INDIA IS planning to produce a laptop computer for the knockdown price of about €16, having pioneered last year the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, for Rs100,000 (€1,600) a vehicle.
The project, backed by New Delhi, would considerably undercut the so-called “$100 laptop” designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of the US. The Children’s Machine was the centrepiece of a One Laptop Per Child campaign.
Intel launched a similar product, called Classmate, in response. But the Children’s Machine received a cool reception in India.
India’s €16 laptop would also undercut the EeePC, made by Taiwan’s Asustek. The EeePC was the first ultra-cheap, scaled-down laptop (a new category known as a netbook) launched worldwide through commercial channels. It has no hard drive and sells for $200-$400.
India’s “Sakshat” laptop is intended to boost distance learning to help India fulfil its overwhelming educational needs. It forms part of a broader plan to improve e-learning at more than 18,000 colleges and 400 universities. However, some analysts are sceptical that the laptop would be commercially sustainable.
– ( Financial Timesservice)
