On July 22 a $35 (or 1500 INR) hand-held Linux computing device was unveiled by Shri Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development of India.
The complete article is available on linux journal at the URL:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/indias-35-tablet-everything-killer
There are no complete articles on this thing, no details, just the same image and hype. I'd really like to see this go into production, but there's too much hype to be here in time and at that cost.
Surya
On Thursday 29 July 2010 22:01:45 Surya Sharma wrote:
On July 22 a $35 (or 1500 INR) hand-held Linux computing device was unveiled by Shri Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development of India.
The complete article is available on linux journal at the URL:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/indias-35-tablet-everything-k iller
There are no complete articles on this thing, no details, just the same image and hype. I'd really like to see this go into production, but there's too much hype to be here in time and at that cost.
Looks like a con job, EXCEPT that there were some very reputable names (both persons and institutions) linked to it. IMO a BOM price of $35 would be barely acheivable, given a massive and immediate investments in a semi conductor and LCD fab. One might consider this investment by the government a one time subsidy for kick starting a strategically vital LSI industry. IMO they maybe excused for poking their nose in industry with public money. If, after such an investment, the fab does manage to distribute a $50 kit and continues to do so in sufficient quantity for 3yrs, i would consider the investment to be an astounding success.
Inspite of all the evidence I dearly hope that this is true.
On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 10:24 PM, jtd jtd@mtnl.net.in wrote:
Looks like a con job, EXCEPT that there were some very reputable names (both persons and institutions) linked to it. IMO a BOM price of $35 would be barely acheivable, given a massive and immediate investments in a semi conductor and LCD fab.
An interesting part in the video(s) available of the minister showing off the device is a statement from him that initially the manufacturing would be based out of Taiwan (where the infrastructure is already present to do such mass manufacture) and thereon look towards building capabilities in India.
Without any idea of the specification and, the quantum of subsidy that the GoI is planning to put in, it might be difficult to arrive at a conclusion on the $35 price.
On Friday 30 July 2010 09:37 AM, sankarshan wrote:
Without any idea of the specification and, the quantum of subsidy that the GoI is planning to put in, it might be difficult to arrive at a conclusion on the $35 price.
Even a China mobile sold without duty and taxes is not that cheap.
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 6:01 PM, Rony gnulinuxist@gmail.com wrote:
it might be difficult to arrive at a
conclusion on the $35 price.
Even a China mobile sold without duty and taxes is not that cheap.
Do you know any cheap china laptop ? I may buy some !
On Friday 30 July 2010 18:46:06 Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 6:01 PM, Rony gnulinuxist@gmail.com wrote:
it might be difficult to arrive at a
conclusion on the $35 price.
Even a China mobile sold without duty and taxes is not that cheap.
Do you know any cheap china laptop ? I may buy some !
Lemote. Mips based cpu.
On 07/30/2010 06:01 PM, Rony wrote:
On Friday 30 July 2010 09:37 AM, sankarshan wrote:
Without any idea of the specification and, the quantum of subsidy that the GoI is planning to put in, it might be difficult to arrive at a conclusion on the $35 price.
Even a China mobile sold without duty and taxes is not that cheap.
Actually, there are already available things like this: http://www.google.com/products?q=google+android+tablet&scoring=p
Which are for $100. Like Sankarshan mentioned, it's all about the specifications and the subsidy. I mean, one can port android to a glorified Palm Zire (which can be bought sub $50) and call that a tablet PC too, but you won't get much work done on it.
cheers, - steve
On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 4:33 PM, steve steve@lonetwin.net wrote:
On 07/30/2010 06:01 PM, Rony wrote:
On Friday 30 July 2010 09:37 AM, sankarshan wrote:
Without any idea of the specification and, the quantum of subsidy that the GoI is planning to put in, it might be difficult to arrive at a conclusion on the $35 price.
Even a China mobile sold without duty and taxes is not that cheap.
Actually, there are already available things like this: http://www.google.com/products?q=google+android+tablet&scoring=p
Which are for $100. Like Sankarshan mentioned, it's all about the specifications and the subsidy. I mean, one can port android to a glorified Palm Zire (which can be bought sub $50) and call that a tablet PC too, but you won't get much work done on it.
cheers,
- steve
Thanks a lot for this link. I have ordered $89 Cheap Android tablet.
Even a China mobile sold without duty and taxes is not that cheap.
Actually, there are already available things like this: http://www.google.com/products?q=google+android+tablet&scoring=p
Which are for $100. Like Sankarshan mentioned, it's all about the
<snip>
Thanks a lot for this link. I have ordered $89 Cheap Android tablet.
Has it arrived? If so, how good it is?
Raghu
Hi Narendra,
On 08/01/2010 05:14 AM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 4:33 PM, stevesteve@lonetwin.net wrote:
[...snip...] Actually, there are already available things like this: http://www.google.com/products?q=google+android+tablet&scoring=p
[...snip...]
Thanks a lot for this link. I have ordered $89 Cheap Android tablet.
Hey, cool ! I'd appreciate a review about this after you've played around with it. Please post a link here if you get around to doing that.
cheers, - steve
Thanks a lot for this link. I have ordered $89 Cheap Android tablet.
I bought one of these tablet PCs from China. Its a cool toy (Model : Eken M001). It runs Android. Debian install on this was easy, and these is a large community of users who took it apart in terms of both hardware and software. So all kinds of custom roms with various Linux distros are available. Even Windows CE ROMs are available for this device.
-Shamit http://shamit.in/dpal
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 4:34 PM, Shamit Verma subs.linux.mum@vshamit.comwrote:
Thanks a lot for this link. I have ordered $89 Cheap Android tablet.
I bought one of these tablet PCs from China. Its a cool toy (Model : Eken M001). It runs Android. Debian install on this was easy, and these is a large community of users who took it apart in terms of both hardware and software. So all kinds of custom roms with various Linux distros are available. Even Windows CE ROMs are available for this device.
-Shamit http://shamit.in/dpal
I just got this device (M001) today's evening. I loved it a lot. I want to use as my Smartbook. I have not explored much but It cost me less then 5500. This is the cheapest device which has Android. It do not have Bluetooth, USB, WebCam. I have seen some videos which claim to add these things. Will try to hack it.
Thanks a lot again for giving the google shopping search link.
Sent from my iPad
On 11-Aug-2010, at 9:51 PM, Narendra Sisodiya narendra@narendrasisodiya.com wrote:
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 4:34 PM, Shamit Verma subs.linux.mum@vshamit.comwrote:
Thanks a lot for this link. I have ordered $89 Cheap Android tablet.
I bought one of these tablet PCs from China. Its a cool toy (Model : Eken M001). It runs Android. Debian install on this was easy, and these is a large community of users who took it apart in terms of both hardware and software. So all kinds of custom roms with various Linux distros are available. Even Windows CE ROMs are available for this device.
-Shamit http://shamit.in/dpal
I just got this device (M001) today's evening. I loved it a lot. I want to use as my Smartbook. I have not explored much but It cost me less then 5500. This is the cheapest device which has Android. It do not have Bluetooth, USB, WebCam. I have seen some videos which claim to add these things. Will try to hack it.
Without both Bluetooth and USB it will be a problem to use I think. What's the screen size ?
Where do u live. Can I get to see it ?
Thanks a lot again for giving the google shopping search link.
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Without both Bluetooth and USB it will be a problem to use I think. What's the screen size ?
