TECH SPECIAL - .AGE OF LOW COST (1)

The Age of Low Cost

The first wave of low cost computers never really took off. Now, a new bunch of such devices are flooding the market. This time a lot of new applications, software, content and delivery methods are enabling consumers to do what they earlier couldn’t – put the devices to good use for education and livelihood, writes Shelley Singh
Apuroop Sethupathy is now quite used to juggling between the HP Laptop in his bag, the iPad in his hand and an Android smart phone in his p.ocket. The 19-year old sophomore at the National Institute of Technology in Rourkela pursuing biomedical engineering uses the three gadgets for studying, entertainment and connecting with the world. They pretty much meet his needs. Yet, he's visibly excited about the 1,750 tablet, recently launched by the government and the slew of new computing devices Asus, Samsung, HCL, Reliance and others have rolled out in the last two months. Almost all of them are available around the 10,000 price point. "They are good for a web based lifestyle," he says. Sonali Garg, 19, a Chandigarh based Commerce student who shares a laptop with two other siblings is also eyeing these new devices. "We can buy tablets with saved up pocket money," she says. At far away Agartala, 20-year-old Bishnesh Das fancies them too. "These gadgets will do to computing what sub 3,000 phones did to mobile communications," he says. Similar attempts at building low cost computers undertaken about five to seven years ago flopped here. Remember India's own Simputer? Or Nicholoas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project? Intel, the world's largest chipmaker flew in anthropologists to create a device that's not only light on the pocket, but rugged enough to be used in the hinterland. In 2005 AMD joined hands with HCL to launch a 10,000 PC. The devices were low on cost and high on promise, but they failed to get buyers. The devices were minimalistic (low on memory, hard disk, RAM, processing speeds) and didn't offer internet connectivity. They failed. So why should things be any different this time around? Seven years later, the devices available now come with better technology and performance. Not only are they lowcost, but they also offer more value for every rupee paid. But more than that, what's changed the equation now is a whole bunch of new applications, software, content and delivery methods that are now enabling consumers to do what they earlier couldn't - put the devices to good use for education, livelihood and entertainment. It took the country three decades after the first PC was launched to get to an installed base of about 50 million computers. The next 50 million devices could get added in only 3-4 years if the new wave of applications and content marry well with the new low-cost devices. Even then, India with a base of 50 million personal computers now would lag behind China (300 million) and the US (394 million). There is still plenty for room to grow.
WILL CONTINUE