Found

China's computermakers tap vast rural market with simple tools and local officials' support.

By Peter Ford | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the September 28, 2007 edition

Langfang, China - Visitors to the annual agricultural fair here this week were treated to something more than the corn harvesters and feedstuff pulverizers that usually grace such events.

They got to gawk at an item that its makers hope will become the Chinese peasant's next must-have piece of agricultural machinery: a $199 computer.

Lenovo, the world's third-largest computermaker and China's best-known global brand, chose this northeastern town to launch its assault on the growth frontier for PC sales – villagers in developing countries – and start bridging the digital divide between urban and rural citizens.

To tempt farmers into high-tech territory, Lenovo executives explain, they have tried to make their machine easy to use, cheap, and robust. But its key feature, they say, is its software, dubbed "Road to Riches," that helps peasants search for agricultural information that will boost business.

Wang Shunxiang, a fungus grower and the first customer to buy the computer, thinks he can see the potential.

. "If this helps me know more about market prices and find more dealers to sell to … it won't take me more than a few days to make back the money I am spending," he predicts.

Lenovo's President for Greater China, Chen Shaopeng, sees profit in the "Tianfu" (Heavenly Prosperity) model too, as he eyes 250 million households in the Chinese hinterland. "The rural market in China is huge," he points out, "and computer penetration is practically zero. This is a totally new market to be explored."

That novelty brings challenges: Electricity supplies are not always reliable in the Chinese countryside, phone lines reach only 47 per cent of rural homes according to government statistics, and even $199 is beyond the means of millions of peasants.

Lenovo's new product will also be competing with another low priced PC just launched by another Chinese producer, Haier. "These are very much early days," cautions Wang Jiping, an analyst with the US research company IDC. "They are still at the investment and ground-laying stage."

Still, the trend is there. While only 0.3 per cent of China's 162 million Internet users live in the countryside, their numbers are doubling every six months, according to the officialChina Internet Network Information Center.

Lenovo's ambitions to tap this trend take the shape of a chocolate-box-sized computer that plugs into a TV screen, controlled by a touchpad keyboard and buttons laid out like a remote control.

Using the machine is more like watching television – a familiar experience for most Chinese peasants – than sitting in front of a computer.

Simple controls take the user around a range of functions from online education and entertainment services to agricultural information portals, and also allows him to choose specific sites or send e-mails and instant messages.

source: wikipedia

The InkMedia mobile computer (Ink MC) by Ink-Media Inc. Canada, is a low cost mobile computer running Linux/FOSS costing under US$300 manufactured for the developing and developed world to reduce the digital divide. InkMedia have a different technology and approach to market than the other low cost computer initiatives. It was developed after experience in India showed how the traditional PC fared badly with respect to overheating, hard drive failures and virus infections, all of which added to the total cost of ownership. The Ink MC is ROM based and so has no hard disk or moving parts. It draws power more like a mobile phone and can run on a 12V car battery or solar power solution. As an individual productivity tool it is designed to bring inclusive access to technology to the following social and economic sectors of society:

• Home Users
• Public Sector
• Schools and Academia
• Nonprofits and Civil Society
• Healthcare
• Small and Medium Enterprise
• Creative Commons Community

Company Ships Over 500,000 Seats Less Than Two Years After Introducing Revolutionary Virtual PC Solutions; Rapid Adoption in Both Underserved and Business Markets Globally

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - September 17, 2007) - NComputing, Inc., provider of the world's most affordable solutions for PC access, today announced dramatic growth in adoption of its breakthrough systems for multi-user PC computing. With schools, government organizations and businesses worldwide turning to the company's new model for affordable, energy-efficient computing, NComputing has sold over 500,000 PC access terminals around the world -- less than two years after introducing its new technology to the marketplace.

NComputing fundamentally changes the economics of desktop computing, and thereby allows mass, underserved markets -- including education and developing countries -- to more fully participate in the benefits of PCs. Most experts agree there are approximately one billion people worldwide who currently do not have access to a PC, but would use one if it were more affordable. NComputing is gaining rapid adoption in these under-resourced markets. At the same time, the company's technology is providing an exciting new alternative for small and large businesses around the world.

"At NComputing, we envision a world in which every person and organization that wants 1-to-1 access to a PC can finally afford it," said CEO and President Stephen Dukker. "We believe the world's next billion users will only achieve this dream through multi-user solutions that dramatically reduce costs and complexity, while also delivering a complete computing experience. NComputing is at the forefront of the shift to multi-user PC computing. Customers who otherwise could not afford widespread access to PCs already use our virtual PC technology in more than 70 countries throughout North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, Asia and Africa."

A Revolutionary Idea -- Share the Power

NComputing's rapid growth stems from its unique ability to resolve a fundamental contradiction in today's PC marketplace. While there are not enough individual computers to go around, there's a surplus of computing power on desktops worldwide. In fact, today's standard PC can run many basic applications and still utilize less than 10 percent of its capacity. NComputing's technology shares the tremendous power of today's PCs among multiple users via low-cost virtual PCs -- connected to standard monitors, keyboards, and mice -- at a cost of as little as $70 per seat. Both Windows and Linux operating systems are supported, and users get a rich, highly satisfying experience, including full-screen, full-motion video.

