India's $10 Laptop

Mumbai Skyline -- Credit: Funonthenet.in

Forbes.com just reported that a government-funded consortium of Indian electronics manufacturers is planning to roll out a $10 (or around Php500) laptop sometime this year. How the laptop would look like, we don't know just yet. And how they plan to build a working mobile PC with just $10 or less is an even bigger mystery.

The consortium plans to sell the initial Sakshat laptops for around $20 but expects that the price would halve in a matter of months. India's motivation in creating and disseminating the Sakshat is to close the country's 'digital gap' and boost the skill levels of its more than 1 billion population.

Analysts, however, are skeptical about the project's viability, with good reason; "The costs of the basic components you have to buy add up to more than $100.00," explained Gartner analyst Leslie Fiering. In fact, the cheapest netbooks out in the market today retail for at least $200 (Php10,000). Hence, if India could indeed release Sakshat, it would be the cheapest laptop ever by a mile.

For Reviews of Netbooks out in the Philippine Market Today (and some, yet to be) visit TechPinas' Netbook Mania - Netbooks Philippines.

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