India unveils $35 computer... price could drop to $10

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Azure

Again, a library is vital for research and a whole lot of other stuff. But this computer seems like a toy.

You could probably do just as much research on a basic computer than you could going into a library these days. The typical library only has a limited number of resources and limited space.

If the poorest of the indian population can get this thing it could have a massive impact on educating a population who would otherwise have limited access to proper resources in their schooling.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Azure

Again, a library is vital for research and a whole lot of other stuff. But this computer seems like a toy.

There are millions of people in India who don't have access to a library.
They live in impoverished urban or rural areas.
Access to the internet is probably a godsend to them.

Remember what it was like when you first surfed the world wide web and all that information was at your fingertips?

This will be a great boon to the poor and uneducated.
To us this computer seems like a toy... but to those who have never operated a computer, this probably seems like a miracle.

[Phanuthier]

I wonder if we'll see these things over in Canadian universities, with the back of the computer saying "For purchase and distribution in India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, et al only" like all my university textbooks.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Azure

Again, a library is vital for research and a whole lot of other stuff. But this computer seems like a toy.

The largest library in the world is the internet, and it is accessed by... a computer.

Or maybe you would prefer to they roll around India in a Book-Mobile, circa 1989?

[HPLovecraft]

India is not Canada. Far from it. A fully developed, modern nation, next to an underdeveloped, largely impoverished one. Poor analogy.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Rerun

There are millions of people in India who don't have access to a library.
They live in impoverished urban or rural areas.
Access to the internet is probably a godsend to them.

Remember what it was like when you first surfed the world wide web and all that information was at your fingertips?

This will be a great boon to the poor and uneducated.
To us this computer seems like a toy... but to those who have never operated a computer, this probably seems like a miracle.

See, you're proving my point.

This computer is meant for the people who are going to school. People who already have access to the internet.

I would fully support an initiative by the government to provide basic internet to the average person.

This 'computer' doesn't do that.

[Azure]

Interesting enough, the government is claiming that everything costs $50.

[Azure]

And, they claim to be able to make it for that cost, but have nobody to manufacture it, and a lot of people don't believe they can do it.

Probably because they have claimed to be able to make $10 laptops before, and that went absolutely nowhere.

[Azure]

The $10 laptop I was talking about, which went nowhere. If you read the specs, they were claiming the same thing that they're claiming now.

Well, it’s official -- sort of. India’s ultra low-cost laptop was formally announced Tuesday, although product details were sketchy at best. According to an InformationWeek report, the “Sakshat” laptop will have 2GB of memory, Wi-Fi, wired Ethernet, and will use a miserly 2 watts of power. The device will initially cost $20, but is slated to drop to $10 within six months as production ramps up.

The rest of the laptop remains a mystery, however. Key tech specs such screen size, processor, storage, and battery life weren’t released, and we’ve yet to see an official photo of the vaporous hardware. It’s a fair guess to say that the Sakshat, if it’s for real, will use a barebones version of Linux open source software as its operating system.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/15887..._bad_joke.html

If they're going to subsidize this thing to make it available to students and such, fine, but I think its stupid idea given what they've done in the past, or tried in the past, which failed, and instead they should focus on the 'one laptop per child' initiative, which according to the article I mentioned has gotten the cost down to $188/laptop, and from what I've read has done a fairly good job getting laptops into the hands of people who can't afford it, or often times live in poverty, etc, etc.

[ClubFlames]

Originally Posted by Azure

See, you're proving my point.

This computer is meant for the people who are going to school. People who already have access to the internet.

I would fully support an initiative by the government to provide basic internet to the average person.

This 'computer' doesn't do that.

India's population is a billion plus people. Canada's population is roughly at around 33 million. I'm sure there are atleast if not more students enrolled in schools, colleges and universities in India than Canada's population combined. Now if atleast half of those people have internet access it makes the $10/$35/$50 computer beneficial for the students and the country's growth which is already improving.

By the way, WiFi is getting pretty common in India in public places such as malls, hotels, restaurants and libraries.

[OILFAN #81]

It sells for $1,500 rupees (which is their currency). $35 is the exchange rate for us. It might seem really cheap to us but remember they get paid in rupees over there.

I will be in India in December. I should buy one and report back to CP!

[Azure]

Originally Posted by ClubFlames

India's population is a billion plus people. Canada's population is roughly at around 33 million. I'm sure there are atleast if not more students enrolled in schools, colleges and universities in India than Canada's population combined. Now if atleast half of those people have internet access it makes the $10/$35/$50 computer beneficial for the students and the country's growth which is already improving.

By the way, WiFi is getting pretty common in India in public places such as malls, hotels, restaurants and libraries.

