Vinay Deshpande’s vision of a "poor man’s PC" at Rs 10,000 computer had the nation talking. Projected as a break-through hand held device that would overcome barriers of language and even literacy (given its user interface with local language, text to speech and pictoral icons), the Simputer brough hope of bridging the digital divide. Even as industry watchers spoke of a likely re-run of the television revolution (when the now ubiquitous gadget crossed the "below Rs 10,000 mark",) the Simputer’s dream run has not been as rosy. To begin with, the gadget costs Rs 13,700. Deshpande, chairman and CEO of Encore Software and Simputer trustee says that if the government eases the tax burden, the price would drop to below Rs 10,000). Soon after the prototype was displayed, potential users suggested multiple improvements on hardware and software.

Cash flow was a problem. After considerable delay, Deshpande says 2000 units have been shipped to 100 organizations across the world (primarily in India and the Far East). Deshpande expects the figure to shoot to around 150,000 in the next 18 months and a million in the next three years adding that the pace could be much faster if the price could be brought down further. Years after the prototype made waves, it is still early days for the Simputer.

"It would be naive to think that retail users would buy such a device at the local pan shop. The expectation was that e-governance projects or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) would buy the device, which would be shared by citizens.

This has not happened, but that does not mean that the concept will not succeed ever," says Deshpande defending his pet project. He informs that the device has already found some innovative applications like one Northern Indian state using it with a portable printer for ration shop inventory control. Even now, R&D on making the Simputer cheaper and better continues.

‘‘We are already looking at a Rs 5000 Simputer without a high resolution screen and modem connectivity. Moreover, from the manufacturer’s point of view, the Simputer has low margins (in the range of 10 to 15%) and sustainability will depend solely on volumes.