07-05-2002, 02:37 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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India Rolls Out Cheap, Handheld Computer This Month
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&ncid=738&e=3&u=/nm/20020705/tc_nm/tech_india_simputer_dc_1
PDA computing brought to the masses - sounds like a good idea. In many ways, this makes sense - full PCs are too expensive for the majority of the population to purchase, but this article says the Simputer will cost about the same as a cheap colour TV set. Affordable & portable - good combination.
"India is ready this month to roll out its $200 "Simputer," a handheld computer aimed at wooing the poor across the digital divide. "The waiting period is almost over. We are near the take-off stage," Vinay Deshpande, chairman of Encore Software Ltd, one of two firms with licenses to make the device, told Reuters late on Thursday. The Simputer -- short for simple, inexpensive and multilingual computer -- was launched in April 2001 by the non-profit Simputer Trust, formed by officials at Encore and professors from Bangalore's prestigious Indian Institute of Science to license designs of the device...
...Resembling trendy handhelds such as those built by Palm Inc, the Simputer has easy-to-use applications including voicemail, text-to-speech capabilities and Internet access. Powered by an Intel StrongARM processor, the Simputer runs off two 'AA'-size pencil batteries and comes equipped with 32 megabytes (MB) or 64 MB of random-access memory." Source: Willa
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09-25-2002, 09:01 PM
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09-25-2002, 09:38 PM
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Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,878
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Re: India Rolls Out Cheap, Handheld Computer This Month
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Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
...Resembling trendy handhelds such as those built by Palm Inc, the Simputer has easy-to-use applications including voicemail, text-to-speech capabilities and Internet access. Powered by an Intel StrongARM processor, the Simputer runs off two 'AA'-size pencil batteries and comes equipped with 32 megabytes (MB) or 64 MB of random-access memory."
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I wonder how much batteries cost in India, and if the poor can afford to buy boxes of them?
Just curious, how long can you run a StrongARM type device on a pair of AA batteries?
Steve
Updated: I just saw the answer in the second post (That will teach me to skim articles!)
"Although the Simputer can run on three AAA batteries, it can operate for only a few hours before draining them. And in the developing world, even batteries are expensive and hard to come by. "
I wonder if a few hours is realistic though?
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10-27-2002, 09:33 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 416
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Tech Speak: The Simputer Spec
Hardware
- CPU 32-bit Strong Arm SA-1100 RISC CPU running at 200MHz
- 32 MB of DRAM
- 24 MB Flash for Permanent Storage (DOC)
- Display I/F 320x240 Monochrome LCD Display Panel
Interfaces
- Touch-panel Overlay on LCD Display used with a plastic stylus (Pen)
- Speaker and MIC Jacks Smartcard Connector
- RJ-11 Telephone Jack
- USB Connector
Dimensions
- Approximately 8cm x 13 cm x 2 cm
- Power Supply 3 AAA-sized NiMh batteries
System Software
- Operating System: GNU/Linux
- Soft-Modem Algorithms V.34/V.17 Data/Fax Modem Technology
- Perl/Tk scripting environment
Application Software
- imli: an IML browser
- Tapatap: Input method
- Internet access (Browser, Email, etc.)
- Dhvani: Text-to-Speech Software
- MP3 Player
http://www.simputer.org/simputer/
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