India $10 PC gets name, possible price bump
updated 04:55 pm EST, Tue February 3, 2009
Sakshat 10 Dollar PC
The Indian government's $10 PC has been given early details that include its real name and initial specifications. Now called the Sakshat, or "before your eyes," the computer will have 2GB of RAM and some level of wireless access. Its operating system isn't mentioned but is more likely to use Linux than Windows, which requires a license.
A release date hasn't been given for the Sakshat, though it's still in development and may not make the $10 price target. Although it remains the official goal, the current system would reportedly cost $20 to build.
"With mass production [the price] is bound to come down," says India's educational head RP Agarwal.
How the system would reach the price isn't known even with the $20 figure. Critics note that most processors, LCDs and casing are likely to exceed the price target even in pure parts costs. Intel, for example, charges $26 for its least expensive Atom processor. It's not known if the Sakshat will revert to cellphone processors or other embedded hardware to meet its goal.
The One Laptop Per Child XO currently costs $200 for a very low-end AMD Geode processor, built-in flash storage and Linux.
The PC is being built to give India's colleges and universities ubiquitous computing; many poorer areas often lack the resources to give students computers for Internet access.
