Intel to launch cheap PC for villagers

Intel today said that it will give greater focus to emerging markets. "Generally companies focus on matured markets and think that emerging markets will pick up," said Patrick P Gelsinger, senior vice president, digital enterprise group, underlining the contrary approach of the chip maker.

Gelsinger told the inaugural session of the Intel Developer Forum that Intel will come out with the prototype of a community PC for emerging markets in another two months, suited for rural Indian conditions.

This PC will include designs to live with social and environmental conditions prevalent in places such as rural India. This means the machine will be rugged since more number of people will work on a single PC and are more likely to be affected by viruses and misconfigured options.

Intel has included a one button recovery that can rebuild the software structure, should the software fail. "In India, the summer is hot, humid and dusty," said Gelsinger. So Intel has come up with an air filter that can keep out dust and insects.

The unreliable electricity with its fluctuating voltage is another characteristic of rural India and to deal with this Intel has put in a DC adpator which can be run by a car battery.

Amar Babu, director, South Asia, marketing and sales said that the design will be ready in two months and it will be given out to vendors for manufacturing.