Vikram Goyal's Blog

$100 laptop - No Thanks. $100 smartphone - Yes Please!

You may have heard about the $100 laptop initiative by the MIT Media Lab. If not, let me summarize it here for you. The initiative is to provide one such laptop per child in developing countries because "Laptops are both a window and a tool: a window into the world and a tool with which to think. They are a wonderful way for all children to "learn learning" through independent interaction and exploration.". This laptop will have the following features:

-- It will be Linux based and will have a full-color screen
-- A wind up battery to receive power
-- WiFi enabled
-- 500 MHz, with 1GB of RAM and a minimal Hard Disk

Hmm. Without any comment on these features, let me list the specifications of my mobile phone (Motorola A925):

-- Symbian OS based, TFT, 65k colors with touch screen and hand writing recognition
-- Rechargeable battery with upto 160 hours of standby
-- Network and Internet connectivity by 3G, which defaults to normal mobile network if 3G is not available. Bluetooth, Infrared and USB enabled.
-- ARM processor at 168 MHz, 32 MB RAM and 16 MB of internal memory with possibility to extend with a card

This phone is over 2 years old and currently retails for about $300. The phones that have been introduced in the market since this phone have even more impressive feature sets.

So, my point?

Instead of spending money on a crank it yourself laptop with limited capabilities and an arbitrary, ambiguous and sure-to-escalate price point, MIT labs should have looked at the mobile phone market and learned a lesson or two from it. Instead of a laptop, it should be looking at providing a smartphone.

Today's mobile phones are powerful devices. By the time the $100 laptop comes into production, the simplest of mobile phones would surpass it in technical ability by leaps and bounds, as you can see by my comparison with my 2 year old Motorola A925. The difference between a high-end smartphone and a computer these days is negligible. So why burden these kids with old technology which will find no relevance in tomorrows markets?

Further, the penetration rate of mobile phones in most countries, especially developing countries, is much higher than landlines, simply because Governments are incapable of providing this infrastructure, while private enterprise in mobility has flourished, providing networks in areas where people had to trudge miles to see a phone earlier.

So, not only do you provide these kids with a high end processing machine in the form of a smartphone, you provide them connectivity, perhaps the best possible gift for a child in a developing country.

One Laptop Per Child (OPPC) is wrong... Make it One Smartphone Per Child (OSPC).

Comments

• And what is a kid supposed to learn using a mobile phone? A general tool like a real computer offers a lot more to explore than a mobile phone, making it a real vehicle for learning.

  I used (like a lot of people here, I bet) to spend entire weekends exploring my commodore-64 and learning BASIC when I was a kid. I wouldnt have spent more than 2 hours playing with a mobile phone, If only because it is too painful to give input to a mobile phone for more than some minutes.

  Posted by: sergiogarcia on December 13, 2005 at 12:33 AM

• sergiogarcia: Ah, but it's not just a simple mobile phone that I am talking about here. I am talking about a SmartPhone. There are things my SmartPhone can do that still leaves me amazed, and this phone is over 2 years old!

  Sorry but you are missing a key point that I am making: SmartPhones of tomorrow (and some of today) are powerful devices which are capable of providing the same, or rather, a better expereince than the proposed laptop.

  Vikram
  

  Posted by: gvix on December 13, 2005 at 12:55 AM

• I completely agree with your thoughts : actually, I had the same view when I heard about the 100$ Laptop.

  The only problem I see is that the term Smartphone is not good to convince mainstream people that you can do what U want with a Pocket Object.

  I try to push the Term Nano-Computer in my community cause it seems to reflect the logical step after the Computer (Mainframe), the MiniComputer (DEC, 70's) and the Micro-computer, Desktop then Laptop.

  syd1980
  http://www.u-blog.net/syd1980

  Posted by: syd1980 on December 13, 2005 at 01:37 AM

• syd1980: Nano-Computer is a good idea and you are right about that smartphone may not be such a good name. However, I am trying to emphasize that the device is a phone cum high end device with which the kids can interact and get some use out of. Perhaps Smartphone is a good name after all.
  Vikram

  Posted by: gvix on December 13, 2005 at 02:44 AM

• I can´t understand why so anger against the $100 laptop...

