The Indian laptop remains a phantom.

Is India capable of a laptop for under $ 20 to produce? Since Monday a debate rages about the Indian infrastructure minister Arjun Singh on Tuesday evening should have ended: He led the mysterious device first publicly before - without much away.

 

There are no pictures, almost no new information beyond what has become known on Monday was: Apparently the Indian government is planning a kind of digital literacy campaign with the help of an ultra-cheap laptops for 10 to 20 U.S. dollars to be sold. After all, but now seems clear that the Indian government with the project allowed neither a joke nor the message itself a duck or mistranslation was. Whether the 10-20-dollar laptop is really possible, remains to be seen - it is serious about his fathers apparently.

The rumor of a laptop to the fast-food menu price was in the summer of 2008 ever came into circulation and then been denied as an error: You have a press release in a zero forgotten.

On weekends, however, the rumor surfaced again, apparently launched from the Indian government circles. On Monday, followed by a first confirmation: Yes, the device should still be sold in the summer, just for the quoted price dumping - and still something. Exemplary, 2 GB of memory called and wireless Internet capability.

In the professional world cared for unbelief. Both displays have a memory would be for the purchase price is not promised to get. It was probably a kind aufgebohrten calculator mutmaßte an Indian blogger.

On Tuesday evening, the Indian infrastructure minister Arjun Singh in the context of an event of the Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati temple in Hyderabad district a device, which promised the laptop will come close - and apparently a kind of small sized Netbook is. During a demonstration, a network connection with a member of the Ministry of Culture set up to the Internet capability of the box to prove.

The device, it was said, still needed some fine-tuning - it is therefore best if a prototype. How exactly is built on what he has and how the price stated Singh also wants to take this opportunity to not explain it.

Purchase price of production is not only a misunderstanding?

However, where it come from: The device is a state-funded community development in various institutes. Involved, inter alia, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras.

The name on the "Sakshat" dubbed notebook computer would be the cheapest in the world. For several years endeavor under the auspices of the Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte, the One Laptop Per Child initiative, a laptop for the Third World for a price of 100 dollars to produce - so far unsuccessfully. High display prices and the cost of achieving the initial target range of services highlighted the producer prices to a level around $ 200.

The initiative is currently working on developing a slimmed-down successor model, which will only cost is $ 75.

In the case Sakshat could grant the magic word and the explanation. Sakshat is part of a
E-Learning Initiative, with the 18,000 students at secondary schools and 400 universities in India and equipped to be networked. The government provides for the Sakshat projects a not yet quantified the sum available, it will, inter alia, to the costs of the necessary network infrastructure with 25 percent subsidy involved.

ON TO ONLINE blogs

Public Computers: India is planning eight euro laptop (02.02.2009)

And perhaps at the cost of the laptop? Previously, only on the intended sales price of Sakshat reference, not the production. Maybe this is the misunderstanding: A subsidy of low-cost laptop could be part of the budget of the planned e-learning initiative.

That so little about the Sakshat betrayed it to the equipment so little hints there will be observers in India spitzzüngig also interpreted differently: Soon, it was blogs, elections were important.

OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte believes are not yet connected to the phantom Sakshat. The Boston Globe, he said: "I'm afraid this is not serious. We would love to have a 20-dollar laptop, but the screen that costs more."