

You thought the $100 laptop was cheap? How about a $10 laptop? That's the promise of the unfortunately named Sakshat computer (it actually means "before your eyes"), to be built in India as soon as the designers get a manufacturer signed up.

Details are scarce, but at least the people behind it have pedigree. The Indian government is funding it, and the design is from scientists at science and technology institutes in Vellore, Madras and Bangalore. The price of making this machine is now around $20, but should fall to half that as production runs get longer.

But you want the specs, right? There isn't much, sadly, just a claim that the machine will have Wi-Fi and 2GB RAM. A quick look at memory prices tells us that a 2GB stick alone costs around that (the cheapest I found was $16). Clearly the Indians are up to something here, perhaps designing their own chips.

However this goes, don't expect to see Windows on there. XP can bump the price of a netbook up $50 over a Linux version. That means it would more than quintuple the price of the Sakshat. Then again, Microsoft might just offer a cheaper version.

India to unveil the £7 laptop [Guardian]