  Third world has million of children at the elementary school that never had a chance to use a computer ! 100$ laptop is a chance for these people.

  I agree with the technical details of your entry, and I think the discussion of the a smartphone is a nice think, but we can´t ignore the poverty of million of people that will receive a chance to use computer with the 100$ laptop....

  just a humanitary feeling ...

  Posted by: felipegaucho on December 13, 2005 at 04:50 AM

• ok, better reading your entry I got the point....

  anyway, I think a laptop has a better usability then cell phone

  Posted by: felipegaucho on December 13, 2005 at 04:52 AM

• Some interesting world views of the MIT laptop project...

  http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/11/30/laptop/

  -jonathan

  Posted by: jonathansimon on December 13, 2005 at 06:10 AM

• Vikram : actually do the "Mum Test" :
  "Q1: What do you do with a Phone ? Telephone"
  "Q2 : What do you do with an iPod ? Listening to Music"
  "Q3 : What do you do with a PSP ? Play games"
  "Q2: What do you do with a Computer ? Telephone (Skype), Listening to music, Play games and...and..."

  U and I are sufficiently in the industry to see that a HTC Wizard or Universal IS actually a GENERAL PURPOSE COMPUTER.

  But for the Mainstream and the Third World perception, U will never convince them of the Multipurpose nature of Smartphones, ipods or PSP.

  My wet dream today is too see Apple FORGETTING the "iPod Phone" But doing an "iMac Nano" sold with an ultra-low-cost MVNO cell minutes/data plan.
  If only...
  http://www.u-blog.net/syd1980/note/118

  
  

  Posted by: syd1980 on December 13, 2005 at 07:07 AM

• While everyone out there dicusses this, the indian people (from Indian, the eastern country, not the first americans) have already offered a nice solution for some years.

  The Simputer is a "bigger PDA" that uses Linux and comes with network connectivity and USB ports. Because of the larger form factory it can really be used in pace of a traditional desktop PC. It's not a US$100 product, a little more expensive (about US$180), but also much better than a smart phone (just run Skype on it if you need phone). See more at

  http://www.amidasimputer.com/
  http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue87/pramode.html
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/03/29/indian_simputer_to_bridge_digital/
  

  Posted by: flozano on December 13, 2005 at 10:11 AM

• In case my pont about the simputer wan't clear, smartphones and traditional PDAs have low usability when it comes to navigating the web, writting e-mail, writting other documents (spreadsheets, presentations) and programming. A smartphone or PDA cannot replace a general-purpose computer, and so is not usefull for learning about computer technology. A stripped-down notebook like MIT would have more usability in this respect, and a bigger PDA like the simputer would also.

  Posted by: flozano on December 13, 2005 at 10:17 AM

• Dude, what's the point in handing poor kids Smart Phones when they can't afford the power supply to reload their batteries? How can you think about developing software for the Symbian OS using a tiny 3 inches screen (maybe) and a hand writing recognition software? How can you think of kids who have never seen a dir/w or a ls -la command in front of their own eyes to use a smartphone?

  I mean, seriously, think again. The $100 notebook is a cheap entrance to the PC world, where a person can at least understand basic concepts of an operational system and the internet, THEN the "kid" may develop some interest in coding SymbianOS or J2ME software.

  Please, man, think again.

  Posted by: hcabral on December 13, 2005 at 12:03 PM

• Quit being a douche bag. How can someone write a paper on on cell phone? Would you want to do all of your development work on your PDA? Try not to be such an ass. Take your picture down also as it makes you look like an annoying tool (which you are).

  Posted by: threadweaver on December 13, 2005 at 12:07 PM

• Sorry but your point is asinine.

  Q. Why did they put a crank on the computer ? A. Because a large % of the households that will use these computers have no electricity.

