Remember the $100 laptop? The idea was to put computers in the hands of people, younger people especially, in less developed countries—in some of the poorer parts of Latin America, for instance. But you don't see any kids from low-income circumstances carrying them around, do you?
The super-low-cost computer for people who have hardly any money is of course a brilliant and noble idea, and it has had some influential supporters over the years of its various incarnations, but the plans never seem to become real.
Take the most recent example: the famous "$35 tablet" from India. Top-notch idea, and what a way to get computers into the hands of all those future software developers (or at least the ones who can manage $35). But sadly, even with a manufacturer lined up, and government support, the Sakshat tablet has not made it to the people.
What got me thinking about the notion of the truly affordable computing device was the news that CPU designer Centaur Technology and its Taiwan parent Via Technologies were rolling out their new quad-core processor. The new chip is significant for at least three reasons: First: It has plenty of processing power, and it can scale up to handle the kinds of things people expect today, like video. Second: It will sell for less than quad-core chips from giants like Intel and AMD.
Third and maybe most important, the company is "prepared to sell its chip to smaller computer makers who aim at emerging PC markets, such as China, India, and Latin America."
Centaur/Via expect the chip will be used in desktop PCs that cost less than $500. But the Via QuadCore is powerful enough to handle the tasks of small-business servers too. So, here's an idea: Some smart company in the Nearshore region makes a big deal with Via for their quad-core chip and starts manufacturing very-low-cost servers, tailored to small businesses and fledgling entrepreneurs in Latin America.
Think of what this might mean for the unknown innovators working on a data-center-size idea but on a cheapo-laptop budget. Think of how it could increase the number of IT companies, the amount of IT services exported. True, it takes more than a bunch of hardware to become a successful service provider — but the less money spent on equipment, the more money is available to spend on workers and training and other assets.
There are people in the region who could fund this kind of investment. In Brazil, for example, Eike Batista, CEO of EBX and the 8th richest man in the world according to Forbes, has said he wants to manufacture Apple iPads there. And in Mexico, there's Carlos Slim.
Okay, sure, there are all kinds of ways to naysay such a thing. Maybe no one in emerging economies wants really cheap servers. Maybe they'll just buy time on Amazon's servers.
So, let's bypass that idea for now and proceed directly to the PC and personal server of the future: the smartphone — the ubiquitous device that will eventually have all the computing power most people need. As microprocessor expert Linley Gwennap points out, smartphone brands, including Apple, LG, and Samsung, have started using dual-core chips in their devices: "This year, high-end smartphone makers wouldn't be caught dead with a single 1GHz CPU: the best phones must have two 1GHz CPUs."
Centaur/Via also has a new 1.2GHz dual-core chip. I'm obviously no mobile-devices engineer, but I suspect someone who is could do a lot with a low-cost, low-power, high-performance CPU like that.
Imagine developing a gadget with the form factor of an iPhone or Android, and the computing capabilities of today's tablets, but without the price tag that makes those devices too extravagant for most people in the world. Imagine getting those devices into the hands of a serious, ambitious, technically inclined kid in a Rio favela or way out in the rural outback of Guatemala.
We hear a lot about an IT labor shortage in Latin America. Well, increase the number of people who can own a computer of some sort and you're going to increase the number of people who want to work in IT. All those whiz kids who helped build Silicon Valley or were part of the first wave of CIOs had one thing in common at a young age: access to a computer.
