Simputer: Computer for the poor or an idealistic dream?
The Simputer – a cheap, pocket-sized computing device designed for use by rural populations in India – has been hailed as a breakthrough in bringing the world of computing to the poor
The Simputer – a cheap, pocket-sized computing device designed for use by rural populations in India – has been hailed as a breakthrough in bringing the world of computing to the poor. But with delays in production, escalating development costs can this idealistic project ever be pulled off?
When the prototype was first announced two years ago by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the Simputer captured imaginations across the world. It was heralded as a way to help the poor and illiterate join the information age, and many predicted it would bridge the digital divide in a country with a billion people, but only a few million computers.
Two years on, the laboratory dream is on the verge of becoming a full-blown commercial enterprise. Two Bangalore-based bodies now oversee the Simputer’s development and production: the established IT company Encore and BEL – PicoPeta, an alliance between public sector giant Bharat Electronics and a start-up launched by the original research team.
The Simputer is a handheld computing device with a touch-sensitive screen that can carry out many of the services carried out by ‘normal’ computers. In addition, it can function in several Indian languages, and a single device can be easily shared by a number of users in the same village.
Simputer’s supporters say that while the size may be similar, the device is hardly an executive toy. “You won’t find handhelds with comparable computing power at anything like this price,†says Edward Cherlin, a California-based designer of multilingual websites. “None of these devices can replace Simputer in its target niche – support for the poor of India in their own languages.â€
It all sounds like techno-heaven. India’s incredible success in the IT sector is finally being channelled towards benefiting the country’s poor. But can the Simputer survive the rigours of the commercial world?
Its backers are optimistic. “The poor are a largely neglected market,†argues Encore CEO Vinay Deshpande. “But they too have a huge commercial potential.†Work is already underway to explore markets for the Simputer outside India, he explains, with the Middle East and Africa looking most promising.
But their experience to date suggests that such markets are hard to tap into. Many feel that those living on less than a dollar a day are unlikely to be persuaded to fork out US$215 – the current market price for a basic Simputer – no matter how many ‘additional features’ it boasts.
Proponents counter with the argument that the Simputer is a ‘sharable’ device, which can be jointly owned by several people. Others envision schemes where one device would be owned by a community, kept by the local shopkeeper or teacher, and accessed by villagers via smartcards, which at US$2 are much more affordable.
Orders are beginning to pick up, but the devices are still being produced on a ‘made-to-order’ production schedule.
“While several of the original claims may have been met, I wouldn’t be satisfied until the product reaches the rural masses in vast numbers,†says Garg.
“So it is still too early to start congratulating ourselves.â€
SciDev.Net
When the prototype was first announced two years ago by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the Simputer captured imaginations across the world. It was heralded as a way to help the poor and illiterate join the information age, and many predicted it would bridge the digital divide in a country with a billion people, but only a few million computers.
Two years on, the laboratory dream is on the verge of becoming a full-blown commercial enterprise. Two Bangalore-based bodies now oversee the Simputer’s development and production: the established IT company Encore and BEL – PicoPeta, an alliance between public sector giant Bharat Electronics and a start-up launched by the original research team.
The Simputer is a handheld computing device with a touch-sensitive screen that can carry out many of the services carried out by ‘normal’ computers. In addition, it can function in several Indian languages, and a single device can be easily shared by a number of users in the same village.
Simputer’s supporters say that while the size may be similar, the device is hardly an executive toy. “You won’t find handhelds with comparable computing power at anything like this price,†says Edward Cherlin, a California-based designer of multilingual websites. “None of these devices can replace Simputer in its target niche – support for the poor of India in their own languages.â€
It all sounds like techno-heaven. India’s incredible success in the IT sector is finally being channelled towards benefiting the country’s poor. But can the Simputer survive the rigours of the commercial world?
Its backers are optimistic. “The poor are a largely neglected market,†argues Encore CEO Vinay Deshpande. “But they too have a huge commercial potential.†Work is already underway to explore markets for the Simputer outside India, he explains, with the Middle East and Africa looking most promising.
But their experience to date suggests that such markets are hard to tap into. Many feel that those living on less than a dollar a day are unlikely to be persuaded to fork out US$215 – the current market price for a basic Simputer – no matter how many ‘additional features’ it boasts.
Proponents counter with the argument that the Simputer is a ‘sharable’ device, which can be jointly owned by several people. Others envision schemes where one device would be owned by a community, kept by the local shopkeeper or teacher, and accessed by villagers via smartcards, which at US$2 are much more affordable.
Orders are beginning to pick up, but the devices are still being produced on a ‘made-to-order’ production schedule.
“While several of the original claims may have been met, I wouldn’t be satisfied until the product reaches the rural masses in vast numbers,†says Garg.
“So it is still too early to start congratulating ourselves.â€
SciDev.Net