  Q. How do you chargethe batteries of a smartphone without electricity.

  Q. Have you every tried to type anything meaningfull on a smart phone ? A) u clrly hv nt or u wld knw it is nt gr8 fun.

  Q. Who pays for the air time for these free smart phones ? A Nobody will.

  
  

  Posted by: martinsmith on December 13, 2005 at 02:37 PM

• hcabral: My point is that smartphones of today (and the future) will be better equipped than the stripped down laptop that these kids will be getting.
  Have you actually seen the screen and keyboard size of the proposed laptop? Compare that with any of the keyboard enabled smartphones/pda. I tell you, the difference between them is minimal.
  And finally, if the OS on the phone could be opened up, there is no reason the kids could use Symbian/Windows CE on these phones.
  As for the power supply, if I was to fit a crank up battery in a smartphone, would that satisfy you?
  This brings me back to my original point, the difference between smartphones and laptops is getting negligible.

  
  threadweaver: Here is a picture of the proposed laptop: http://laptop.media.mit.edu/images/laptop-handside.jpg. Notice how small it is? Can you really write your "paper"on it?
  You are missing the point , I am not talking about a normal cell phone, I am talking about a smartphone.

  
  martinsmith: As I said earlier, so let's put a crank on a smartphone and that will overcome the problem of no electrictiy (The fact that these kids have no electricity and would rather get electricity than a laptop is a topic for another discussion)
  Yes, input on a smartphone is still a bit difficult, but that is not to say that a cheap keyboard can't be attached to one.
  Yes, airtime is an issue and I hadn't thought of that. Surely, a govt. assisted program that is ready to distribute $100 laptops would take into account such an issue and would work out a deal with telecom companies.

  Posted by: gvix on December 13, 2005 at 04:15 PM

• Ok so you now are adding a 'cheap keyboard' to add to the smartphone to enable real world use.

  What pray tell is the diffence between this 'smartphone' plus newly added crank and keyboard + airtime with a low resolution screen and the fully integrated $100 laptop with built in wifi.

  I know which i would prefer.

  Posted by: martinsmith on December 13, 2005 at 05:09 PM

• martinsmith: "What pray tell is the diffence between .."

  Excatly. There is no difference.

  Again, my point is being missed here. Instead of spending money on developing a new technology, the MIT Media Labs could have harnessed what is already available! They are stripping down laptops to make them 'simple', whereas a smartphone is already stripped down (and will be better than stripped down). Yes, input is a problem for kids, and yes, an existing smartphone couldn't be very useful, but they can be adapted. That is my point. Technology is already here, why reinvent it?
  Vikram

  Posted by: gvix on December 13, 2005 at 05:24 PM

• What a wonderful idea! Really? How small is the screen on your mobile phone? Do I see eye strain as a major factor why a Laptop was chosen over a mobile phone? And what happens when the mobile phones battery is drained? Where will the power originate? At least with the laptop proposal the children can see and do real work and the idea to have is self powered is brilliant. I'm new to this forum, but I am very unimpressed that previous readers did not take these easy concepts and promote them.

  Posted by: yehryte on December 13, 2005 at 07:53 PM

• With all my respects: before you say things like that, please think that not everybody lives in a first world country, in fact less than 1/5 does it.

  Posted by: peyrona on December 14, 2005 at 01:00 AM

• The whole business of giving personal technology to people in developing worlds makes me feel uneasy. I've yet to read an explanantion of what problem it is that a Laptop is going to solve. I think it's supposedly one of education and information. I can't see who's going to be providing and paying for Wi-Fi and internet access.

  Installing educational software is a possiblity, but what value is this over providing a teacher and a blackboard? You can't give a wind-up laptop that requires ten minutes of winding for half-an-hour's power to a child and expect them to educate themselves.

  As for a Smartphone, the only added avantage is that they could phone each other. The American ideal seems to be about creating consumers. Making third world people consumers by creating a laptop they can just afford is rather appalling. How much are they going to be charged for support one wonders?

  I like the idea of a $100 laptop. I don't think developing world children are the right target.

