Bharat Electronics Limited and PicoPeta Simputers Private Limited are delighted
to announce an alliance to manufacture and market a new range of Simputers.
These devices will be marketed as BEL-PicoPeta Simputers and will cover a
spectrum of applications and price points.
BEL, in the state-of-the-art facility in its Bangalore Complex, has manufactured
more than 400 Simputers for PicoPeta in a pilot production phase. The
BEL-PicoPeta Simputers are a radical improvement over the earlier Simputer
prototypes along several fronts. The production of the first batch of 1,000
BEL-PicoPeta Simputers will be completed in November 2002.
The current price of the BEL-PicoPeta Simputer will be Rs. 13,000, with duties
and taxes as applicable. BEL and PicoPeta are determined to reduce the price
closer to Rs. 10,000 in the next six months.
The BEL-PicoPeta Simputers are powered by Linux and Malacca. Malacca, a
revolutionary new interface for the Simputer developed by PicoPeta, makes the
combination a powerful, customer-friendly and full-featured machine.
The high-end BEL-PicoPeta Simputer incorporating key hand-picked innovations
along with the ability to support a variety of wired and wireless options will
be available by February 2003.
Dr. V.K. Koshy, CMD, BEL says, "It is a very important step to utilize the
opportunities in huge IT hardware, domestic as well as global markets, with
BEL-PicoPeta Simputers, a 100% Indian innovation designed and manufactured to
world class standards. We highly value this association with PicoPeta in
bringing out various versions of BEL-PicoPeta Simputers to meet varied needs of
domestic as well as international markets".
Says Dr. Swami Manohar, CEO of PicoPeta, "We are delighted to partner BEL in
propelling the Simputer platform forward. The goal of the Simputer project was
to design, develop and manufacture in India, world class devices to meet
India's and the developing world's unique requirements. This vision is
fulfilled in the BEL-PicoPeta Simputer".
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is a Rs. 2000 crore company that designs,
develops and manufactures state-of- the-art products in the field of Radars,
Defence Communications, Telecommunications, Sound and Vision Broadcasting,
Opto-electronics, Solar systems, IT products and Electronic components.
More at the BEL website, www.bel-india.com
PicoPeta Simputers Pvt. Ltd. provides hardware, design and software solutions
based on the powerful, yet affordable Simputer platform. The Simputer is a
powerful full-featured handheld computer. Simputer is a registered trademark of
the Simputer Trust.
More at the PicoPeta website, www.picopeta.com