Tk 10,000 Bangladeshi laptop hits market in week
The first Bangladesh-assembled laptop “Doel” will take a week to hit the market though Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched its marketing yesterday.
Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS), a public company assigned to manufacture the laptop, has so far made 6,000 laptops and netbooks for sale.
The company made three models of netbook and one model of laptop.
Netbooks are a tiny computer similar to laptops, but with lower capability. Their prices are cheaper than those of laptops. Prices of Doel netbooks have been set between Tk 10,000 and Tk 26,000 depending on their configuration.
The government has taken up the project of producing locally-assembled laptops and netbooks with an aim to making this significant technology available to the people at a cheaper price.
TSS Managing Director Mohammad Ismail told The Daily Star they now import 90 percent equipment of laptops and netbooks, but it will come down to 40 percent within six months.
The company, under the telecom ministry, is equipped enough to assemble 10,000 to 11,000 laptops or 15,000 netbooks a month. After assessing the market demand, the company will decide which it will produce more, he said.
It was initially planned to supply laptops and netbooks to the public service sector, especially to the government educational institutions on priority basis.
The company was even ready to supply the devices but it did not receive any demand order from the public sector. So, the TSS has decided to sell the products in the local market, said the TSS managing director.
The portable computers are competent enough to connect with any kind of internet modem. Built-in WiFi is also available in all the four models. WiFi is a wireless system that provides internet bandwidth for indoor use.
“This is a great achievement for us. Finally, we’ve got our own laptop,” said Mustafa Jabbar, president of Bangladesh Computer Samity.
The assembling of laptop is a step towards implementing the government’s vision of “Digital Bangladesh.” But without internet connectivity, it is just a typewriter, he observed.
He said internet service is still very expensive and rare in the country, especially for the students. The only way to get fast broadband connectivity is 3G technology.
Jabbar also said that professionals should be engaged in content development that could be made available through internet.
Detail configuration of the laptops and netbooks is available at www.tss.com.bd.
-With The Daily Star input
