The Simputer, India’s first home-grown handheld designed for the rural masses, is making its international foray through a deal with the UN’s International Telecommunication Union and the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan.‘‘We expect to use the Simputer in about 38 post offices in Bhutan to facilitate easy and affordable use of e-mail,’’ said Vishnu Mohan Calindi, administrator of Universal Access and Rural Communications at the UN’s telecom agency.Designed by professors of a non-profit trust, the Simputer resembles trendy handhelds such as those built by Palm Inc. But with easy-to-use applications, including transmission of commodity prices, the Simputer mainly targets rural users such as farmers and village officials.‘‘The Simputer will also address Bhutan’s need to transmit farm prices to the agriculture community and help many people to get onto the information highway,’’ Calindi said, adding that other countries had also expressed interest in the Simputer.‘‘We’ve had enquiries from a dozen nations in Africa and Asia,’’ he added.(REUTERS)
