Linux PDA hits Indian market

A pair of Indian companies are touting a home-grown handheld, eyeing both the local market and a wider audience.

The Amida Simputer, originally developed as a "poor man's computer", is now being pitched as a device that can handle a wide range of business and personal-computing requirements. The Linux-powered handheld combines the functions of an organiser and an MP3 player and has handwriting recognition capabilities.

The device was developed by PicoPeta Simputers, a Bangalore-based industry academic group, and is being manufactured by Bharat Electronics, an Indian government-owned company. Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, an outspoken supporter of open-source software, formally launched the product via teleconference from New Delhi last week, saying it could play a role in providing government services to citizens.

The Amida Simputer is designed to enable scribbling and emailing of notes regardless of language, which is a key factor in the multilingual Indian market. It also has an on-screen keyboard for two Indian languages - Hindi and Kannada - with more languages to be added soon, the companies said.

Dinesh C Sharma writes for News.com