Bangladesh Announces National Laptop Line

More and more countries are beginning to nationalize its technology as a way to minimize their reliance on foreign countries when it comes to digital modernity. China is developing its own processors, while India is subsidizing a national tablet computer. Recently, the government of Bangladesh (a developing country east of India) has unveiled its own line of very cheap netbooks.

The Doel computers, named after the country's national bird (the magpie), start at 10,000 taka (around US$130) and run on Android OS. Its graphics may not be as advanced as usual laptops, but the Doel netbooks are more than sufficient in basic computing usage such as web browsing, word processing, and document management.

The computers are manufactured by contractors managed by state-owned telecom ISS. Only 10% of the computer parts are made in Doel at the moment, but ISS plans to produce 60% within six months. The processor and RAM, for instance, are imported.

The 10,000-taka Doel Model 2102 features an 800MHz VIA 8650 processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 10-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution. It does not have internal storage, but there is an SD card slot. Meanwhile, the Model 0703 costs 12,000 taka (around $160) and comes with a better screen resolution, Atom N456 processor, 1GB of RAM, 250GB HDD, and a much-improved webcam. The 0703 runs on “Linux-based OS,” which can be adjusted.

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