The much-hyped $10 laptop actually turned out to be a storage device, containing megabytes of data info which can be accessed by a user by connecting this device to a laptop!

“..the computing device is 10 inches long and 5 inches wide and has been priced at around $30.
The 10” long and 5” wide hand-held device, resembling a palmtop or a modem, helps e-learners access the Web easily. Priced versions of e-content available on the Net can be accessed through this device.

The cost of the device shot up to between $20 and $30 against the initial plan to peg it at $10, forcing the department to resort to a cost-cutting exercise. R.P. Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, who displayed the prototype to the delegates, expressed confidence that the cost would be brought down further.-” – ToI, , Hindu

Interestingly, NYTimes went on to say “Will India’s $10 Laptop Kill PC Business?” 🙂

What was govt. thinking when it called a storage device a laptop?

Articles related to low cost PC:

• 3G Connected Low Cost PC (alternative) from Qualcomm
• OLPC in Local Indian Languages, MIT Developing $12 laptop
• India Developing World’s Cheapest ($100) Laptop
• NComputing to power 5000 schools in AP
• Novatium and Tata Teleservices launch Nova netPC, thin-client based network computer

[img, hindu]