I only post this because of the mention of text-to-speech.

BANGALORE (Reuters) - India is ready this month to roll out its $200
``Simputer,'' a  handheld computer aimed at wooing the poor across the
digital divide.

``The waiting period is almost over. We are near the take-off stage,'' Vinay
Deshpande,  chairman of Encore Software Ltd, one of two firms with licences
to make the device, told Reuters late on Thursday.

The Simputer -- short for simple, inexpensive and multilingual computer --
was launched in  April 2001 by the non-profit Simputer Trust, formed by
officials
at Encore and professors from Bangalore's prestigious Indian Institute of
Science to license  designs of the device.

The Simputer, which has been delayed by funding problems and marketing
concerns, aims to  help India's poor and rural folk who cannot read or
write, but
high-end users and overseas buyers have also been wowed by its features.

Resembling trendy handhelds such as those built by Palm Inc, the Simputer
has easy-to-use  applications including voicemail, text-to-speech
capabilities
and Internet access.

Powered by an Intel StrongARM processor, the Simputer runs off two AA-size
pencil batteries  and comes equipped with 32 megabytes (MB) or 64 MB of
random-access
memory.

``In our trials, we found that `one size fits all' doesn't work because it
also means one  price and one particular configuration,'' said Deshpande, an
engineer
educated at Stanford University in the U.S., who is a pivotal figure in the
trust.

``We are now making a range of Simputers with different configurations and
prices ranging  from 10,500 to 23,000 rupees,'' he said. Equivalent to
roughly
$214 to $469, this figure compares to average annual Indian per capita
income of about $450.

Trial orders have come from state governments, consumer goods companies and
co-operative  banks, all of whom are pushing into rural areas, where
two-thirds
of India's population of one billion live.

ADDRESSES CRITICS

The Simputer, which answers critics who say India's software revolution has
bypassed its  poor, is expected to help spread their use in a country whose
installed
base of computers is barely six million.

India's desktop personal computer sales fell 11 percent to 1.67 million in
the year to  March.

PCs are relatively costly in India. At about $200, the Simputer would be
three times cheaper  than a PC, and cost nearly the same as a cheap colour
television
set.

``We are in the process of making about 200 Simputers this month and about
1,300 to 1,400 by  September based on potential and existing orders,''
Deshpande
said.

Using free-to-use Linux software, the device allows personal data to be
stored through a  smart card, so enabling many users to share it.

Sales of the Simputer are likely to rise to 50,000 by late 2003, Deshpande
said.

``The profit is not in delivering hardware but solutions (for end use),''
Deshpande said.

``We are tying up with software developers who'll make applications and
we'll deliver that  box with the solutions.''

Trial sales have already been made to a number of countries including
Sweden, Australia,  France, United States, he said.

Encore plans to cater to overseas sales of the Simputer through a separate
company based in  Singapore.

It expects to conclude a tie-up within a month with a few large Indian
information  technology companies, who will in turn sell the Simputer to the
lucrative
mass retail market.

``We are too small to take the Simputer to the retail level ourselves,''
Deshpande said.  ``These firms will buy the Simputer in bulk from us and
distribute
and support the product.''


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