Simputer

From Free net encyclopedia

The Simputer is a small handheld computer, intended to bring computing power to the masses of India and other developing countries. The device was designed by the Simputer Trust, a non-profit organization formed in November 1999. The word "Simputer" is an acronym for "simple, inexpensive and multilingual people's computer", and is a trademark of the Simputer Trust. It includes text-to-speech software and runs the GNU/Linux operating system. Similar in appearance to the Palm Pilot class of handheld computers, the touch sensitive screen is operated on with a stylus; simple handwriting recognition software is provided by the program Tapatap.

The Simputer specifications are released under an open distribution license called the Simputer General Public License or the SGPL. The organisation is actively encouraging free software developers to port their applications to the Simputer.

A similar project is the $100 laptop, being developed by Nicholas Negroponte and his One Laptop Per Child non-profit organization.

1 Commercial production
2 Service
3 Interfaces
4 Software
5 Hardware
6 Physical dimensions
7 Operating temperature
8 References
9 External links

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Commercial production

Pilot production of the Simputer started in September 2002. Since 2004, it was commercially available for $240 and up. Recently, prices have shrunk due to higher production volumes, to between $130 and $260, depending on screen size and type (monochrome or colour).

By 2005, sales of Simputers have failed to live up to the ambitious goal of selling 50,000 units: only 4000 Simputers have sold ([1]). Some suspect that this may be due to the decrease of prices of ordinary laptop computers, reducing the Simputer's price competitiveness. Another reason may be that the poor have no need of computers before their basic needs (such as electricity) are met. Another reason may be that prices are higher than expected, due to a lack of purchasing by the Indian government and NGOs, possibly due to politics as outlined in an email on the Digital Divide mailing list. [2]

However, in 2005 these powerful and flexible devices were used in a variety of innovative and interesting applications, such as automobile engine diagnostics (Mahindra & Mahindra in Mumbai), tracking of iron-ore movement from mine pithead to shipping point (Dempo, Goa), Microcredit (Sanghamitra, Mysore), Electronic Money Transfer between UK and Ghana (XK8 Systems, Kenya), and others. The Simputer seems poised for large-scale deployment in many other applications.

A common misconception is that the Simputer was designed to bridge the financial divide. It was not meant as a computer for the poor. Rather, the main intention was to bridge the digital divide. It has been used in many rural projects in the states of Karnataka and Chhattisgarh in India.

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Service

Despite the small user population, customer service is considered to be accessible and excellent, with a toll-free number to contact in case of problems. However, the service charges for repairs and purchase of repairs are expensive, perhaps as a method by which to recover their investment this way.

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Interfaces

Touch panel overlay on liquid-crystal display.
Speaker and microphone jacks
Smart-card connector.
USB connector (to function as host or device)
Serial port
Infrared Data Association (IrDA) port
Greyscale/Super-twist nematic (STN)/Thin-film transistor (TFT) (depends on model).

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Software

The Simputer uses the Linux operating system (2.4.18 Kernel as of July 2005), and the Alchemy™ Window Manager. Software packages included provide:

Scheduling
Calendar
Voice Recording and Playback
Khatha (A simple spreadsheet)
Internet and network connectivity
Web browsing and email.
an e-Library
Games including Chess, Breakout and Golgoli (a game which makes exclusive use of the accelerometer).
J2ME and .GNU are also now available

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Hardware

32 bit Intel StrongARM 206 MHz processor (Latest versions from Encore use the Intel PXA255)
64 megabytes of RAM
32 MB of flash memory
Can use cheap removable smartcards, each able to hold from 8 kB to 1 MB of data.
33.6/56 kbit/s V.90 Modem (external) Encore offers this as an internal option.
Display Interface 320x240 LCD+ (Encore also offers a 16x4 character monochrome display in its lowest end version.)
Accelerometer Only on the Amida.
Built-in USB, CFII, speaker, and microphone in Encore's Simputers

The first rendition of the Simputer was powered by three AA batteries, but breaking of the contacts while changing batteries was common place, and so the 2005 models have a Rechargeable Li-Ion battery (3.7 V, 2200 mA·h).

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