Dear Mr Dawson,
I am sure that you did your due diligence and your article casts a doubt that $35 for a tablet is not a realistic number.
I beg to differ. Lets analyze your points -
1. Info you got from your inside source in Intel - Your source is not denying that it is not possible, but wondering (I am guessing from the verbage) about its feasibility. There is no reason for a chip maker to admit that somebody else could come out with a cheaper processor. Well, the IITs are premier institute of India and has brilliant minds who are capable of innovation. Had MIT come out with a product like this, your little birdie would not have made the same comments.
2. Quote from Times of India - The quote says that the HRD Ministry of India is inviting more variations to bring the cost down to $20 or even $10. It does not say anywhere that the $35 number is not realistic.
3. Cost estimates rely on predictions of massive economies of scale - One lakh is not a big number. Just to give you a perspective, Apple claims to have sold 30 lakh (3 million) iPads in 80 days. India has a big population with 11,800 lakh (yes 1.18 billion) people and if we take a mere 1% who will be interested (pure speculation here, but a safe lower number) we end up with 118 lakh.
I do not know the specifications of the tablet (and I read your article in the first place in hope that your article would shed more light on specs) but I have seen $199 notebooks (with larger screens, hard drive, keyboard, better processor) and the cost of electronics goes down over time. If you have bought a USB flash drive in the early days, you could relate to this - a mere 256 MB flash drive was costing way more than what a 16GB drive costs today.
Also, I think $35 may not be off the mark, as it is not a commercial undertaking to make a profit out of it.
So you see, your post is not very convincing, at least to me.
Thanks,
Manas
Discussion on:
Message 3 of 1
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