7 inch
Where do u live. Can I get to see it ?
Delhi
On 11-Aug-2010, at 11:58 PM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Without both Bluetooth and USB it will be a problem to use I think. What's the screen size ?
7 inch
I have worked with 7 inch laptps before and find it too difficult to work with. What has been your experience ? specifically, whats the experience with normal office (word / excel / power point), email, internet. How long can you effectively use it without eye strain ? I found it a poblem due to small size of text. Will appreciate your inputs on this.
So, this works with wifi right ?
Also, any chance of getting a 9 or 10 inch one ?
Where do u live. Can I get to see it ?
Delhi
Oops, too far for me to pay you a visit.
On Thursday 12 August 2010 02:37 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
I have worked with 7 inch laptps before and find it too difficult to work with. What has been your experience ? specifically, whats the experience with normal office (word / excel / power point), email, internet. How long can you effectively use it without eye strain ? I found it a poblem due to small size of text. Will appreciate your inputs on this.
Small screens are not for long term use. And with aging, eye strain increases. A problem I face is that when traveling there is constant movement of the vehicle and keeping the eyes focused on one spot causes headaches and eye pain. The next generation devices should be equipped with talking and dictation software. That way we can use the device while traveling and watch the birds too. ;-)
On 12-Aug-2010, at 10:28 PM, Rony wrote:
Small screens are not for long term use. And with aging, eye strain increases. A problem I face is that when traveling there is constant movement of the vehicle and keeping the eyes focused on one spot causes headaches and eye pain. The next generation devices should be equipped with talking and dictation software. That way we can use the device while traveling and watch the birds too. ;-)
Not perhaps connected, but still I just downloaded the google apps software on ipad. It has a voice activated search. You click the button and then say what you want to search for and its close to 100% accurate for me, though it cant understand anything my daughter asks it to search. I am sure google will activate voice response for other stuff also.
--
As a proper list etiquette... Please trim your replies. Post your replies below the relevant original text, leaving a line space. Do not re-use old messages to write new ones.
Regards,
Rony.
On Thursday 12 August 2010 10:41 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
I just downloaded the google apps software on ipad. It has a voice activated search. You click the button and then say what you want to search for and its close to 100% accurate for me, though it cant understand anything my daughter asks it to search. I am sure google will activate voice response for other stuff also.
Lets hope Android OS come up with something like that.
On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 2:37 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
On 11-Aug-2010, at 11:58 PM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Without both Bluetooth and USB it will be a problem to use I think.
What's
the screen size ?
7 inch
I have worked with 7 inch laptps before and find it too difficult to work with. What has been your experience ?
Very difficult to work. Even I have 10 inch Android Tablet too. It took me 10 minute to enter my 30 character wifi password
Good for purpose like - PhotoFrame, Videoplayback, Ebook-reading.
specifically, whats the experience with normal office (word / excel / power point), email, internet. How long can you effectively use it without eye strain ? I found it a poblem due to small size of text. Will appreciate your inputs on this.
So, this works with wifi right ?
Yes, Wifi works well but I am unable to connect by the wifi network created by my laptop.
Screen hangs many a times.
Also, any chance of getting a 9 or 10 inch one ?
eken has some bigger model too, I have not tried. My purpose it to test offline wikipedia on it. Well wikireader comes 5000/- in India. This comes in 5725/-
Where do u live. Can I get to see it ?
Delhi
Oops, too far for me to pay you a visit.
Please follow me on twitter to get my location (@nsisodiya) I will visit Mumbai very soon
Sent from my iPad
On 13-Aug-2010, at 1:37 AM, Narendra Sisodiya narendra@narendrasisodiya.com wrote:
On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 2:37 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
On 11-Aug-2010, at 11:58 PM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Without both Bluetooth and USB it will be a problem to use I think.
What's
the screen size ?
7 inch
I have worked with 7 inch laptps before and find it too difficult to work with. What has been your experience ?
Very difficult to work. Even I have 10 inch Android Tablet too. It took me 10 minute to enter my 30 character wifi password
How much did the 10 inter cost you ?
Good for purpose like - PhotoFrame, Videoplayback, Ebook-reading.
specifically, whats the experience with normal office (word / excel / power point), email, internet. How long can you effectively use it without eye strain ? I found it a poblem due to small size of text. Will appreciate your inputs on this.
So, this works with wifi right ?
Yes, Wifi works well but I am unable to connect by the wifi network created by my laptop.
Screen hangs many a times.
Also, any chance of getting a 9 or 10 inch one ?
eken has some bigger model too, I have not tried. My purpose it to test offline wikipedia on it. Well wikireader comes 5000/- in India. This comes in 5725/-
Where do u live. Can I get to see it ?
Delhi
Oops, too far for me to pay you a visit.
Please follow me on twitter to get my location (@nsisodiya) I will visit Mumbai very soon
On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 2:06 AM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Very difficult to work. Even I have 10 inch Android Tablet too. It took
me
10 minute to enter my 30 character wifi password
How much did the 10 inter cost you ?
Free of cost ! It is for development activity, I guess prise will be less then 10,000 even it can be 7000. this 10 inch - http://blog.narendrasisodiya.com/2010/08/today-i-got-another-android-tablet-... is cooler then the eken M001. Right now I have upgraded the firmware. Now it is faster. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTuGXbEnI_4&feature=related
On Friday 13 August 2010 02:06 AM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
How much did the 10 inter cost you ?
Guys have a look at the hardware configs for these devices. They are much below netbooks so performance will be limited.
http://www.ecrater.com/search.php?keywords=10%22+android&view=gallery
On Friday 13 August 2010 01:37 AM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
Yes, Wifi works well but I am unable to connect by the wifi network created by my laptop.
By your laptop? Check your wifi security level settings. Sometimes some devices cannot take higher levels of security.
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Sent from my iPad
Please don't top post.
Regards, --- Vivek Varghese Cherian Senior Systems Administrator RHCT ( # 605010995430406)
Website : http://www.vivekcherian.com Blog: http://www.vivekcherian.net Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekvc IRC: Vivek and ViveKVC on both Freenode and OFTC GPG Key fingerprint = 1EB1 0647 9574 18A3 40B5 8D74 F842 576B 3C2B 8538
Hello,
On 08/12/2010 11:34 AM, Vivek Varghese Cherian wrote:
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Saswata Banerjee& Associates< scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Sent from my iPad
Please don't top post.
..ehe, actually, he did not top top-post. The line you trimmed was just a comment, pretty much like the Hello in this mail. He probably could've trimmed better (the trailing bit), but it was too small to be annoying. If you want to correct someone at least make sure you got it right.
cheers, - steve
On 12-Aug-2010, at 11:34 AM, Vivek Varghese Cherian wrote:
On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 11:20 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
Sent from my iPad
Please don't top post.
Vivek, get a life. I am sure there are better things to do than waste time of all people on the net making a mountain out of a molehill. Or perhaps you dont have anything better to do.
Take the trouble to read the mail that was sent, you will notice that i have put my comments in the middle of the mail, below the relevant sections of the original posting.
Regards,
Vivek Varghese Cherian Senior Systems Administrator RHCT ( # 605010995430406)
Website : http://www.vivekcherian.com Blog: http://www.vivekcherian.net Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekvc IRC: Vivek and ViveKVC on both Freenode and OFTC GPG Key fingerprint = 1EB1 0647 9574 18A3 40B5 8D74 F842 576B 3C2B 8538 -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
On Thu, 2010-08-12 at 14:26 +0530, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
Take the trouble to read the mail that was sent, you will notice that i have put my comments in the middle of the mail, below the relevant sections of the original posting.
