Indian Engineers Aiming for $10 Laptop

Engineers in India are looking into ways to create a laptop that would cost a mere $10. The effort came in response to the increasing price of the so-called '$100 laptop.'

The Indian government has taken a pass on the device, opting instead for two homegrown designs. One is from a student in one of the country's technology schools, while the other was produced by the Institute of Science, a graduate school in Bangalore.

Neither device has been able to get the price down to that $10 threshold, but has gotten as close as $47. The government so far has not gotten any company to agree to produce the device, as building it for only $10 would likely mean the manufacturer would have to take a significant loss.

Many of the parts that would be needed must be produced elsewhere, which incurs additional costs, those close to the project said. To save money, some parts may be produced within the country rather than elsewhere.

Any actual device is likely still at least two years away from becoming a reality. A meeting has been scheduled for later in May to discuss the project. On the other hand, the OLPC project will start shipping actual laptops later this year.