RSSIndia wants to develop a $10 laptop for students
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published July 29, 2008, 5:30 PM
Even the $100 laptop long envisioned by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) seems pricey in contrast to a $10 laptop announced this week in India.
Also aimed at school children, India's low-cost laptop is now being researched by two Indian think tanks, according to D. Purandeswai, India's Minister of State for Higher Education.
The Indian government is taking on the initiative to help students make the most out of information technology (IT), the minister said, speaking at a conference called e-India 2008.
Purandeswai noted that IT is emerging as a catalyst for India's socioeconomic development.
"The government aims to provide 10-dollar laptops, and the research is on," she told the conference attendees," according to an account in the New Delhi-based Press Trust of India.
"In the coming years, [the] thrust will be on using [IT] to strengthen various modes of learning both in [the early grades of] school and at higher education levels." A new government program supporting the initiative in India will be aimed at "providing connectivity [among] the learners to the 'Knowledge' World' in cyberspace," she said.
The organizations researching the $10 laptop include the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras.
As previously reported in BetaNews, other Indian officials, appearing in other venues, have also been emphasizing the critical role played by IT in boosting India's economy. In 2008, the IT industry contributed $50 billion to India's economy, and this amount is expected to double to more than $100 billion by 2110, said Lalit Dhingra, president of India's National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), speaking at the United Nations in New York City back in March of this year.
It was a misprint!
The mistake was made by the Indian government.
They missed off a zero.
The correct figure is 100 not 10 dollars.
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|Maybe Sony could make it. They already have a -$200 game system.
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|I've figured it out.
This is simple.
India is foolishly banking of the US Economy going strong after the US takes control of Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. The surge of good feelings and abundance of oil will rebound the dollar to being worth 10x it's current value, thus allowing a laptop to be available for $10 USD.
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|the price of products vary from country to country, from community to community and even from store to store. you can't sell your product at the same price in new york than in a small town in singapore, because in singapore nobody would be able to buy it. so, india, being on development get the products cheaper than the US. now, for a product that it takes about 25c to build, corporations sell it for about $300 dollars. if the poor countries that build computers for international corporations learn how it's done, they can make the pieces themselves. and get as cheap as a $10 laptop
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|cute ...
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|Its called an abacus.
Of course you could simply add a text editor to an old HP41 or 48 and you come close without the non-recurring engineering costs and a significant economy of scale.
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|$2500 dollar car!! what is it made of? with the price this low, every components have to be very cheap. Majority of times, cheap component does not equal quality and longevity of goods. not to mention it might fall apart or break down during the most inconvenient time.
as for $10 laptop, I don't know if it is possible with what's available in the market right now. colored LCD by itself cost more than $10. the only kind of laptop I could think of is very cheap black and white internet terminal that connects to more expensive internet server in school.
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|if we can make a $2500 car why not $100 laptop
http://news.google.co.in...p;resnum=4&ct=title
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|Last I checked, Etch-A-Sketch was more than $10
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|"In 2008, the IT industry contributed $50 billion to India's economy, and this amount is expected to double to more than $100 billion by 2110, said Lalit Dhingra, president of India's National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), speaking at the United Nations in New York City back in March of this year."
2110???? I think we are speculating a bit much arn't we?
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|1. touch sensitive screen/or laser keyboard
2. wireless
3. single chip OS
4. battery/windup
all the CPU, storage not being on the unit but instead being (eg) somewhere in the school.
maybe http://urbanlegends.abou.../library/bl_pen_pc2.htm
but for $10 hmmm I dont think so.
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|A $10 laptop = a pad and a good pen. lol
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|lol yah thats about 10 bucks right there.
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|In 2008, the IT industry contributed $50 billion to India's economy, and this amount is expected to double to more than $100 billion by 2110, said Lalit Dhingra, president of India's National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), speaking at the United Nations in New York City back in March of this year.
I find it impressive that they're able to predict what the numbers will be in 2110! That's a loooooong way away.
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|haha, in your dreams India!
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|For $10, what will this do? Definately will need Linux ... definitely will run off hand crank... will use flash memory for storage - although the size would have to be very very low... and the screen would have to be ... eek.
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|It's an abacus!
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|A pricey abacus.
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|Rolodex?
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|pricey abacus ... under M$ brand !
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