Digital Bangladesh Launches “Doel” Laptops for Schools

by st editor Wednesday 12th October 2011

Bangladesh State Telecom – Telephone Shilpa Sangstha – has launched a range Bangladesh-made low cost laptop computers running Google’s Android OS for schools and students. The manufacturer aims to build 10,000 of the laptops a month with the first on sale next week. The “Doel” range will feature four different models priced from at Tk 10,000,(£84) to Tk 26,000 (£218). The base model “Primary”, will run Android on a VIA CPU and be equipped with wifi, built-in webcam and a slot for up to 32GB SSD having a similar spec. to a smart-phone or tablet, while the 3 latter models “Basic”, “Standard ” and “Advanced” are described as having  a Linux based operating system and come with Intel Atom processors, 2GB RAM, hard-drives up to 320Gb  and DVD writer.  The units will be assembled by TSS in collaboration with Dhaka-based 2M Corporation and Malaysian company TFT Technology.

The laptops were launched yesterday by PM Sheikh Hasina in a ceremony at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka yesterday and it is hoped will help to provide momentum to the government’s 2009 “Digital Bangladesh” initiative to expand the IT and communication sectors in the country.
Following in the steps of projects such as “one laptop per child” she is encouraging the education ministry to introduce the laptop computers and netbooks with pre-installed e-books into schools on a massive scale and for the University in Dhaka to set up an online library saying “Our students at schools should have access to the latest technologies. I want all the students not to go to schools with bags of books on their shoulders, but only with a notebook.”

The released specifications for the four models are: