting, what if we started buying their products

Would it result in jobs over here?

[OhioChick]

5. India firing foreign workers to give jobs to locals

India firing foreign workers to give jobs to locals

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Jobs/Expatriate_executives_making_way_for_local_hires/articleshow/4039529.cms

[superconnected]

15. Thanks for providing that article!

[Hannah Bell]

20. but wait, ibm's sending 4000 us layoffs over there!

[closeupready]

4. I'd buy one, for $10. Lots of people would.

That's how companies gain ground and market share.

[RebelOne]

9. I'd buy a lot of them for $10 each.

That way, when it stops working, just throw it away and use another one.

[Romulox]

10. Err...there are LOTS of "computing devices" currently on the market for $10.

Just because it's $10 doesn't mean it meets your needs. :shrug:

[closeupready]

11. would you really? Can't blame you, but doesn't it seem wasteful?

I guess as long as they are non-toxic and biodegradable, that's about the most you can ask for.

[Winterblues]

16. I think the freight in getting one here would be way more than ten bucks.

But still a bargain if it works at all.

[Thor_MN]

22. The $10 price is the price in India.

It would of course be more expensive here, but freight to get it here would be no where near $10 a laptop, unless you chose to fly it here. If you are willing to wait for a shipping container to make it by ship and rail, the per laptop cost wouldn't be that bad.

[dipsydoodle]

8. I wouldn't really mind

an Indian lady sitting on my lap if she wanted to give me $10.:evilgrin:

[Ian David]

13. You could use this for business trips without worrying about Customs searching your laptop.

You could just leave all your porn at home.

[samsingh]

14. i like to keep my porn close

[JI7]

18. is it really 10 dollars or is that just the cost to people who want to buy it

while the rest of the cost is paid through charity or even govt ?

[Rage for Order]

19. And how much will they pay the people to make $10 laptops?

Talk about your race to the bottom.

[JCMach1]

21. what amounts to a decent wage in India... i.e. NOT MUCH

But, it's all relative... everything is cheaper there...

[struggle4progress]

24. $10 Notebook, or flashdrive?

BANGALORE, INDIA: The hype on the so-called $10 laptop is slowly giving way to reality. The equipment, which was released on Tuesday in Tirupati looks more like a flashdrive that a laptop, though the launch news has created a buzz across the world, mainly because of the curiosity element.

It was this curiosity to know exactly what the so-called laptop actually is, CyberMedia News tried to contact the brains behind this creation but they preferred to keep a meaningful silence.

When we talked to people at IIT – Madras, they evaded making any comment saying that only the HRD Ministry can say anything about it. Same was the response of those at IISc also.

However, S K Sinha, Joint Secretary in the Ministry for Education, Govt of India, was also not available to comment. The silence on the part of the authorities has given rise to general apprehension about the actual state of affairs ...

http://www.ciol.com/News/News-Reports/$10-Notebook,-or-flashdrive/5209115606/0/



10$ laptop is not a laptop
anuj kr. -2/4/2009

According to the press release from the Indian Government, the 10$ laptop will be not a laptop but just a storage device ... http://www.itvoir.com/portal/boxx/modules/blogs/Blog-Detail.asp?BlogID=7054

[BelgianMadCow]

25. even if the laptop is a bit hyped, I wants me a Tata like, NOW nt