Regards,
Vivek Varghese Cherian Senior Systems Administrator RHCT ( # 605010995430406)
Website : http://www.vivekcherian.com Blog: http://www.vivekcherian.net Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekvc IRC: Vivek and ViveKVC on both Freenode and OFTC GPG Key fingerprint = 1EB1 0647 9574 18A3 40B5 8D74 F842 576B 3C2B
8538
but forgot to trim your mail
Sent from my iPad
Please don't top post.
Vivek, get a life. I am sure there are better things to do than waste time of all people on the net making a mountain out of a molehill. Or perhaps you dont have anything better to do.
Thanks for the free (and uncalled for counseling). It's worth the weight in rags.
You are not the one to decide what I need to do with my life.
If your brain has developed the capacity of noticing, I am the one who started this thread, so I do have _some_ better_things_ in_ life to do too :-)
Take the trouble to read the mail that was sent, you will notice that i have put my comments in the middle of the mail, below the relevant sections of the original posting.
So you know how to post the proper way also, if you really need to, good :-)
Regards,
On 12-Aug-2010, at 4:51 PM, Vivek Varghese Cherian wrote:
Sent from my iPad
Please don't top post.
Vivek, get a life. I am sure there are better things to do than waste time of all people on the net making a mountain out of a molehill. Or perhaps you dont have anything better to do.
Thanks for the free (and uncalled for counseling). It's worth the weight in rags.
You are not the one to decide what I need to do with my life.
If your brain has developed the capacity of noticing, I am the one who started this thread, so I do have _some_ better_things_ in_ life to do too :-)
Not really, you started this thread, but you dont own it. And the original matter is not even in discussion. And if you irritate me, then i am going to come out and give you advice on what you SHOULD do with your life. Its stupid comments like yours that drive many people out of the mailing list. People who would have benefited and those who would have contributed a lot more on this list.
Take the trouble to read the mail that was sent, you will notice that i have put my comments in the middle of the mail, below the relevant sections of the original posting.
So you know how to post the proper way also, if you really need to, good :-)
Regards,
Vivek Varghese Cherian Senior Systems Administrator RHCT ( # 605010995430406)
Website : http://www.vivekcherian.com Blog: http://www.vivekcherian.net Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekvc IRC: Vivek and ViveKVC on both Freenode and OFTC GPG Key fingerprint = 1EB1 0647 9574 18A3 40B5 8D74 F842 576B 3C2B 8538 -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 4:57 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
On 12-Aug-2010, at 4:51 PM, Vivek Varghese Cherian wrote:
Sent from my iPad
Please don't top post.
Vivek, get a life. I am sure there are better things to do than waste time of all people on the net making a mountain out of a molehill. Or perhaps you dont have anything better to do.
Thanks for the free (and uncalled for counseling). It's worth the weight in rags.
You are not the one to decide what I need to do with my life.
If your brain has developed the capacity of noticing, I am the one who started this thread, so I do have _some_ better_things_ in_ life to do
too
:-)
And if you irritate me, then i am going to come out and give you advice on what you SHOULD do with your life.
High time to see a Phycologist if you really get 'irritated' by something said in a mailing list that you start advising others what they should do their lives.
Regards,
High time to see a Phycologist if you really get 'irritated' by something said in a mailing list that you start advising others what they should do their lives.
s/do their/do with their
Regards,
Vivek Varghese Cherian Senior Systems Administrator RHCT ( # 605010995430406)
Website : http://www.vivekcherian.com Blog: http://www.vivekcherian.net Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekvc IRC: Vivek and ViveKVC on both Freenode and OFTC GPG Key fingerprint = 1EB1 0647 9574 18A3 40B5 8D74 F842 576B 3C2B 8538
On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 4:57 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates < scrapo@saswatabanerjee.com> wrote:
On 12-Aug-2010, at 4:51 PM, Vivek Varghese Cherian wrote:
Not really, you started this thread, but you dont own it.
FYI, I never claimed that I own this thread at any point.
Regards,
On Thu, 2010-08-12 at 16:57 +0530, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
Not really, you started this thread, but you dont own it. And the original matter is not even in discussion. And if you irritate me, then i am going to come out and give you advice on what you SHOULD do with your life. Its stupid comments like yours that drive many people out of the mailing list. People who would have benefited and those who would have contributed a lot more on this list.
Take the trouble to read the mail that was sent, you will notice
that i
have put my comments in the middle of the mail, below the relevant
sections
of the original posting.
So you know how to post the proper way also, if you really need to,
good :-)
Regards,
Vivek Varghese Cherian Senior Systems Administrator RHCT ( # 605010995430406)
Website : http://www.vivekcherian.com Blog: http://www.vivekcherian.net Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekvc IRC: Vivek and ViveKVC on both Freenode and OFTC GPG Key fingerprint = 1EB1 0647 9574 18A3 40B5 8D74 F842 576B 3C2B
8538
please take the trouble to trim unwanted matters from your posts
On Wednesday 11 August 2010 09:51 PM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
I just got this device (M001) today's evening. I loved it a lot. I want to use as my Smartbook. I have not explored much but It cost me less then 5500. This is the cheapest device which has Android. It do not have Bluetooth, USB, WebCam. I have seen some videos which claim to add these things. Will try to hack it.
OK. Here's the big question which many including I want to know. Was this transaction from Chandni Chowk to China? If so how did you order it, pay for it, how was it delivered, how did it clear customs etc. Can we simply order things from China? Tell me tell me :-)
On 12 August 2010 22:14, Rony gnulinuxist@gmail.com wrote:
On Wednesday 11 August 2010 09:51 PM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
I just got this device (M001) today's evening. I loved it a lot. I want to use as my Smartbook. I have not explored much but It cost me less then 5500. This is the cheapest device which has Android. It do not have Bluetooth, USB, WebCam. I have seen some videos which claim to add these things. Will try to hack it.
OK. Here's the big question which many including I want to know. Was this transaction from Chandni Chowk to China? If so how did you order it, pay for it, how was it delivered, how did it clear customs etc. Can we simply order things from China? Tell me tell me :-)
--
Little off the track, but are there any cheap chinese knock-off phones that run Android or Meego or maybe the recently open-sourced Symbian? Would be fun try out one!
Regards, Sarfaraz
On Thursday 12 August 2010 23:31:39 Sarfaraz Kazi wrote:
Little off the track, but are there any cheap chinese knock-off phones that run Android or Meego or maybe the recently open-sourced Symbian? Would be fun try out one!
Got an el cheapo apple knockoff chinese phone model PK168. Has wifi, bluetooth, microsd, usb (webcam, masstorage, serial, pict bridge (whatever that is), ebook reader, opera all the usual multimedia stuff and plenty of trash (RP games) - in Chinese.
Usability is quite ok. The touch screen and accelerometer work well. Biggest suprise was "wifi dialing" - voip. Now i have to rig up freeswitch and voila home mobile intercom. will be very useful as i live in a row house and you have to shout to talk to someone. Let down was that it has only 5 phone groups and you cannot add more.
Processor is MTK6325 an arm 926ej with a custom dsp from MediaTek, a chinese fabless design house. Infact most of the chinese ebooks and phones use the MT processors (MTK62xx series), which already have linux hacks. Doze based Reflashing software is available on the MT website and in principle it would be possible to load linux.
