Amida Simputer, the successor (it seems) of the Indian-made Simputer PDA, has been launched. Its price tag reads USD 240 (and above). To me, that doesn’t seem consistent with the companies mission statement — “The Simputer is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the benefits of IT can reach the common man.” Considering the per capita income of a “common” Indian man/woman … who is the target audience of this product? I highly doubt that it is affordable by a comman man, say a farmer in rural India or a highway truck driver. I’m not taking a strike at the Simputer team. Their vision and efforts are commendable, but IMHO the business model is not practical. A refurbished Apple Newton PDA will still be cheaper over at eBay.
Anyways, its interesting to read what the honourable President of India said to Team Amida on its launch.