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Follow UsSimputer, positioned as an indigenous product to bridge the digital
divide, made headlines in 1999 and was subsequently launched in 2002. Today,
more than a year later in 2004, the product is yet to take-off on its
much-touted journey to success. In an interview with Nandita Singh of CyberMedia
News, Vinay L Deshpande, chairman and CEO of Encore Software, which is
designing, making and selling the Simputer, talks about the product and its
future.
On the Simputer's slow take:
We are a small company and therefore cannot go for a big publicity campaign
but wherever we have presented the product the response has been very positive.
We need to emphasize that it is not comparable to just any handheld device. It
has a smart-card reader which sets it apart and the applications possible are
limited only by imagination. But, there's been some heartening news. We have
recently made an international foray through the United Nation’s International
Telecommunication Union and are supplying to Bhutan.
On the strategy to speed up its adoption:
Government is a big market for Simputer. We are talking to the governments
of Goa, Tamil Nadu, AP, Karnataka, MP and Delhi for its deployment in police
services, land records, etc. We have finalized deals for about 2,000 Simputers
in India. The strategy we have adopted is to work through software developers
and local consultants to put together relevant applications. The basic challenge
is in marketing it.
On why it is not being lapped up in India, considering it
has great potential in mobile computing:
It is more than a PDA. It is secure, inexpensive complete application access
device, which can be shared and runs on ordinary and easily available triple A
batteries. I cannot really pinpoint why adoption rate is slow, but I would say
lack of awareness could be one reason.
On total deployment so far:
3,000 units. In 2004, we hope to do 1,00,000 units. We are aiming for a
quarter million units in 2005.