So we have a $35 tablet from India, and not too far away in Bangladesh, you will be able to pick up a spanking new laptop – all for just $130. Known as ‘Doel’, Bangladesh can now lay claim to one of the cheapest domestically-made laptops in the world, don’t you think so? Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was the one who launched the laptop, naming it Doel, with state-owned telecoms company Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) being the hardware manufacturer behind the laptop while offering it to the masses in four models to choose from.
Powered by the Android operating system, this laptop will be distributed among different government departments at first, although they will later be sold to students as well as the general public. 90% of the laptop contains parts that are imported, but Bangladesh is looking to reduce that figure to just 60% in half a year’s time, with the rest of the components coming from local production.
Will this move be able to bridge the digital divide among the poor in Bangladesh?
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