World’s Cheapest Computer Revealed.

The Indian Government has unveiled a prototype of what they have branded the cheapest computer ever. The project has been part of a drive towards getting cheap affordable computers to the masses with the ultimate aim of improving India’s literacy rate.Novel ways of reducing the base unit cost include using memory cards rather than having a harddrive along with not including a battery and using solar panels instead. Also running off a version of Linux means there is costs for operating system. Despite these exemptions the device still sports a touchscreen, multimedia capibilties and internet connectivity. The device is clearly modelled after the iPad with a similar design asthetic apparent between the two. Where this machine differs is of course in that elusive pricing with the unit’s expected manufacturing costcoming in at $23 (with promises to drive it even lower and close to the $10 mark) compared to the iPad’s retail price in the range of £500!

This does somewhat make a mockery of Tony Blairs “laptops for all school children” plans all those years back, as this actually has drive behind it striving to make computing more affordable. It helps to demonstrate how forward thinking teams can achieve results when working together. It is an interesting shift of power towards India (and other developing countries) currently having rapid growth in industries not traditionally linked with them. It is worth noting that a previous $10 handheld which showed up as a result of similar research based in India came to nothing, so there is a long way to this product becoming a reality and entering production. There are no manufacturers being linked with producing the computer at the time of writing although with its apparent cheap and affordable costs likely to make it proftiable for whoever took it on. However if this project was to bare fruit the instant beneficiers would be children in schools recieving these devices. Couple this with potential commercial opportunites and products of this nature could find their own niche in the market beside the more expensive iPad and PC tablet devices. Within this niche we can only hope there are some new ways for every one to access computers, programs and games.

For a video of the device’s announcement visit the Guardian newspaper website:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jul/23/india-cheapest-laptop

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