From what I've read, India isn't doing this to provide their students with a $35 tablet because the benefits would be amazing. They're doing it because they want to claim to the world they can MAKE a tablet for $50, or roughly that price, which would be HUGE especially if you think about 'one laptop per child.'

If they can, awesome. But I have my doubts because of stuff they have tried in the past.

I also don't think heavily subsidizing the cost to manufacture just so you can claim that its 'cheap' is the right way to go about it. Especially if you want to mass market this thing to the WHOLE world.

They're not being really open about it. Just claiming that they can and giving some of the specs.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

It sells for $1,500 rupees (which is their currency). $35 is the exchange rate for us. It might seem really cheap to us but remember they get paid in rupees over there.

I will be in India in December. I should buy one and report back to CP!

Well, they don't even have someone to manufacture it yet.

I wouldn't get my hopes up that they can actually accomplish a $50 tablet. Things are getting cheaper each month, so its only inevitable, but numerous companies would be all over this because your market is HUGE.

[Rathji]

Why the $35 tablet will never exist

Indian politicians have discovered that announcing technological "breakthroughs" that leverage Indian engineering prowess to deliver computers to everybody helps get press and win votes. It's a cheap gimmick that works because of the gullibility of the media.

While the press pays attention to the Big Announcement, hardly any media outlets notice later when nothing ever comes of it. Why? Because a headline with "$35 tablet" in it brings traffic, eyeballs and readers, whereas a headline with "media duped again" brings only shame. So they go for the glory but omit the shame.

India itself doesn't build touch screens. They would have to be imported from China or Taiwan. The current price for this component alone exceeds $35. Like touch screens, most solar panels are also built in China. But even the cheapest ones powerful enough to charge a tablet battery are more expensive to manufacture than $35.

[tvp2003]

They should mass produce the P-P-P-Powerbook for $35

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Why the $35 tablet will never exist

From your same article.

For example: In February last year, the Indian government announced a $10 to $20 laptop called the Shaksat. Like the $35 tablet, the Shaksat had 2GB of RAM, but details on other components were impossible to come by.

It was to be rolled out in six months and was to be used by millions of students across India, transforming the Indian educational system and economy. So, where is the Shaksat?

In 1999, a group of Indian scientists and engineers developed a low-cost computer for the poor called the Simputer. It was a Linux-based pen-and-touch tablet with text-to-speech capability. The Simputer was announced with great fanfare by the Indian government. The goal was to sell 50,000, but only 4,000 were ever sold.

I like this part.

The $35 tablet announcement was nothing more than shameless political opportunism. The world's media were suckered (again) -- hook, line and sinker.

The whole affair is a shameful, disgusting spectacle that represents everything that's wrong with politics, the media and public gullibility in the new idiocracy.

Cheap computers are nice. But what we really need is a little common sense.

[Azure]

College students eagerly awaiting India's ambitious $35 tablet are going to have to put their dreams on hold -- there's been a delay. Earlier this week, the Times of India reported that the Indian government dropped HCL Technologies, the company responsible for manufacturing the great democratic tablet, for failing to follow through on the 600 million rupee (or $13,198,416) guarantee -- apparently a disagreement over production costs is to blame. Last summer, the country's Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal, made a number of appearances toting a mockup of the Android-based tablet, and promising a launch date of January 15th. Officials say the project is still on track and should be ready this summer. However, while the government seeks a replacement for HCL, skeptics continue to sound warnings that parts alone will cost more than $35. We'd like to chalk this up to haters hating, but we can't seem to forget what became of the $10 laptop.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/21/i...stroys-dreams/

Oops. Guess they can't subsidize it enough.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by Azure

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/3...y-paisa-video/

I kinda doubt that you can produce the thing for $35, much less for $10, which means the government is going to eat up a lot of costs.

Something I don't agree with. I understand that students need access to 'technology', but there are a lot better ways of doing this than subsidizing prices of computers.

Does Canada give away tablet computers for $35? Or are students required to purchase their own? Would it be worth it for Canada to subsidize prices of those tablets, or would the money be spent better in other areas?

I think there are a lot of areas the money could be better spent.

Would you feel differently if you look at this as a piece of educational infrastructure? Like a blackboard?

Personally, only time will tell if the ROI is good for the Government on this...but I can't see how you can object to the principle of the Government subsidizing educational equipment.

If it works they will get their $10 back in increased productivity...many many times over I wager

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Why not just talk surplus corporate laptops (that are to be recycled) from North America and drop Linux on em?

It seems to be that if you pick an 'obsolete' (by our standards) computer, fill it with freeware, you could probably get sub $20 laptops out there.

Wouldn't be a common standard though so that would be a major support problem.

[blankall]

That's one fine looking tip calculator