Just tried the doze reflash and got the NOR flash start address. Afaik it is standard arm boot start.
On 13 August 2010 12:17, jtd jtd@mtnl.net.in wrote:
On Thursday 12 August 2010 23:31:39 Sarfaraz Kazi wrote:
Little off the track, but are there any cheap chinese knock-off phones that run Android or Meego or maybe the recently open-sourced Symbian? Would be fun try out one!
Got an el cheapo apple knockoff chinese phone model PK168. Has wifi, bluetooth, microsd, usb (webcam, masstorage, serial, pict bridge (whatever that is), ebook reader, opera all the usual multimedia stuff and plenty of trash (RP games) - in Chinese. -- Rgds JTD --
Where did you buy it from and how much did it cost?
On Friday 13 August 2010 17:01:04 Sarfaraz Kazi wrote:
On 13 August 2010 12:17, jtd jtd@mtnl.net.in wrote:
On Thursday 12 August 2010 23:31:39 Sarfaraz Kazi wrote:
Little off the track, but are there any cheap chinese knock-off phones that run Android or Meego or maybe the recently open-sourced Symbian? Would be fun try out one!
Got an el cheapo apple knockoff chinese phone model PK168. Has wifi, bluetooth, microsd, usb (webcam, masstorage, serial, pict bridge (whatever that is), ebook reader, opera all the usual multimedia stuff and plenty of trash (RP games) - in Chinese.
Where did you buy it from and how much did it cost?
My brother purchased 4 in Saudi Arabia Rs.3800/- ( SR320 )
OK. Here's the big question which many including I want to know. Was this transaction from Chandni Chowk to China? If so how did you order it, pay for it, how was it delivered, how did it clear customs etc. Can we simply order things from China? Tell me tell me :-)
Its quite straightforward. You order on a site like dealextreme.com and pay with paypal / credit card.
Most of the times items are shipped with Govt mail and it takes 3 - 5 weeks for delivery and there is no shipping cost.
You can choose for faster shipping like UPS, but that would obviusly cost more.
Postal dept has International mail department that would notify you about customs duty once item reaches India.
Usually there is no duty for items valued upto 10000.
On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 3:10 AM, Shamit Verma subs.linux.mum@vshamit.comwrote:
OK. Here's the big question which many including I want to know. Was this transaction from Chandni Chowk to China? If so how did you order it, pay for it, how was it delivered, how did it clear customs etc. Can we simply order things from China? Tell me tell me :-)
Its quite straightforward. You order on a site like dealextreme.com and pay with paypal / credit card.
I purchased from http://www.ecrater.com/search.php?keywords=Eken&x=0&y=0 It took me exactly 9 days to get my tablet in my hand via EMS shipping.
Its quite straightforward. You order on a site like dealextreme.com and pay with paypal / credit card.
I purchased from http://www.ecrater.com/search.php?keywords=Eken&x=0&y=0 It took me exactly 9 days to get my tablet in my hand via EMS shipping.
Do these chinese devices have a warranty of any sort ?
I mean, if it conks off at some time, do they have some sort of support/service in India ?
I understand that we are talking about hacking devices and the like, but just curious if the Chinese companies assume any responsibility at all for any devices they sell..
They sure are cheap, but how good are they at performance compared to the other tablets out there in the Market ?
Regards,
On Friday 13 August 2010 12:09:39 Vivek Varghese Cherian wrote:
Its quite straightforward. You order on a site like dealextreme.com and pay with paypal / credit card.
I purchased from http://www.ecrater.com/search.php?keywords=Eken&x=0&y=0 It took me exactly 9 days to get my tablet in my hand via EMS shipping.
Do these chinese devices have a warranty of any sort ?
I mean, if it conks off at some time, do they have some sort of support/service in India ?
You are joking right?.
The maths and logic is very simple. Need reliability and service buy a reboxed and rebranded thingy @ 3 times the price - all hardware is made in china anyway. Have data that is important or services that are critical? dont touch ANY stuff without a fallback plan AND a cast iron maintanence contract.
You are joking right?.
Not joking, but the confidence with which people talk of these so called cheap Chinese gadgets actually makes me believe (rightly or wrongly) that they are somewhat reliable. I am interested in the time frame people have managed to used these gadgets, so that I can implore that option myself.
The idea is buy one, use it for a while, and after a while maybe hack the hardware and the software :-)
The maths and logic is very simple. Need reliability and service buy a reboxed and rebranded thingy @ 3 times the price
IMHO, the quality of the hardware can still vary according to the hardware manufacturer. Is it always the reboxing and rebranding that takes the cost ?
Have data that is important or services tha are critical? dont touch ANY
stuff without a fallback plan AND a cast iron maintanence contract.
Even a Laptop or a Mobile from a known brand only offers a warranty (not a guarantee), and that too on limited parts (maybe for 1 year which can be extendible for upto say 3 years for some additional cost).
No I don't intent to keep any critical data on such devices, that will be safe on a PC or at the most on a Laptop or even on an External HDD.
These Devices will be more of an educational tool more than anything else.
So let me put this question once again to the list:
How long have people here managed to use cheap Chinese devices without any deterioration in the quality of service that they provide ?
Regards,
How long have people here managed to use cheap Chinese devices without any deterioration in the quality of service that they provide ?
Pick up any electronic gadget of any make / brand, 90% chances are that, it will be assembled / made in China.
So it all depends on you, how much extra you want to pay for warranty / brand etc...
Warm Regards, Mukund Deshmukh, Beta Computronics Pvt Ltd, 10/1, IT Park, Parsodi, Nagpur -440022, INDIA.
Meet us at - K2010, Booth No. 12C40, 27th Oct - 3rd Nov 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany.
On Friday 13 August 2010 18:34:39 Mukund Deshmukh wrote:
How long have people here managed to use cheap Chinese devices without any deterioration in the quality of service that they provide ?
Pick up any electronic gadget of any make / brand, 90% chances are that, it will be assembled / made in China.
Imo it is more than 98~99%. Including new critical stuff in continuous process industries. Even the few that are boxed in India have all the subassemblies, most of the pcb and associated components, including cpus and memory - the most technology and capital intensive parts of electronics - are made in china.
So it all depends on you, how much extra you want to pay for warranty / brand etc...
Very true.
So when you buy branded stuff, you are buying a label worth Rs.2/- and paying for their ad and brand spend eg. apple who have proly the worst service infrastructure here. Or the label + the service from the service infrastructure eg ACER whose os free stuff offers best value for money, or Lenovo with service in every corner of the country. BTW apple makes it's stuff in china.
If you read the fine print in IBM's ads for servers, they are using refurbished parts. Talk of commoditization of the high tech industry
BTW Intel is shifting it's fabs to Vietnam after which it should shift to Afghanistan and Iraq.
So what we pay for in buying brands is a combo of vapourware, peace of mind and a little tech thrown in.
Warm Regards, Mukund Deshmukh, Beta Computronics Pvt Ltd, 10/1, IT Park, Parsodi, Nagpur -440022, INDIA.
Meet us at - K2010, Booth No. 12C40, 27th Oct - 3rd Nov 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany.
On Friday 13 August 2010 06:34 PM, Mukund Deshmukh wrote:
How long have people here managed to use cheap Chinese devices without any deterioration in the quality of service that they provide ?
