India’s $35 Tablet Laptop

[Joy Pathak]

Going for Cheap: Indias $35 Laptop - India Real Time - WSJ

NEW DELHI—First the Nano, now the “Nano” computer.
Tata won praise world-wide for developing the world’s cheapest car, an innovation designed to put millions of Indians behind the wheel. The Indian government Thursday unveiled a computer it hopes will put millions of Indians in front of a keyboard.
As the iPad spreads globally, along with its hefty pricetag, this new computer, aimed at students, costs the same as the country’s cheapest cell phones.
“This is real, tangible and we will take it forward,” Kapil Sibal, minister for human resource development, said at a press conference in New Delhi. The touchscreen tablet will cost about $35, or 1,500 rupees, when it hits markets by early 2011.


The yet-to-be-named device, which has the look of an iPad, has the option of charging by a sleek solar panel. It will have features including an Internet browser, a multimedia player, searchable PDF reader, video conferencing ability and wi-fi connectivity. It is supported by a two-watt backup source for places where power supply may be poor. It also comes with a small, 2-gigabyte memory but no hard disk.

 

[Eugene Krel]

will be nice if it's actually $35 by the time it's released. I would definitely get one.

 

[Joy Pathak]

will be nice if it's actually $35 by the time it's released. I would definitely get one.

Well looks like they want to reduce to price even more to 20-10$. If this is released in the US it will blow the competition out in a heartbeat.

 

[helpteye]

Well looks like they want to reduce to price even more to 20-10$. If this is released in the US it will blow the competition out in a heartbeat.

I doubt it; it seems more like a regular cellphone that the typical american has (a mini-browser and adobe reader), no hard drive and 2 GB memory? It will sell in the 3rd world, like Africa, where I came from and parts of Asia. However, think about it, if the average american would spend $20K for a car, why would they buy that? Acer laptops are around $200-300 on average, with around 200GB and 2GB ram; thats a much better deal to anyone living in the richest country in the world.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I do not believe they design with the American consumers in mind. It probably will never make it way here.
Have we seen the Nano car here yet?

 

[Joy Pathak]

I do not believe they design with the American consumers in mind. It probably will never make it way here.
Have we seen the Nano car here yet?

There is a difference between a Car and a Tablet/laptop. A car involves several safety and emissions restrictions, etc etc, which would make it close to impossible for the Nano to make it to USA at it's current status. It can however make it with intensive modifications, but that is not the goal of the manufacturers (not right now anyways).

The laptop requires close to nothing to make it to USA. They can increase the hard-drive from 2gb to 10-20GB depending on the increase in price. But for $35 a significant portion of the population would buy it.

 

[kbharadwaj]

I agree with Joy. I come from India and I believe that this device would be in the hands of every individual here. Also, this device would be a huge hit in India among the teenagers and the school going kids who just want "some" device to flaunt. :D

However, I agree with Andy in case of this device making it to the US of A. Considering the hard-disk changes required for the Americans and also considering the customs cost, this device would cost almost 100$ and no American would consider it a good deal because 200$ more they get a tablet with 200GB hard-disk and 2GB RAM. Why would anyone go for a tablet which has 20-30GB hard-disk capacity.

 

[tylor]

There is a difference between a Car and a Tablet/laptop. A car involves several safety and emissions restrictions, etc etc, which would make it close to impossible for the Nano to make it to USA at it's current status. It can however make it with intensive modifications, but that is not the goal of the manufacturers (not right now anyways).

The laptop requires close to nothing to make it to USA. They can increase the hard-drive from 2gb to 10-20GB depending on the increase in price. But for $35 a significant portion of the population would buy it.

I could see that too. Maybe not the average American, but perhaps the older population, and believe it or not there is still a market of people who don't have computers yet -- though I'm not sure how you would market to them.

 

[Sanket Patel]

I do not believe they design with the American consumers in mind. It probably will never make it way here.
Have we seen the Nano car here yet?

I'm with Andy on this one. Being somewhat of techie, I like all my bells and whistles.

You have to keep in mind that the US is an established economy, unlike the developing economies of countries like India and China. Consumers in the US can, generally speaking, afford to be demanding and selective. Even then, American consumers are not nearly as demanding as their Japanese counterparts.

Don't get me wrong, I hope this ends up being a great device but I don't think it's going to make it in the US. I think helpteye is correct in saying

...Acer laptops are around $200-300 on average, with around 200GB and 2GB ram; thats a much better deal to anyone living in the richest country in the world...

In the end, it's just simple economics at play: marginal cost vs marginal utility.

 

[WilliamY]

What happened to One Laptop per Child (OLPC)?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

The laptop requires close to nothing to make it to USA. They can increase the hard-drive from 2gb to 10-20GB depending on the increase in price. But for $35 a significant portion of the population would buy it.

Actually, it will require a lot. First of all, you can't assume in its current configuration, it will be on sale for $35 in the US. Exchange rate, export tax, transportation cost will likely increase, not lower its price.
Maybe it's not under the strict rules as for car, but electronics device are regulated in the US with various rules for safety, recycle material, etc.

Just look at how much the same book will cost in Amazon Canada compared to when you buy directly from Amazon in the US.

 

[Joy Pathak]

Just look at how much the same book will cost in Amazon Canada compared to when you buy directly from Amazon in the US.

It costs more in Canada...