“Simputer” here, but costs too much
Sep 23, 2003 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 2 viewsThe Simputer was to be a simple, easy-to-use handheld computer based on embedded Linux and selling in rural Indian villages at half the cost of a PC. As the first devices reach market, that price point has spiralled upwards, though, drawing criticism.
The “Simputer” was first described in a concept paper presented at the first Bangalore IT.com conference in 1998. Later, a “Simputer Trust” was formed dedicated to realizing the concept as a “platform for social change,” a computer with price and technology appropriate for rural Indian villages. After three years of development by two competing companies, though, despite impressive usability gains, price has thus far been a sticking point.
This article in rediff.com overviews the project, its original aims, and its current state of affairs.
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.