Intel yesterday announced a new notebook platform designed specifically for Chinese university students. Dubbed Tanggula, Intel said the platform offers enhanced security, wireless capability, and high quality sound and audio for multi-media enabled interactive learning and entertainment.
The Tanggula notebook platform features Common Building Block Program-compliant notebook subsystem ingredients. The Common Building Block is a program that defines pre-existing industry specifications in order to improve ingredient consistency and notebook quality while reducing notebook assembly costs and time-to-market for manufacturers.
Reaching the Next Billion PC Users
IDC Vice President Roger Kay told TechNewsWorld that there have been several efforts to develop low-cost platforms targeting the developing world. AMD and Via are also working to extend computing to a new group of users who may not otherwise have access to the technology.
“The theory is that there’s going to be a billion PCs in the installed pace sometime in the next few years,” Kay said. “There’s a lot of discussion about how to get PCs out to the next group of people in less developed countries.”
A Delicate Discussion
But Kay said it’s a delicate discussion because there are concerns about how such a low-cost platform could impact the PC market. And what about Microsoft? Does Windows get deployed? The software load on today’s computers is a very expensive component relative to the hardware, he said.
“There’s been a lot of software piracy in the developing world because people just don’t want to pay,” said Kay. “There’s the possibility that in creating a platform that’s targeted specifically at the developing world, there may be some way around piracy. If it’s a Linux box, you could offer freeware. But it’s a sensitive subject.”
Intel declined to elaborate on the lightweight notebook’s additional student-specific features. Tanggula will be available in the second half of this year.
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