Encore set to bag Brazilian laptop order

BANGALORE: Bangalore-based IT products company, Encore Software is in the race for providing cost effective laptops for the Brazilian government. The company, which holds the license for the ‘Simputer’, is pitted against the likes of Intel and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for bagging a order from Brazil’s education ministry.

Brazil, just like other developing nations like India and China, has started an initiative to provide cheap laptops to school children. The country is currently evaluating products from three companies — Encore’s Mobilis, Intel’s Classmate PC and MIT Media Lab’s One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) $150 laptop. Encore Software has provided around 40 pieces for the test.

Encore Software CEO Vinay Deshpande told ET, “Mobilis is one of the shortlisted products for evaluation by the Brazilian government. We submitted the product in September this year and the winner of the bid is likely to be known by February 2007.” He added that he is confident of bagging the order in Brazil.

Mobilis, which was launched in May 2005, was the result of Encore’s R&D alliance with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). It is estimated to be priced at Rs 10,000 (about $222) and weighs less than a kilo. The Mobilis needs no UPS, is less prone to viruses and has a six-hour battery life, according to the makers.

Apart from English, the model can also be used in regional Indian languages like Hindi, Kannada and Marathi. Encore says Mobilis will not get obsolete since it has built-in software. The laptop runs on Linux.

The OLPC prototype, pioneered by Nicholas Negroponte of MIT Labs, has seen interest from countries like Brazil, Argentina, Libya, Nigeria and Thailand. India was considering it for educational initiatives, but rejected the model, saying that resources used for buying these machines could be used for traditional methods of education. MIT Labs has showcased the prototype of its cheap laptop, which is currently priced around $150.

The Classmate PC is part of Intel’s World Ahead programme that aims at reaching the 100 crore users. Developed by the IT major with inputs provided by its R&D centre in Bangalore also, the laptop is said to be priced about $400, though the company has not yet announced a price. However, experts say that with local manufacturing, the price of Classmate PC could go down to between $200-250.