Pick up any electronic gadget of any make / brand, 90% chances are that, it will be assembled / made in China.
So it all depends on you, how much extra you want to pay for warranty / brand etc...
China has different qualities for different regions so prices will be different too.
On Saturday 14 August 2010 16:01:28 Rony wrote:
On Friday 13 August 2010 06:34 PM, Mukund Deshmukh wrote:
How long have people here managed to use cheap Chinese devices without any deterioration in the quality of service that they provide ?
Pick up any electronic gadget of any make / brand, 90% chances are that, it will be assembled / made in China.
So it all depends on you, how much extra you want to pay for warranty / brand etc...
China has different qualities for different regions so prices will be different too.
They have different prices for different qualities, and regions with higher paying capacity get higher quality. Thus a PK168 apple phone purchased in the US and EU has the best quality (battery, case, packaging and proly internal components) followed by gulf region followed by SE Asia, followed by South Asia. So if we did pay more we might get better quality.
Before it became very popular the PK168 sold with two batteries, but due to very high demand is now sold with one battery. Out of 4 one charger cum connecting cable seems to be intermittent. On close inspection i found the cable outer insulation damaged at the usb end, though not sure if it was shipped that way or went bad at our end.
On Friday 13 August 2010 03:10 AM, Shamit Verma wrote:
Its quite straightforward. You order on a site like dealextreme.com and pay with paypal / credit card.
Most of the times items are shipped with Govt mail and it takes 3 - 5 weeks for delivery and there is no shipping cost.
You can choose for faster shipping like UPS, but that would obviusly cost more.
Postal dept has International mail department that would notify you about customs duty once item reaches India.
Usually there is no duty for items valued upto 10000.
This is very nice. I was under the impression that getting things from abroad required an import license etc. Has anyone used the same method to order stuff from US and European websites? During my pen friend days in school/college I used to hear tales of how post personnel would open packets, replace the expensive items with junk, re-seal them and deliver them like original.
This is very nice. I was under the impression that getting things from abroad required an import license etc. Has anyone used the same method to order stuff from US and European websites? During my pen friend days in school/college I used to hear tales of how post personnel would open packets, replace the expensive items with junk, re-seal them and deliver them like original.
They do open and reseal items. And what I said was regarding personal use. If you get something in commercial quantity there would be duty as per norms.
Couriers like UPS take care of the whole process seamlessly. You get one quote for shipping + applicable duties in India + shipping within India. But that costs way more and you get your item in 2 - 5 days.
-Shamit
Coming back to the original topic of a $35 tablet being unveiled by the Govt. for the masses. If the govt. is keep on spreading computer literacy and usage among the masses, why is it trying to re-invent the wheel that has already been perfected by others. Why does it not spend its resources on implementing the wheel itself? The IPTV technology is already in place. There are set top devices available that work similarly as thin clients and can provide a computer desktop on the home television. By adding a small 2 GB chip inside it, it can have set top boxes that boot from their own ROM ( for those who cannot access broadband ). This technology is way cheaper and simple to produce too. People already have televisions at home. All they need is to attach these boxes and a keyboard to the telly and everyone is online. Today even people living in the villages and zopadpattis have a television so implementing this technology is no big deal.
On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Rony gnulinuxist@gmail.com wrote:
Coming back to the original topic of a $35 tablet being unveiled by the Govt. for the masses. If the govt. is keep on spreading computer literacy and usage among the masses, why is it trying to re-invent the wheel that has already been perfected by others. Why does it not spend its resources on implementing the wheel itself? The IPTV technology is already in place. There are set top devices available that work similarly as thin clients and can provide a computer desktop on the home television. By adding a small 2 GB chip inside it, it can have set top boxes that boot from their own ROM ( for those who cannot access broadband ). This technology is way cheaper and simple to produce too.
May you please explain more. do you have any working hardware ? is there any step by step procedure available ??
People already have televisions at home. All they need is to attach these boxes and a keyboard to the telly and everyone is online. Today even people living in the villages and zopadpattis have a television so implementing this technology is no big deal.
On Saturday 14 August 2010 08:22 PM, Narendra Sisodiya wrote:
On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Ronygnulinuxist@gmail.com wrote:
Coming back to the original topic of a $35 tablet being unveiled by the Govt. for the masses. If the govt. is keep on spreading computer literacy and usage among the masses, why is it trying to re-invent the wheel that has already been perfected by others. Why does it not spend its resources on implementing the wheel itself? The IPTV technology is already in place. There are set top devices available that work similarly as thin clients and can provide a computer desktop on the home television. By adding a small 2 GB chip inside it, it can have set top boxes that boot from their own ROM ( for those who cannot access broadband ). This technology is way cheaper and simple to produce too.
May you please explain more. do you have any working hardware ? is there any step by step procedure available ??
Some months back I had posted links for the STBs and how some companies in India were trying to implement it. Will look up again. These are set top boxes similar to IPTV STBs and can turn your tv into a pc. In order to avoid broadband thin client booting, the booting should be done locally from a 2-4 GB flash card and you have a cheap pc in the house. Another advantage of having it in the house is that women can use it too when the men are out. Plus you have a decent screen size. Otherwise people are already using big screen cheap Chinese mobiles which have net surfing in it. Nowadays 2G internet is very cheap. Rs. 100 per month (almost unlimited).
Sometimes I feel that big pc manufacturers may be discouraging this simple device as it can affect their sales.
Here are some links to cheap STB type pc devices and interesting writeups.
http://www.ewayco.com/100-low-cost-pc-products-low-cost-systems-embedded-sys...
http://www.greenhughes.com/content/it-time-ubuntu-set-top-box-remix
http://www.pcworld.com/article/50167/ibm_picks_linux_for_settop_boxes.html
http://blogs.computerworld.com/15778/google_and_linux_are_coming_to_your_tv
Some tv box desktop images below.
http://deviceguru.com/boxee-vs-zinc-vs-hulu/
There is a lot happening in media centric STBs running on Linux. What the Govt. can do is take a nice universal box and develop custom embedded India centric linux desktop software for the masses. If it boots locally then it is not tied to any ISP.
Here are some links to cheap STB type pc devices and interesting writeups.
As JTD has pointed out, there is no up link in STB, so it is not possible to browse. Some time back I have read about, down link through satellite and up link through land line. Warm Regards, Mukund Deshmukh, Beta Computronics Pvt Ltd, 10/1, IT Park, Parsodi, Nagpur -440022, INDIA.
Meet us at - K2010, Booth No. 12C40, 27th Oct - 3rd Nov 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany.
On Sunday 15 August 2010 07:57 PM, Mukund Deshmukh wrote:
Here are some links to cheap STB type pc devices and interesting writeups.
As JTD has pointed out, there is no up link in STB, so it is not possible to browse. Some time back I have read about, down link through satellite and up link through land line.
Any device that sits on top of the television set is a Set Top Box. There is no link in particular with any Satellite device. I had used IPTV for a month before I gave it up. It was a linux based thin client STB, the size of an ADSL modem. It had an audio/video out and an ethernet port. MTNL charged Rs. 100 per month as rental and 200/- per month for all channels. The same can be modified to turn the TV into a linux desktop. As net booting is laden with problems, a local booting through a flash card would be ideal for any ISP situation.
