India will soon unveil to the world a new super-cheap laptop priced at £7, or 500 rupees. The prototype, developed under government oversight, will be revealed for the first time on Tuesday, marking the most ambitious attempt yet to bring modern technology to the poorest.
It is not surprising, considering that India has already produced an ultra-cheap car (the Tata Nano at £1,400) and a phone (£10, with basic functions). Interestingly, the market for such inexpensive solutions is expected to expand given the serious slowdown in the West, although it is hard to believe that pampered Westerners would accept a £10 mobile phone or a rudimentary car for £1,400.
Nevertheless, the event is no less significant. A laptop priced lower than most paperback books could spark yet another small revolution aimed at including the entire world in the benefits of civilizational advancements that are taken for granted in the developed world. This is a response to the idea of ‘One Laptop per Child’ led by Nicholas Negroponte, an American scientist, who intended to achieve the same goal for $100. However, that project stalled, surprisingly, because large companies like Intel refused to cooperate. They probably did not have enough money for it. In the end, it seems that the ‘cheap’ laptop in this scenario will cost $200, which significantly narrows the consumer base it was actually intended for.
Although the Indian response is announced for Tuesday, there is skepticism about the feasibility of this project, and accurate information about what will be presented is scarce. On the technology blog, Arstechnica.com, reservations are expressed regarding the realistic possibility of this project considering the facts of the technology market. This blog believes that current prices of the technological components needed to realize this idea are simply too high. Just the screen for the aforementioned, de facto failed project, cost around £20 per device, leading them to conclude that it is pure fantasy in the Indian case.
