Imagine the idea of purchasing a brand new laptop for less than N1500. While I wouldn't dare compare a N1,500 laptop to that of a N150,000, I honestly think India is slowly proving to be a competitor in the global sale of telecommunications infrastructure.





India is poised to unveil the ultimate in credit-crunch computing: a 500 rupee (£7) laptop.

A government-developed prototype, due to be shown for the first time tomorrow, will mark the most ambitious attempt yet to bring computers to the developing world and to bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor.

It is also the latest example of ultra-cheap engineering to emerge from the sub-continent. India has already given the world a 100,000 rupee (£1,420) car, the Tata Nano, and a super-basic £10 phone — goods that are now expected to find favour among relatively affluent Westerners as the global economic downturn bites.

However, the launch of a viable computer that costs less than most paperback books would herald a startling new era in thrifty manufacturing. The Indian laptop, which has been on the drawing board for at least three years, will be the centre of attention at the launch of India's new National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology, a scheme to boost learning in rural areas through the internet. It comes as an answer to the One Laptop per Child project (OLPC) led by Nicholas Negraponte, the American scientist, which set out to produce a computer for $100. The US venture ran into problems when large companies including Intel, the biggest chip manufacturer, refused to co-operate. As a result, the OLPC laptop will cost closer to $200. In the light of Mr Negroponte's experiences, experts have suggested that India's plans for an even cheaper machine are unrealistic and details of what exactly will be unveiled tomorrow are scant.

Arstechnica.com, the technology blog, said: "Can India do it? The inner philanthropist hopes so, but the realist who buys technology says, 'No way'."

The website said that the prices of current computer component prices are simply too high to make a £7 laptop. The screen for the OLPC laptop alone was estimated to cost about £20 per unit by analysts at Merrill Lynch, the US bank. "India's $10 price hopes appear to be nothing more than pure fantasy," Arstechnica.com concluded.

An Indian government official confirmed that the 500 rupee laptop plans will be announced tomorrow but refused to give further details.

Officials had previously said that the cost of the machine was currently working out at about £14 each, but would come down if the product was mass produced.

Plans to cut the price to the bone appear to hinge on the use of domestic technology. The laptop is the result of cooperation between several of India's elite technology institutions, including the Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Semiconductor Laboratory, a part of India's Space Department.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article5639463.ece