Any device that sits on top of the television set is a Set Top Box. There is no link in particular with any Satellite device. I had used
Tata sky, Airtel, Dish TV, Reliance... all use satellite only. Warm Regards, Mukund Deshmukh, Beta Computronics Pvt Ltd, 10/1, IT Park, Parsodi, Nagpur -440022, INDIA.
Meet us at - K2010, Booth No. 12C40, 27th Oct - 3rd Nov 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Sent from my iPad
On 15-Aug-2010, at 7:57 PM, "Mukund Deshmukh" mukund.deshmukh@gmail.com wrote:
Here are some links to cheap STB type pc devices and interesting writeups.
As JTD has pointed out, there is no up link in STB, so it is not possible to browse. Some time back I have read about, down link through satellite and up link through land line.
A ISP in Pune called jabarokee which operated in 1998 used a similar thing. Since dot / vsnl used to be expensive, they used dot line for upload and satellite for download. I am sure better tech exists today as compared to those days.
Warm Regards, Mukund Deshmukh, Beta Computronics Pvt Ltd, 10/1, IT Park, Parsodi, Nagpur -440022, INDIA.
Meet us at - K2010, Booth No. 12C40, 27th Oct - 3rd Nov 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany.
On Sunday 15 Aug 2010, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
A ISP in Pune called jabarokee which operated in 1998 used a similar thing. Since dot / vsnl used to be expensive, they used dot line for upload and satellite for download. I am sure better tech exists today as compared to those days.
Was it Jabberwocky? Run by the chap who founded the Pune LUG?
-- Raj
Sent from my iPad
On 15-Aug-2010, at 11:27 PM, "Raj Mathur (राज माथुर)" raju@linux-delhi.org wrote:
On Sunday 15 Aug 2010, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
A ISP in Pune called jabarokee which operated in 1998 used a similar thing. Since dot / vsnl used to be expensive, they used dot line for upload and satellite for download. I am sure better tech exists today as compared to those days.
Was it Jabberwocky? Run by the chap who founded the Pune LUG?
Yes, same one. They used to run a Bbs which was converted to ISP with help from a Pune based industrial group who funded them. The guy is now in USA I believe. I also remember it was the first large scale Linux installation I had seen.
-- Raj
Raj Mathur raju@kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F PsyTrance & Chill: http://schizoid.in/ || It is the mind that moves -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
On Sunday 15 August 2010 09:47 PM, Saswata Banerjee & Associates wrote:
Sent from my iPad
On 15-Aug-2010, at 7:57 PM, "Mukund Deshmukh"mukund.deshmukh@gmail.com wrote:
Here are some links to cheap STB type pc devices and interesting writeups.
As JTD has pointed out, there is no up link in STB, so it is not possible to browse. Some time back I have read about, down link through satellite and up link through land line.
A ISP in Pune called jabarokee which operated in 1998 used a similar thing. Since dot / vsnl used to be expensive, they used dot line for upload and satellite for download. I am sure better tech exists today as compared to those days.
I don't know how the satt. thing got in from the members. The technology I had mentioned was a simple STB or lets call it CPE to avoid confusion, that would boot into a linux system from the broadband available via an ethernet port from MTNL's ADSL modem. Since there were problems with net logins, I am suggesting a device that has a local login using a flash card (pen drive) as the installed OS. No satt. technology here.
Google is already implementing this technology in a media centric way in Sony LCD TVs. I have already seen and set up Sony TVs in Mumbai, that have an ethernet port as well as a wireless lan that allows the viewer to visit Youtube and other limited number of video sites online to see their videos on the TV itself via LAN or WLAN. Once again I make it clear, there is no satellite linking involved. Now if the same hardware is programmed to have a light weight desktop, you have a TV and a PC built into one. Pupply Linux, Slax and such desktops. No satellite.
On Saturday 14 August 2010 19:59:18 Rony wrote:
Coming back to the original topic of a $35 tablet being unveiled by the Govt. for the masses. If the govt. is keep on spreading computer literacy and usage among the masses, why is it trying to re-invent the wheel that has already been perfected by others. Why does it not spend its resources on implementing the wheel itself? The IPTV technology is already in place. There are set top devices available that work similarly as thin clients and can provide a computer desktop on the home television. By adding a small 2 GB chip inside it, it can have set top boxes that boot from their own ROM ( for those who cannot access broadband ). This technology is way cheaper and simple to produce too. People already have televisions at home. All they need is to attach these boxes and a keyboard to the telly and everyone is online. Today even people living in the villages and zopadpattis have a television so implementing this technology is no big deal.
Sat TV is oneway downlink. No interaction is possible without a very expensive uplink. But on a wired iptv line there is already a facility launched: http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
On Saturday 14 August 2010 08:26 PM, jtd wrote:
Sat TV is oneway downlink. No interaction is possible without a very expensive uplink. But on a wired iptv line there is already a facility launched: http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
Sat TV is nowhere the option. We just need simple STBs that boot locally, with a video out, usb, ethernet, card reader and ps/2 ports. With this even families with many tvs can add the additional pc interface at low costs.
On Sunday 15 August 2010 12:24:45 Rony wrote:
On Saturday 14 August 2010 08:26 PM, jtd wrote:
Sat TV is oneway downlink. No interaction is possible without a very expensive uplink. But on a wired iptv line there is already a facility launched: http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
Sat TV is nowhere the option. We just need simple STBs that boot locally, with a video out, usb, ethernet, card reader and ps/2 ports. With this even families with many tvs can add the additional pc interface at low costs.
That is what the link does. However STBs are not cheap. They are subsidised, afaik about 50%.
Regards,
Rony.
On Monday 16 August 2010 11:09 AM, jtd wrote:
On Sunday 15 August 2010 12:24:45 Rony wrote:
On Saturday 14 August 2010 08:26 PM, jtd wrote:
Sat TV is oneway downlink. No interaction is possible without a very expensive uplink. But on a wired iptv line there is already a facility launched: http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
Sat TV is nowhere the option. We just need simple STBs that boot locally, with a video out, usb, ethernet, card reader and ps/2 ports. With this even families with many tvs can add the additional pc interface at low costs.
That is what the link does. However STBs are not cheap. They are subsidised, afaik about 50%.
I have used an IPTV device for my television, that is *not* linked to any satellite but only a broadband wired line, at a rental of Rs. 100 per month. This should be affordable to the masses. The Govt. ( or the telecom company ) recovers the cost in 3 to 4 years.
On Monday 16 August 2010 20:31:54 Rony wrote:
On Monday 16 August 2010 11:09 AM, jtd wrote:
On Sunday 15 August 2010 12:24:45 Rony wrote:
On Saturday 14 August 2010 08:26 PM, jtd wrote:
Sat TV is oneway downlink. No interaction is possible without a very expensive uplink. But on a wired iptv line there is already a facility launched: http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
Sat TV is nowhere the option. We just need simple STBs that boot locally, with a video out, usb, ethernet, card reader and ps/2 ports. With this even families with many tvs can add the additional pc interface at low costs.
That is what the link does. However STBs are not cheap. They are subsidised, afaik about 50%.
I have used an IPTV device for my television, that is *not* linked to any satellite but only a broadband wired line, at a rental of Rs. 100 per month. This should be affordable to the masses. The Govt. ( or the telecom company ) recovers the cost in 3 to 4 years.
This is precisely what the link provided below (and the earlier mail announces. http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
An iptv box drives a tv at 320 x 240 interlaced. This resolution is at best useful only for the most rudimentary computer applications.
