Simmbook Netbook for Emerging Markets
IBM and Indian company Simmtronics are marketing their 10" netbook at a cost under $200.
The Simmbook netbook with a 10.1" screen at 1024 x 600 pixels (VSVGA) works with the Atom N270 processor (1.6 GHz and 533 MHz FSB), a GByte of DDR2 RAM (maximum 2 GBytes with a slot) and a 160-GByte SATA hard drive. Along with these are a 1.3 megapixel camera, a 3-in-1 (MMC/SD/MS/MS Pro) card reader (some manufacturers would call it 4-in-1), and three USB 2.0 ports. The 1.2 kilogram device also includes a Kensington locking port, but is rather sluggish in LAN (10/100 Ethernet controller) and wireless (802.11b/g) modes. Preinstalled next to Ubuntu Linux is the IBM Client for Smart Work, with Lotus Symphony and access to IBMs LotusLive cloud-based collaboration tool. Of course, nothing would prevent a user from buying additional Lotus applications.
The product is intended to fill the gap between low cost and performance with its equipment and preinstalled apps. The partners are targeting the product to small businesses, non-profits and educational institutions that cannot otherwise afford computerized collaboration resources. The Simmbook is available through an online order form currently in India, African countries, Thailand and Vietnam. IBM and Simmtronics, who had the netbook certified at Canonical for Ubuntu, are looking for additional partners to market the netbook in other countries at a competitive price.
Comments
comments powered by Disqus
Issue 268/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
Escuelas Linux 8.0 is Now Available
Just in time for its 25th anniversary, the developers of Escuelas Linux have released the latest version.
-
LibreOffice 7.5 has Arrived Loaded with New Features and Improvements
The favorite office suite of the Linux community has a new release that includes some visual refreshing and new features across all modules.
-
The Next Major Release of Elementary OS Has Arrived
It's been over a year since the developers of elementary OS released version 6.1 (Jólnir) but they've finally made their latest release (Horus) available with a renewed focus on the user.
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta Is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
Wrong information
Everyone placing this article have been copying the wrong info without checking the facts.
The 160G + 1GB RAM is not sub-$200. With shipping and tax the 512MB, 8GB HDD $190 version is actually $270.
I have emailed IBM and Canonical for some info in South Africa. IBM did not know what I was talking about and Canonical said I had to buy direct from Simmtronics (incl the tax and shipping).
So please stop proclaiming this netbook as sub-$200 for the 3rd-world.