Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Mar. 29, 2010

IBM and Simmtronics announce that they will market a low-cost, Intel Atom-based Simmtronics netbook in Africa and other emerging markets that will run on Ubuntu Linux.

The new Simmbook laptops will be preloaded with the IBM Client for Smart Work Linux distro, based on Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and will first be made available in Africa for just $190, said IBM at a news conference late Friday.

Announced 15 months ago, IBM Client for Smart Work is based on the VERDE virtualization technology from Virtual Bridges. The cloud-oriented distribution includes the Ubuntu Netbook Remix version of the Ubuntu Linux distro, as well as Linux versions of IBM's Open Collaboration Client Solution software, based on IBM Lotus Symphony, Lotus Notes and other Lotus applications.

The Ubuntu OS will be supported by Canonical.

In addition to Africa, the Linux-ready Simmbook will also be available in India, Thailand and Vietnam, said Big Blue. The Simmbook is preloaded with IBM Client for Smart Work, which includes IBM Lotus Symphony, access to IBM LotusLive cloud collaboration services, and the choice of adding other IBM Lotus collaboration software such as Lotus Notes and Lotus Sametime, says the company.

In September of last year, IBM and Canonical announced they would offer IBM Client for Smart Work in Africa. Then in October, IBM announced that it would also offer a version aimed at corporate users, available globally.

IBM Client for Smart Work is offered as a way to help companies save up to fifty percent per seat on software costs versus a Microsoft-based desktop. The cost savings are based on the fact that users can run a combination of Web-based applications and Linux on their existing PCs, netbooks, and thin client.

Friday's announcement was made in South Africa, which appears to be the initial target of the netbook package. Ubuntu founder and South African native Mark explains in the video below how cloud computing is particularly suitable to emerging nations.

However, Shuttleworth said that an important step in the Client for Smart Work initiative is to soon provide the infrastructure in emerging countries for pervasive bandwidth, without elaborating any further.

The Simmtronics Simbook is a 10 inch netbook, notable primarily for the fact that it is offered with Ubuntu instead of just Windows. The 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N-270 processor is combined with a 82945-GSE northbridge and ICH-7M controller, as well as 1 GB of DDR 2 memory, says Simmtronics.

An SD memory card reader is available, along with a 160 GB SATA hard disk drive (HDD), expandable to 500GB, says the company.

In addition to offering a 10 inch, 1024 x 600 resolution display, the Simmbook provides a fast Ethernet port, three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port and audio ports, says Simmtronics.

Other neat features are said to include a 1.3-megapixel camera, speaker, microphone and a PCI interface with support for a Wi-Fi router.

The Simmbook comes standard with a 3-cell 2200 mAh battery, which is upgradeable to a 6-cell 4400 mAh model, says the company.

"Netbooks are quickly becoming the new standard today instead of desktop computers for many businesses worldwide. In emerging markets such as South Africa, businesses need a solution that addresses both price and value," said Indrajit Sabharwal, founder of Simmtronics Semiconductors Ltd.

"CIO's, IT managers and IT architects from all types of organizations in South Africa can now legitimately consider netbooks instead of PCs for business use," said Clifford Foster, IBM sub-Saharan CTO.

"It is refreshing to realize how much computing is changing the lives of people in Africa and the new Simmbook provides a real testament of how important it is to get low-cost computing into Africa's economy," said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical / Ubuntu.

Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Source: IBM.

All logos, trade marks or service marks on this website are the property of their respective companies or owners.

ADVERTISERS:
Linux News Today.org is read by over 450,000 people involved in the field of Linux application development, professional Web hosting services, Linux security, Linux Web development, etc. Inquire about our reasonable advertising rates on our news website. One of our advertising representatives will be in touch with you. Simply email us to learn about our ad rates and how we can help drive relevant traffic to your website. Advertising space is limited.