Inorder that the idea be workable, you will need a minimum resolution of 800 x 600. This bumps up the STB price by about 20%. But the display is a much bigger problem. A TV sized display of 800 x 600 resolution will cost a bomb, since it is a lot harder to build crts. A 16" LCD display costs Rs.4500/-.
So bundling this as a combo with monthly rental plan will cost Rs.200 ~ 220. However nobody will do this, because it will immediately cut into the users budget for paid channels, require two sets of inventories, Look more expensive when the competition offers tv only etc.,
On Tuesday 17 August 2010 12:08 PM, jtd wrote:
This is precisely what the link provided below (and the earlier mail announces. http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
An iptv box drives a tv at 320 x 240 interlaced. This resolution is at best useful only for the most rudimentary computer applications.
Inorder that the idea be workable, you will need a minimum resolution of 800 x 600. This bumps up the STB price by about 20%. But the display is a much bigger problem. A TV sized display of 800 x 600 resolution will cost a bomb, since it is a lot harder to build crts. A 16" LCD display costs Rs.4500/-.
So bundling this as a combo with monthly rental plan will cost Rs.200 ~ 220. However nobody will do this, because it will immediately cut into the users budget for paid channels, require two sets of inventories, Look more expensive when the competition offers tv only etc.,
In our list archives there will be a mail I had sent with links to the above device. Some ISPs in India were trying to introduce these boxes for spreading computer literacy. However I feel, big PC companies may have applied brakes to it. Every time the Govt. wants to spread computer literacy it comes up with expensive devices by tying up with a PC manufacturer rather than look for simple solutions. The masses are already using cheap Chinese mobiles so what is the point in the Govt. giving them similar devices with a marginally larger screen when the same can be directly purchased at low costs anyway. These things cannot substitute a proper desktop with a decent screen and a full keyboard and mouse.
Just like the fact that bottled water companies and water filter makers benefit from the Govt's inability to provide potable water to the masses. Just see how the cost of water filters has come down to Rs 1800/- and even Rs. 1000/- after some companies made bold decisions to market cheaper water filters. Till these came, we had to shell out 6K to 8K for a decent water filter. Petroleum companies too have had a hand in preventing electric and alternate fuel engines from gaining popularity.
While still on $35 Tablet... Here is one ...
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=216727540
Warm Regards, Mukund Deshmukh, Beta Computronics Pvt Ltd, 10/1, IT Park, Parsodi, Nagpur -440022, INDIA.
Meet us at - K2010, Booth No. 12C40, 27th Oct - 3rd Nov 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Content preview: Sent from my iPad Saswata Banerjee On 17-Aug-2010, at 10:32 PM, "Mukund Deshmukh" mukund.deshmukh@gmail.com wrote: > While still on $35 Tablet... > Here is one ... > > http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=216727540 [...]
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On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 10:32 PM, Mukund Deshmukh <mukund.deshmukh@gmail.com
wrote:
While still on $35 Tablet... Here is one ...
No, this is a refurbished laptop. and $89
On Tuesday 17 August 2010 21:54:18 Rony wrote:
On Tuesday 17 August 2010 12:08 PM, jtd wrote:
This is precisely what the link provided below (and the earlier mail announces. http://www.mtnl.net.in/PressReleaseMTNLNovatiumDelhi.doc
An iptv box drives a tv at 320 x 240 interlaced. This resolution is at best useful only for the most rudimentary computer applications.
Inorder that the idea be workable, you will need a minimum resolution of 800 x 600. This bumps up the STB price by about 20%. But the display is a much bigger problem. A TV sized display of 800 x 600 resolution will cost a bomb, since it is a lot harder to build crts. A 16" LCD display costs Rs.4500/-.
So bundling this as a combo with monthly rental plan will cost Rs.200 ~ 220. However nobody will do this, because it will immediately cut into the users budget for paid channels, require two sets of inventories, Look more expensive when the competition offers tv only etc.,
In our list archives there will be a mail I had sent with links to the above device. Some ISPs in India were trying to introduce these boxes for spreading computer literacy.
there was a chennai based isp, which offered an email text client with a 2 line x 20 char lcd in 96 (afair). The product flopped for various reasons, including lack of phone lines for dialup, no graphics, no localization etc, within the potential market segment. But imo it failed primarily because the daily communication needs of the populace simply never needed the complexity of email (a sort of social issue).
However I feel, big PC companies may have applied brakes to it. Every time the Govt. wants to spread computer literacy it comes up with expensive devices by tying up with a PC manufacturer rather than look for simple solutions.
It's the content and pedagogy that is of vital importance than merely the cost of some gizmo or the other. The scale on which we need to train our teachers and provide other basic amenities in schools dwarfs by several orders of magnitude any technology barriers.
Kherat a village near Matheran is using the OLPC donated and monitored by the Digital bridge foundation. The school has one power connection with several hours of power cuts, to charge 25 odd OLPCs.
On Sunday I visted a place in the middle of nowhere 4 hrs out of Mumbai in Mandangarh district. Most of the villages have no motorable roads. The few that have roads have only 10 ft wide roads. Electricity is non existent in most villages. Schools are 4 Km one way walk in hilly terrain. And this is a reasonably "well to do" region, in the most industralised.state of the country.
Truly we are Gods people - only he can keep this country from chaos.
The masses are already using cheap Chinese mobiles so what is the point in the Govt. giving them similar devices with a marginally larger screen when the same can be directly purchased at low costs anyway. These things cannot substitute a proper desktop with a decent screen and a full keyboard and mouse.
Just like the fact that bottled water companies and water filter makers benefit from the Govt's inability to provide potable water to the masses. Just see how the cost of water filters has come down to Rs 1800/- and even Rs. 1000/- after some companies made bold decisions to market cheaper water filters. Till these came, we had to shell out 6K to 8K for a decent water filter. Petroleum companies too have had a hand in preventing electric and alternate fuel engines from gaining popularity.
--
As a proper list etiquette... Please trim your replies. Post your replies below the relevant original text, leaving a line space. Do not re-use old messages to write new ones.
Regards,
Rony.
Truly we are Gods people - only he can keep this country from chaos.
If you take a close look at health system at rural level, you will believe god exist in India only, else we would have never crossed 1 billon mark. Sorry for the totally off topic remark... Warm Regards, Mukund Deshmukh, Beta Computronics Pvt Ltd, 10/1, IT Park, Parsodi, Nagpur -440022, INDIA.
Meet us at - K2010, Booth No. 12C40, 27th Oct - 3rd Nov 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany.
On Tuesday 17 August 2010 10:45 PM, jtd wrote:
It's the content and pedagogy that is of vital importance than merely the cost of some gizmo or the other. The scale on which we need to train our teachers and provide other basic amenities in schools dwarfs by several orders of magnitude any technology barriers.
True. But this will happen even if the computer is given free of cost. Training the people in understanding the use of a computer and the purpose of using the internet will have to be given under any circumstances. Otherwise it will be an extended version of the mobile used to view, create and transmit MMSs.
Kherat a village near Matheran is using the OLPC donated and monitored by the Digital bridge foundation. The school has one power connection with several hours of power cuts, to charge 25 odd OLPCs.
The organisation that looked over the supplies of the OLPCs should have foreseen this problem. Since the OLPC is meant to be used in areas that have inadequate power supply, there should be solutions for it.
