SELLING PDAs IN INDIA

Also,
initiatives in the form of Simputer, if coupled with development of
country-specific applications, can make PDAs commercially viable.

The Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are still new to India. They are not
used in a magnitude similar to those of desktops or even laptops.

One reason is the cost/benefit ratio for PDAs. They are still quite costly
for the Indian users if you compare their prices with those of desktops.

At that price, what do you do with these gadgets? Store your address book and
phone book? You can do it even with a digital diary!

PONDERING
ABOUT PDAs

Users find the concept of notebooks easy to understand and accept because
there is not much difference between the desktop and a notebook as far as the
software and general operations are concerned.

The biggest advantage, that of portability is very obvious. Even though
prices are high, those who must have the portability don´t mind paying that
extra price.

That is not the case with Pocket PCs and PDAs. First of all they have
different operating systems. That creates a lot of confusion about
compatibility. And to add to that confusion, everyone calls these gadgets with
different names.

Many users are not comfortable handling the hardware. They are used to
calling the supplier´s service engineer even to replace a mouse for which you
just have to pull out one connector and plug in the new one!

With a PDA, they have to keep charging its batteries, they have to struggle
with AC outlets that don´t match with the size and shape of the mains plug that
came with their PDA and worst of all – they have to have a software on their
desktop PC to HotSync their PDA to it.

Getting used to the stylus tapping is also something one has to learn. If you
want to use the graffiti writing area, you must also learn to write the
characters with different strokes of the stylus. It´s like using the good old
slate to learn english alphabets all over again. Using the on-screen keypad is
not so difficult but still one needs to get used to it.

In addition to the simple functions like address book, phone book, scheduler,
to-do-list and the memo pad, PDAs also allow you to maintain personal expenses.
This data can then be exported to the Excel sheets on your desktop PC.

That´s where things start looking interesting. Different levels of e-mail
capabilities are available. Some manufacturers provide direct e-mailing option
using an external modem. One needs to have really useful applications running on
the Pocket PCs to make them worth their price. Just an expensive toy will not
sell in large volumes.

There are many downloadable applications available on the Internet, but they
are specific to the operating system and to the product. If you are using a PDA
from a manufacturer in Taiwan who uses his own dedicated operating system, you
will not be able to download applications that are available for the Palm. Same
will be the case with Linux-based PDAs.

DEVELOP INDIA-SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS

In this scenario, selling PDAs in India needs a different focus.
India-specific applications must be made available to make these gadgets popular
and cost-effective.

One such initiative was launched in the form of the Simputer, which was
supposed to roll out about 5,000 units per month. It is claimed that the
Simputer can be used over a variety of applications and transactions using a
smart card reader.

The smart card would make the Simputer safe for all kinds of transactions,
even for financial and banking purposes. It is proposed to be used for
e-governance where the smart card would store voter registration, rationing
information and even health care information.

Smart cards are expected to become digital passbooks. In addition, the e-mail
and Internet access capabilities should make it an efficient communication
device.

It still remains to be seen if the Simputer can really bridge the great
digital divide. Such high technology initiatives rarely thrive in the
bureaucratic environment that surrounds such projects.

And the basic dilemma is that if you really want to build social relevance
into your high-technology product, you must function in this environment.

TAKING TO THE MASSES

A simpler and quicker route might have been to standardize on commercially
available PDAs and focus on relevant software development for community
applications. With fast changing technology, one can´t start with dedicated
hardware development and then build the relevant software around it, and still
hope to be competitive on the prices. With so much of hard work put in by
eminent engineers and technologists, it will be very unfortunate if this
Simputer initiative remains just a case study in technical development and high
power PR work.

Some efforts are being made by individual developers in India to build
country-specific applications for the PDAs and they will have a bright future if
the efforts are driven in the right direction. Such applications are based on
dedicated operating systems and will run only on that particular PDA.

Some of these applications are meant for insurance agents and development
officers who are on the move and need to refer to various schemes and make
proposals on the spot. They can come back to the office in the evening and
HotSync with their desktop PCs. Similar applications are possible for sales
force automation in industries like pharmaceuticals.

Even service engineers can benefit from such application. Many India-specific
reference applications like air timetables, personal accounting and income tax
ready reckoner, postal information, STD/ISD codes and so on are under
development.

Meter reading applications, order booking applications and market survey
applications could become very useful for the specific segments.

Keeping the right direction and focus is very important in such development
efforts. The same initiative can spell success or disaster depending on how it
is driven.

ASHOK DONGRE is a technical consultant.