23 July 2010, the £23 laptop

After the i-pad, the i-ndia, as the world's cheapest laptop went on sale today at just £23. In the wake of the world's cheapest car, the tata nano, selling at just £1,200, the laptop will bring computing to tens of millions and boost india's entire commercial space. Yet again, india shows itself as a master of frugal engineering, as the west seems intent to design only for its bloated market selling goods to the emerging economies only when they are able to indulge in wildly extravagant luxury, sometimes priced higher there than here. That's the future though, and those that realise it now, and design for it now, and invest in it now, will reap the benefits later. Western consumerism may yet see a dead cat bounce, but it is simply unsustainable - and far from being behind the curve, indian engineering is well ahead of it: what would kids in our poorest estates say to a tablet computer for £23 ? I-thank you.