India going ahead with $10 notebook
updated 12:55 pm EST, Fri January 30, 2009
India's $10 notebook
The Indian government is indeed laying plans for the sale of a $10 notebook, according to a regional newspaper. Although the government is at one point said to have retracted the pricetag, adding a zero to the end, DNA writes that a prototype of a $10 (500 rupee) notebook will go on display in Tirupati on February 3rd. The computer was jointly developed by the Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institute of Technology, and is a part of a plan dubbed the National Mission on Education.
While India has developed an increasingly affluent middle class, many in the country remain poor, unable to afford even basic electronics much less a computer. The $10 machine is being manufactured explicitly for students with the help of private corporations, and is expected to ship in approximately six months. Current specifications call for Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet connections, expandable memory, and power consumption of just 2W.