If the Govt. wants to make a peoples' computer, it should take into account what the machine will be actually used for and then design accordingly. Other than internet usage for searching information, email and e-Governance, data entry is an important function that will be carried out on it. Youngsters and housewives are taking up data entry jobs at home and converting paper work into electronic data. Then there are others who do DTP work and other graphics jobs on their pc. The peoples' computer will have to fulfill all these requirements. It will need a reasonably good screen size and a proper keyboard and mouse.
I was also looking at the mini-ITX form of motherboards on the net. They look promising. Many of them have TV outs too. However any decent technology will not be possible below 100$. Even without the screen. The Govt. could provide them on soft loans or some rent. The 35$ machine is not a reality. On top of that they are even suggesting that the cost will further reduce.
Looks like a con job, EXCEPT that there were some very reputable names (both persons and institutions) linked to it.
Wouldn't call it a con job as such, but I can see names like Kapil Sibal and IIT ( which IIT is not mentioned) associated with it.
IMO a BOM price of $35 would be barely acheivable, given a massive and immediate investments in a semi conductor and LCD fab. One might consider this investment by the government a one time subsidy for kick starting a strategically vital LSI industry.
Yes $ 35 seems too much of a hype.
IMO they maybe excused for poking their nose in industry with public money.
Nothing wrong in the Government kickstarting such projects as long as the complete technical specifications are released to the public and a public tender on which company can come forward to mass produce it at the lowest cost without compromising on the quality of the device seems a fair deal to me.
Inspite of all the evidence I dearly hope that this is true.
Me too :-)
There are no complete articles on this thing, no details, just the same image and hype. I'd really like to see this go into production, but there's too much hype to be here in time and at that cost.
Surya
I wish they release the technical specificatons soon. Can't find it anywhere else on the wild wild web too.
If they release the technical specifications, at least if not them, then some private player can try to mass produce it and the goverment can sell/distribute it at a subsidised prize just like they do for the MTNL Landline Phones (Made by Beetel).
Regards,
There are no complete articles on this thing, no details, just the same
image and hype. I'd really like to see this go into production, but there's too much hype to be here in time and at that cost.
Surya
Another picture of the so called device.
http://androidos.in/2010/07/35-android-tablet-is-here-in-india-price-can-go-...
The site says
'According to the details,the tablet will come in three versions of 5, 7, and 9 inches display. It will be packed with 2 GB RAM memory, wi-fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas. It will laso have apps like internet browser, PDF reader, video conferencing facilities, open office, sci-lab, media player, remote device management capability, multimedia input-output interface option, and multiple content viewer.'
Some more specs can be found here,
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Indian-Government-Unveils-Quite-Powerful-10-T...
Here it says
'At the heart of the 10.5-inch tablet lies an ARM chip. The exact chip set to be used has not been disclosed, but it is known that 2GB of memory will be present to back it up. The display is a color touchscrenn with multi-touch support. Furthermore, the configuration includes cloud storage, 10/100 Ethernet, WiFi b/g , a so-called highly-customized operating system and even support for Adobe Flash. Thus, there will be no issues regarding online videos and interactive educational content. Finally, the device comes with a digital camera and compatibility with OpenOffice.org documents, Adobe PDF and various multimedia formats.
The slate was developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) students and will benefit from a network that connects 18,000 educational institutions and 400 universities. This network is part of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology.'
Disclaimer: Nothing 'official' about all these Technical Specifications :-)
Regards,
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:29 AM, Vivek Varghese Cherian vivekcherian@gmail.com wrote:
Another picture of the so called device.
http://androidos.in/2010/07/35-android-tablet-is-here-in-india-price-can-go-...
The site says
'According to the details,the tablet will come in three versions of 5, 7, and 9 inches display. It will be packed with 2 GB RAM memory, wi-fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas. It will laso have apps like internet browser, PDF reader, video conferencing facilities, open office, sci-lab, media player, remote device management capability, multimedia input-output interface option, and multiple content viewer.'
Wow! That is a lot of functionality.
Some more specs can be found here,
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Indian-Government-Unveils-Quite-Powerful-10-T...
I hope the designers and GoI releases the full spec under some kind of "open hardware" lic. and set it free (in the same spirit as the TCP/IP networking stack).
Let innovators across the globe contribute and make it a kick ass product.
-- Arun Khan
On Friday 30 July 2010 11:04:10 Arun Khan wrote:
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:29 AM, Vivek Varghese Cherian
vivekcherian@gmail.com wrote:
Another picture of the so called device.
http://androidos.in/2010/07/35-android-tablet-is-here-in-india-pr ice-can-go-down-to-10/
The site says
'According to the details,the tablet will come in three versions of 5, 7, and 9 inches display. It will be packed with 2 GB RAM memory, wi-fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas. It will laso have apps like internet browser, PDF reader, video conferencing facilities, open office, sci-lab, media player, remote device management capability, multimedia input-output interface option, and multiple content viewer.'
Wow! That is a lot of functionality.
Some more specs can be found here,
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Indian-Government-Unveils-Quite-Po werful-10-Tablet-148828.shtml
I hope the designers and GoI releases the full spec under some kind of "open hardware" lic. and set it free (in the same spirit as the TCP/IP networking stack).
Let innovators across the globe contribute and make it a kick ass product.
As an aside, Creative (soundwallas) developed an ARM based device with some neat multimedia innards. The device never scored a design hit. If the IIS/IIT profs managed to locate a similiar nearly dead silicon manufacturer, they could proly get a very lowcost BOM. Assembling the device is not difficult, even with BGAs. Requires a regular kitchen oven and can be done in your kitchen.
Regarding design specs, there are innumerable open designs available, including hawkboard and beagle board. Designing the schematic is almost trivial. Desigining the layout is only a little more laborious. Fabricating a four layer PCB is not difficult either but is an economy problem for small volumes < 500. Also a 4 layer board would be relatively big. Inorder to make it compact, the pcb would have to be 6 layer probably with bilind/buried vias. This makes the pcb more expensive, ie volumes of < 1000 per lot will be expensive (i have been getting mails from chinses vendors for volumes as low as 10 though). However no black art involved in any of the above, except the costs.
The roadblock will be the LCD. If the specs say video playback, the lcd will require a fast refresh. Which drives the cost up. A 5" display in large volumes will be about $8.
Speculation, speculation, speculation. I am dying to read some real info. And i hope it does not turn into con like the nano first 1.000 units will be $35 (already booked by Kapil Sibal), rest will be $350.
If they pull this off, the whole team should be awarded Bharat Ratnas.
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 11:49 AM, jtd jtd@mtnl.net.in wrote:
Speculation, speculation, speculation. I am dying to read some real info. And i hope it does not turn into con like the nano first 1.000 units will be $35 (already booked by Kapil Sibal), rest will be $350.
If they pull this off, the whole team should be awarded Bharat Ratnas.
Regarding design specs, there are innumerable open designs available, including hawkboard and beagle board. Designing the schematic is almost trivial. Desigining the layout is only a little more laborious. Fabricating a four layer PCB is not difficult either but is an economy problem for small volumes < 500. Also a 4 layer board would be relatively big. Inorder to make it compact, the pcb would have to be 6 layer probably with bilind/buried vias. This makes the pcb more expensive, ie volumes of < 1000 per lot will be expensive (i have been getting mails from chinses vendors for volumes as low as 10 though). However no black art involved in any of the above, except the costs.
IIT Kanpur has facility to fabricate 8 layer PCB and I think I read somewhere that the PCB for this was fabricated at IITK
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