NComputing's X300 systems enable up to seven users to simultaneously share a single PC. The company's L-series supports up to 10 users on a PC, 30 on a basic server, and hundreds with a more powerful server. The systems are easy and low-cost to deploy and maintain, and are highly energy efficient. NComputing terminals consume only about 1 watt per user, versus 115 watts for a standard PC. Because fewer PCs are needed, support costs plummet, while the solid-state NComputing terminals themselves require little or no maintenance.

Read full article at Marketwire

source: HotHardware Forum


One of the biggest news stories out of this year’s Computex wasn't of a new chipset, GPU, or graphics card, but rather of the announcement of the ASUS Eee PC, a small, slim, and light portable computer that is priced at $199. Introduced by Jonney Shih, Chairman and CEO of ASUS at Intel’s keynote address the first day of the show, the Eee PC has already made headlines world wide.

Here's a quick look at the specs the Asus Eee offers:

• Display: 7"
• Processor: Intel mobile CPU (Intel 910 chipset, 900MHz Dothan Pentium M)
• Memory: 512MB RAM
• OS: Linux (Asus customized flavor)
• Storage: 8GB or 16GB flash hard drive
• Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
• Battery life: 3 hours using 4-cell battery
• Weight: 2lbs
• Dimensions: 8.9 in x 6.5 in x 0.82 in - 1.37 in (width x depth x thickness)
• Ports: 3 USB ports, 1 VGA out, SD card reader, modem, Ethernet, headphone out, microphone in

The official ASUS EEE portal: Asus Eee PC

Reviewer #1: ASUS Eee PC Hand's On Preview

Reviewer #2 (more details): Asus Eee PC First Thoughts

Asus had initially said that the Eee PC would start at $199, but they're thinking now is more like $250 for the 8GB flash drive version and somewhat more for a 16GB version. They're still looking at late August for availability of the device, and it should be offered world-wide.

source

February 06, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- SINGAPORE -- A Chinese PC maker today introduced a low-cost PC designed for customers in rural China that can be used with a TV as a display.

Sichuan Sinomanic Technology LLC in Chengdu developed the $129 Tian En GX-2, which is being pitched as a low-cost system that can help narrow the "digital divide" between China's rural and urban areas.

The GX-2 is based on a 400-MHz MIPS processor from Raza Microelectronics Inc. It runs either a version of the Linux operating system or FutureAlpha, a Chinese-developed operating system. The GX-2 has 128MB of DDR (double data rate) DRAM, one USB 2.0 port, a 10/100Mbit/sec. Ethernet adapter and a 1GB Secure Digital memory card to store data.

The PC, which does not include a monitor, has a VGA output for computer monitors as well as a TV output. This capability could help some users save money as TVs are found in most homes across China.

Software that comes bundled with the GX-2 includes an Internet browser, a Chinese-English dictionary and a calendar application for managing appointments, among others, Sinomanic said.

The price of the GX-2 is roughly the same as the laptop developed by the One Laptop per Child project, which the group recently said costs about $130. That system is expected to enter volume production during the third quarter of this year.

BEIJING (AP) -- Lenovo Group Ltd. said Friday it will sell a basic personal computer aimed at China's vast but poor rural market and priced as low as $199.

Lenovo's announcement follows rival Dell Inc.'s bid to boost its presence in China's booming market with the unveiling in March of a low-cost personal computer meant for novice Chinese users.

Beijing-based Lenovo, which acquired IBM Corp.'s PC division in 2005, is expanding abroad but is eager to maintain its dominance in China, where research firm Gartner Inc. says PC sales grew by 23 percent last quarter.

''Our focus is to get down to the rural market,'' said company spokesman Jay Chen.

The new PC will use a buyer's television set as a monitor. Chen could provide no other details on the configuration or other features.

The new PC goes on sale later this year, and will range in price from $199 to $399.

There's a cheap computer on the way that undercuts them all, the $99 Zonbu, due this summer in a silent-running form factor that's about the size of a paperback book. It has 4GB of flash memory on board, and automatically backs up a copy of your data online. Besides that $99 purchase price, you'll also pay $12.95 a month (for 25GB,scales up to 100GB for more money) to store its data on the Zonbu servers, giving you the ability to compute anywhere with this tiny device, or access your data from other PCs. If you don't commit to a service plan, the little PC costs $250. Of course, you'll have to buy a keyboard, monitor and mouse for this diminutive computer, and you'll need a broadband Internet connection, too, but the company says its little Gentoo Linux-based mini PC has all of the applications most people ever need already preloaded. This sounds intriguing, but what applications are included, and can you actually get any work done with it?

An Intel powered classmate PC is a small, mobile learning assistant and educational solution that Intel specially developed for students in emerging markets. It’s a rugged learning device designed to provide affordable, collaborative learning environments.

A classmate PC has been designed as a "tool to think and learn with" with the aim of transforming education. Toward this goal, Intel has devised a platform that meets the needs and goals of different players, namely, students, teachers, of parents, school staff, and policymakers, while addressing the pedagogical, technological, social, and physical requirements of school environments.

For more information, see the Classmate website.