News
Economy-edition computing
A 35-dollar bill-of-materials tablet is doable by the government as it can keep duties out and ensure high volumes By Deepak Kumar
W
hen in 2005, Nicholas Negroponte of MIT Media Labs fame unveiled a $100 laptop goal as part of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme, he essentially talked of a price point as low as at least one-sixth the price of a low-priced laptop around that time. OLPC approached India in 2006 with the programme, but found little encouragement. Four years later, India’s union HRD minister Kapil Sibal has unveiled a $35 tablet PC prototype at a press conference in July this year. The tablet-talk is probably not a political fig this time, as had been the case a few years ago when a touted $10 PC had turned out to be at best, a content-loaded USB drive.
12
egov / www.egovonline.net / September 2010
About a week after Sibal’s announcement, Negroponte, also Chairman of OLPC, responded with a gesture of cooperation. “Access to a connected laptop or tablet is the fastest way to enable universal learning. We agree with you completely,” Negroponte said and offered India free and open access to all of OLPC’s technology. “The world needs your device and leadership,” he added. The question: is a 35-dollar tablet viable? Well, a Bangalore-based company AllGo Embedded Systems has produced a reference design similar to the prototype, which it had earlier showcased at the Freescale Technology Forum in Orlando. AllGo says the pricing can be directly relative to the number of units. For example, the device can be manufactured for around $50 per piece for a scale of 10,000 units,
while the price can come down to $45 per piece if the scale is upped to 100,000 units. And yes, if the volumes go up to a million units, then there can be a significant reduction in the price. AllGo refrains from indicating a price point for such high volumes, as that would be hypothetical now. Nevertheless, the discussion does set a basis that makes price points of $35 and below look more realistic and achievable, from a bill-ofmaterials standpoint. However, any marketing overheads can’t be accommodated and would push the price northwards. More importantly, the pricing excludes custom and other such duties. And it is for this reason alone that the tablet can be brought into being only by the government, which can keep the duties out. It’s also important to note that only a government can promise the volumes that are required to make the price point succeed. Incidentally, Negroponte too earlier revised the price point for the OLPC and put a price tag of $75 to it. A low-cost tablet can be powered by a 450MHz processor and will be suited for running limited applications, which, nevertheless, should suffice educational and learning needs of students—and several e-Governance needs of citizens. Negroponte is quicker than anybody else to see the potential of a $35 tablet—and its viability. OLPC’s “experience with 2 million laptops, in over 40 countries, in over 25 languages” somewhere makes him see that the idea is not a pipe dream. The device is important for India, which has steadily consolidated its position as an emerging global economy in the recent years, but its long-term sustenance will depend on empowerment of its younger population Education, and bridging of the digital divide, will be vital to achieving that. And certainly, in a country like India, the digital divide cannot be bridged by way of devices that are currently available at their prevailing price points. Also, given the power situation in the country, a desktop would be often unusable in large parts of the country. So the objectives need to be explored through a computing device that can run for long hours on battery, like a mobile phone. A tablet is suitable from that perspective, and also has the added advantages of easy portability and mobility. One does hope that the government is serious about making it.