Computers made cheap, thanks to Indians

HYDERABAD: An affordable computer enabled with multimedia and Internet will soon be available in the Indian market for just Rs.7,500 ($168), a scientist said.The Nova NetPC has been developed by Chennai-based Novatium Solutions, a consortium of Indian partners, Mumbai-based Netcore Solutions, the Telecom and Networks Group of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras and the US-based Analog Devices.

It would cost much less than the current price of Rs.10,000-Rs.12,000 for a personal computer, said Ashok Jhunjunwala, a professor at IIT-Madras.

The three Indian partners involved in the project had a shared vision of “computing for the next billion”, said Jhunjunwala, who steers the Telecom and Networks Group with a number of IITians within India and abroad.

The new device promises affordable computing solutions to the rural masses and is expected to provide all convenient features of a PC at a very affordable price without any virus risk.

“The Nova NetPC will be launched next month. Together with the monitor it will cost around Rs.7,000-7,500,” Jhunjhunwala said on the sidelines of the Indian Science Congress here.

“It will make computing as popular as mobile phones because many PCs can be linked by using just one server to provide Internet connectivity in rural and urban areas.”The product will be different from the normal PC as it can work without Windows and thus will face no risks from viruses or require upgradation. One will be able to switch it on or off without going through the shutdown process,” he said.