Simputer II or a New Start?

T In April 2005, Encore Technologies, the developers of the Simputer,
released a brand new product-a tablet-like, Linux-based device: Mobilis.
Loaded with applications like a word processor, a browser, a spread sheet, a
media player, no hard disk (storage is on non-volatile media cards), and
sporting upto six hours of battery life. This device received considerable
interest worldwide, but also met its share of criticism from people who squarely
blamed the perceived failure of Encore's earlier product-the Simputer-on
bad positioning, manufacturing, and marketing.

Much of this criticism is justified, but it does not necessarily rule out the
Mobilis as a contender for India's first hardware-product success. The
Simputer was positioned (very badly, according to me) as a 'poor man's
computer', when it should have been a device that would help the target market
to access information economically.

The Mobilis is not positioned in that way, though you can be sure that the
Indian Government and media will try their best to do so.

Let's see if we can offer some advice to Encore to ensure that the Mobilis
does not become Simputer II.

You Need a PC

I am quite convinced that the 'normal PC' is completely unsuitable to a
majority of the situations where we use a computer today. Mobile self-contained
devices are seeing their day now.

Microsoft and other interested parties are naturally wary of this new
development, because their fortunes rest on the PC platform. While Microsoft did
bring out the tablet PC concept, I am convinced that it will continue to be in
the realm of the current laptops-unaffordable, and frankly unjustifiable by
the vast majority of users.

We have been led to believe that you have to have a PC to do anything-comments
about the Mobilis lacking a hard disk, show how deep this impression runs.

The Network Is the Computer

Scott McNealy had it right when he said, "The network is the
computer."

Consider the majority of applications today-they are Web based, or somehow
related to the Internet.

If you look at the general needs of the target audience we are looking at
today (under-privileged low income groups), you will be surprised to see that
they are not very different from the average executive on the move: ability to
access the Internet, get email, browse for information, listen to music, etc.
There is an additional requirement of localisation and text-to-speech, but that's
about it.

Look at the Blackberry. It has changed the way people in the USA, Europe, and
even India view their information and 'computing' needs.

Granted, PDAs are expensive and the target audience we are talking about
either cannot afford it, or (and this is important) cannot justify it. The
latter includes executives who can afford a PDA-they can't see themselves
using one, or don't know how.

This leads to the 'unusability' myth, something Linux also suffers from.
The myth is largely propagated by people who have never really tried using one.
Ironically, they will have zero problems accessing their Gmail mail from a Linux
box with a full-screened browser.

Simputer-and the Mobilis

The Simputer clearly suffered from lack of relevant applications. Encore (I
will let PicoPeta off the hook on this one) goofed really badly by not freely
publishing their Simputer SDK-something they finally did last December, and
began to see results almost immediately (an open source group ported the .NET
architecture DotGNU to the Simputer during Linux Bangalore/2004, and actually
demonstrated .NET applications running on the Simputer).

The Mobilis, however, is well positioned. It positions itself as a personal
information device as well as an Internet-access device, and to this end has
already got all the relevant applications built in-a browser, a media player,
a minimal office suite, and a few support applications. It runs Linux, which
gives it access to a huge number of ready-to-port applications. And it has no
moving parts, no hard disk that can crash.

The killer feature will clearly be built-in Internet access, and I hope that
Encore will see it feasible to build GPRS (or CDMA) support into the basic
model. Wi-Fi shouldn't be too difficult either, but if they can get pre—Wi-Max
support in before the end of this year, I think they have it made.

If they can publish the Mobilis SDK as quickly as possible, I am sure we will
see tons of applications springing up overnight. I can't speak for everyone,
but the open-source world is raring to get its hands on the SDK to start
building applications. I am currently in discussion with people who are
outlining some really cool applications-for their own markets in Europe!

Powering a Revolution

A large issue related to rural computing is power. Hey, I take that back. A
large issue with mobile computing (rural, urban, or otherwise) is power. Many of
us have gone through the agony of our phones dying on us just as something
important was being said.

A number of battery-charging alternatives have been proposed-including
pedal-powered generators, gober-gas plants, fuel cells, solar power, etc.

There is a saying in German, "In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen"
(roughly it means: if nothing else is available, the Devil will eat flies), and
I have lost count of the times when I would welcome 'any' source of power to
charge my phone. And pedal-power is probably something that would be good for
me.

But I would place my bets on solar power. With the growing efficiency of
batteries and solar panels, it should be feasible (physically as well as
economically) to build a foldable solar power array that can be deployed when
needed, and folded away and tucked into the pocket or bag when not.

The key to this lies with after-market and third-party suppliers. Waiting for
Encore to come up with a Mobilis-specific solar charger is silly-that is not
their strength. I have talked to companies are quite capable of producing this
kind of stuff as an add-on device for the Mobilis (or Negroponte's $100
laptop). Make it generic and configurable enough, and this is a real business
opportunity.

Availability

The final thing needed is, of course, the availability of the devices. In
this particular case, the Mobilis actually has an advantage over Negroponte's
laptop-it exists. It is important for Encore to get the beast to the market.

And this is where Encore needs to face some harsh reality-more features
does not mean better market acceptance. Instead, Encore needs to 'immediately'
create a core, standardized base model-with connectivity of some sort, then
get this out into the market. This is where they screwed up the last time; they
better not repeat that mistake.

It is also important that they get the numbers up and prices down-ASAP.
This is actually very easy to achieve, if they handle it right. Interest in the
West is enormous-if Encore can get this standard Mobilis to buyers in the USA
and Europe, they would be able to rev up their numbers quickly, and the pricing
will benefit from economics of scale. Ironic, but to succeed in India, Encore
will first have to succeed in the West. So what else is new?

Publicity

The Mobilis does have one tremendous advantage-unbelievable publicity.
Many of you, who are on semi-technical and technical mailing lists, can probably
vouch for this. My mother reports a discussion about the impact and features of
the Mobilis on German TV. And the USA, who is becoming more aware of India as a
technology source, has the Mobilis plastered across all possible media. And
there are people who will buy it for sheer novelty or tryout value. This is the
kind of publicity money can't buy-and Encore is getting it by the shovelful.

An important thing, this time around Encore is unhampered by Simputer
politics and policies of the Simputer trust. They are now free to market their
technology and products, something that the (according to me) ill-conceived
Simputer trust simply didn't allow them to do. They are also much more market
savvy now (the Simputer experience is going to help).

End of the Simputer?

Finally, don't write off the Simputer. I know that many people are going
to imagine the Mobilis to be Simputer II, but that is simply not true.

I do not expect end users in villages to actually buy simputers-price has
never been the big issue that it has been made out to be. Applications have been
the issue, and the Mobilis is far better off than the Simputer in this regard,
but I expect things to change.

But I do not expect belief and faith will create markets or applications, or
make a product succeed. That needs hard work, and an understanding of markets.
It has been the stated belief that no Indian company has this understanding or
the capabilities to succeed in a global market with a product-that this is the
sole domain of Western countries-and that India's salvation lies in adopting
those technologies, rather than develop its own.

Much of what is holding India back today is unrelated to market-savvy or
technical abilities; it is bad policies, and a no-can-do mentality, carefully
bred by motivated, or sometimes professional, naysayers.

Atul Chitnis The author is a
Bangalore-based technology consultant