The Simputer is a self-contained, open hardware Linux-based handheld computer that was first released in 2002, developed in, and primarily distributed within

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The product was envisioned as a low-cost alternative to

personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

s. The Simputer project had the initial goal of selling 50,000 units, but only sold about 4,000 units by 2005, and has been called a failure by news sources.

Design and hardware

The device was designed by the Simputer Trust, a non-profit organization formed in November 1999 by seven

n scientists and engineers led by Dr. Swami Manohar. The word "Simputer" is an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

for "simple, inexpensive and multilingual people's computer", and is a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

of the Simputer Trust. The device includes text-to-speech

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

and runs the

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

. Similar in appearance to the PalmPilot class of handheld computers, the touch sensitive screen is operated on with a

stylus A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to En ...

; simple

handwriting recognition Handwriting recognition (HWR), also known as handwritten text recognition (HTR), is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwriting, handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens ...

software is provided by the program Tapatap. The Simputer Trust licensed two manufacturers to build the devices, Encore Software, which has also built the Mobilis for Corporate/Educational purposes and the SATHI for Defence purposes, and PicoPeta Simputers, which released a consumer product named the Amida Simputer. The device features include

touchscreen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...

smart card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

, Serial port, and

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

connections, and an

Infrared Data Association IrDA is a wireless standard designed for exchanging data using infrared (IR). Infrared ports for this purpose have been implemented in portable electronic devices such as mobile telephones, laptops, cameras, printers, and medical devices. The mai ...

(IrDA) port. It was released in both greyscale and color versions.

Software

The Simputer uses the

kernel (2.4.18 Kernel as of July 2005), and the Alchemy Window Manager (only the Amida Simputer).

Software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

packages include: Scheduling,

Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

, Voice Recording and Playback, simple

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...

application,

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

and network connectivity, Web browsing and email, an e-Library, games, and support for

Java ME Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME is a computing platform for development and deployment of porting, portable code for embedded system, embedded and mobile devices (micro-controllers, sensors, gateways, mobile phones, personal digita ...

, DotGNU (a

free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

implementation of .NET), and Flash. In addition, both licensees developed custom applications for microbanking, traffic police, and medical applications.

Deployments

In 2004, Simputers were used by the government of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

to automate the process of land records procurement. Simputers were also used in a project in

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

for the purpose of e-education. In 2005, they were used in a variety of applications, such as

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

diagnostics (Mahindra & Mahindra in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

), tracking of iron-ore movement from mine pithead to shipping point ( Dempo, Goa),

Microcredit Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically do not have access to traditional banking services due to a lack of collateral (finance), collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credi ...

(Sanghamitra,

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

), Electronic Money Transfer between UK and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

(XK8 Systems, UK), and others. In recent times, the Simputer has seen deployment by the police force to track traffic offenders and issue traffic tickets.

Commercial production

Pilot production of the Simputer started in September 2002. In 2004, the Amida Simputer became commercially available for 12450 and up (approximately US$240). The prices for Amida Simputer vary depending on the screen type (monochrome or colour). By 2006, both licensees had stopped actively marketing their Simputer devices. PicoPeta was acquired by Geodesic Information Systems (a developer of communication and collaboration systems) in 2005.

References

"Indian handheld to tackle digital divide"
(July 18, 2001). * Srinivasan, S. (Apr. 3, 2005)
"Handheld Computer Yet to Reach the Masses"
''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

''. * Swami Manohar (Nov. 2005
High Return Computing
* BBC News, 10 September 200
Computer deal for India's poor
* Outlook India, September 22, 2002
Pilot production of Simputer begins
* BBC News, 1 August 2005
Woe for traffic offenders in Sim city

External links