Hyderabad co makes computer, TV combo device
Hyderabad, Nov. 25 A team of about two dozen engineers
based in Hyderabad have developed a device that may
replace a home PC and allows entertainment and
Internet.
The best part of this hardware device developed by
Ichip Technologies is that it comes at a fraction of
the sub-10K home PC, and brings about the flexibility
to use the existing TV as the display device.
The company has filed four patent applications and is
in talks with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
to offer this packed with new televisions and
also with four large domestic telecom carriers.
If you look at the usage of PCs at home, nearly 70-80
per cent of its actual capabilities are hardly
harnessed. And yet people spend about Rs 15,000-Rs
20,000 for it. What they require is a device that
meets basic requirements of surfing, handling word
processing and the ability to make calls. This has
lead us to develop @Box, that becomes the single point
interface with the world, Mr Kota Bhaskar, Chief
Technology Officer and President of Ichip, said.
Addressing a press conference here, he said that @Box
packs two processors developed by the company in house
along with a Linux-based operating system that
has been retuned to be compatible with the hardware.
Once connected to a TV or a monitor, it can handle
most of the tasks a computer could possibly handle,
including video conferencing when connected to a web
camera.
This does not have any moving parts and can withstand
worst of power fluctuations. There is no hard drive
and does not require booting.
Significantly, this box can serve as IPTV interface
and offer Internet calls through a service provider
like Skype. But all it needs is a broadband
connectivity.
This box goes beyond the concept of thin clients as it
is versatile.
The company is set to launch the product shortly in
the market and has finalised a deal with one of the
countrys largest telco.
Asked about the pricing, Mr. K.A. Padmanabhan,
Chairman and MD of Ichip, said that this could be
priced at about the cost of a mobile phone (say about
Rs
4,000) but it all depends on how the services
associated with the box get bundled with the telco.
Some private equity companies are interested in the
company,
but it has preferred to stay away from them, they claimed.
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