Date: 23rd July 2010

Key factors influencing design of $35 tablet computer

The mobile phones and portable computers are now becoming ubiquitous devices with cost of these devices falling steadily. The most highlight of this trend is launch of $ 35 priced portable computer/tablet (may not be called as full fledged laptop) by the Govt. of India. Some of the key factors influencing this trend are:

Moore's law: The number of transistors inside a semiconductor device are getting doubled once in 2/3 years resulting proportional fall in cost of end-equipments mainly made out of semiconductor chips. This started in 1970s and still has life of another 4/5 years. This is a major contributor in enabling affordability of electronic devices.

China factor: The ability of Chinese industry to produce components as well as systems at a price where no region can compete.

Open source software: Availability of free software packages such as Linux has also helped a lot in bringing down the cost of devices

Internet: No media is as powerful and free as Internet in bridging the supply (vendor) and demand (customer) at a cost far less than traditional media and networks.

India's abundant software capabilities: The large amount of quality and less costing software programmers in India is also a key factor.

Hope this trend can make the world safer and greener provided the technology does not get into bad hands.