  Posted by: uhf on December 14, 2005 at 01:37 AM

• Vikram & All : as I said before and U can see among all the commentaries here, Smartphone has no chance to convince general public.
  The real deal is to fit all the Central Unit of the Desktop/Laptop PC in a Pocketable Form Factor : you WILL embed a Keyboard and a 4.5'' 800*480 Screen on it BUT you will be able to wirelessly bind to whatever better screen/keyboard/speakers...you find.
  Please, forget the Smartphone (and iPhone) term, join the Nano-computer bandwagon and paise S. Jobs to do an "iMac Nano"

  Posted by: syd1980 on December 14, 2005 at 04:31 AM

• Vikram,

  The issue with the power supply is not exactly the lack of energy. How can you use WiFi if you don't have a router, a switch, a DHCP server, right? Anyway, that way this notebook is charged is just to make it easier to adopt the technology in small schools around the world.

  Second, I do agree with you when you say that the difference between smartphones and notebooks is getting narrower. But maybe we should also consider that probably 95% of cell phone users don't know that it runs Java programs, plays MP3 and video media, has a bluetooth connection and so on. That percentage may change from country to country, I'd never compare Brazil (where I am) with Finland, for instance.

  The $100 notebook appeal is maybe exaggeratedly "commie". But face it, for a first contact, it's a helluva machine. The smartphones are inconvenient in the sense that you would probably want a cell phone contract hooked on it, and hey, it's one step further in the costs discussion.

  I think that for now, and for the next 5 years maybe, the smartphone market will evol to be a real and compact replacement for a PDA with Bluetooth and WiFi. It's cool to check and send e-mail, hack this and that feature, play MP3 and videos and deploy some J2ME or Brew/C++ applications. It's cool, but it's not yet a budget/starter notebook replacement. For now their usages are completely distinct, IMHO, and it will be like this for a little longer.

  Posted by: hcabral on December 14, 2005 at 08:30 AM

• Symbian OS, MAC OS X and Windows CE are proprietary operating systems, which require continuing costs of licensing and upgrade. MIT was committed to avoiding such costs for a learning tool for children in developing nations. The use of a crank type DC generator to power the machines is obvious, as noted above. My emergency weather radio works the same way, as was appreciated in the recent Hurricane along the gulf coast. batteries wear out quickly, someone cranking does not. Although Smartphones are becoming more and more capable, and even a palm TREO 600, with a keyboard can be useful, with a wireless keyboard, and is more powerfull today than the $4000.00 Apple][c a generation or so back. However, it is crippled by our telecom provider, who actually looses income because they Verizon, miss the economy of letting me do what i want on the machine with the bandwidth available to me. Peer to Peer communication, wireless linkage, possibly only one ( probably LINUX or BSD UNIX based conventional ) computer with some sort of internet connectivity and wireless connection in a village school to these 'student $100.00 PCs' is part of the plan. GVIX your thought of using a smartphone if cost effective infrastructure were available, and some sort of expansion devices were available, might be an interesting tool for something else, but it isn't a general purpose computer with a non-proprietary cost avoidable operating system. Think the idea is to get the kids up to speed to be competitive and literate, and survivable in a world internet linked community.

  Posted by: chirpa on December 17, 2005 at 08:33 PM

• Almost forgot.... children in low economic conditions, and those in more affluant situations do not have High end office suites in their own language, java compatible, standards based, ported to Cell Phones yet. A $100.00 PC with LINUX could use Open Office, freely downloaded as an alternative to proprietary office suites, often in their own language. GVIX, have you thought that widening this sort of multi-platform multi-cultural support might have greater advantages than just reducing the physical size of a computer to an ARM based phone, with no port of a standard based office suite. Look at http://www.openoffice.org in detail. hcabral, no your idea is not 'commie' just standard based good economics on a world scale. Brazil and Finland both seem to understand why this sort of machine is important, and I have used both OS and Office Suites from Both Countries on Intel based computers. Just wish there were some for the older 486 and older 68xxx based Macintoshes that worked as easily, so these still useful, and they still are useful computers, were in use, not polluting land fills and the ocean.

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