Two and a half years after failing to bridge the digital divide with a Rs 10,000 PC, Intel director of marketing, John Mcclure claims to be a wiser man. ?Price alone can?t ensure a product will take-off,? he explains. And rest of the affordable computing bandwagon could not agree more. ?We need to take an all-inclusive approach and offer ease of use and mobility of a cellphone,? echoes HCL chairman and CEO, Ajai Chowdhry.

As they get ready for the second round of affordable computing blitzkrieg, they candidly admit that the total cost of ownership of their 2005 PC was appreciably higher than the much-hyped price tag. John is quick to reel off the long list of ?not-so-obvious? lessons?the desktop PC was too big for the small living quarters of the socioeconomic classes it was aimed at; consumed too much energy and needed a UPS. It may sound trivial but the noisy fan interfering with TV sound seemed to have deterred many.

Cut to 2008. PC for masses buzz sounds similar. Industry is as excited and users as expectant. Market is hotting up with action as new computing models roll out. HCL believes it has hit the nail with its Rs 13,990-MiLeap ultramobile PC and is planning even smaller versions and internet devices soon. Several more sub Rs 15,000 ultramobile PCs are learnt to be on anvil. Both Microsoft and Intel confirm that several PC vendors are working with them to ready similar offerings. Intel, in fact, is expecting another round of affordable products when it launches its low-cost 45-nanometre core architecture platform in July. Nicholas Negroponte?s much talked about laptop might not be reaching Indian shores but has done its bit in contributing to the affordable computing buzz. Action, however, is not limited to reducing hardware prices. Several other flavours are being tried out. Thin computing devices from IIT-incubated Novatium, which went live in October are expected to reach 1,00,000 consumers in eight cities by the end of the year.

The excitement is hard to miss. Even analysts like IDC feel the industry has learnt its lessons. ?The low-cost didn?t work with desktops but I am more optimistic about portables. Whether the current products click or not, it signals the formation of a new category,? says IDC India research head, Kapil Dev Singh.

Though analysts like Singh feel it is too early to talk of the size of the new emerging category, estimates from vendors like Novatium show a market size of 50 million consumers in five years. Intel?s John Mcclure asserts that low cost initiatives and build-up of broadband can help bring India to the same level of growth as China was at the same stage of development. This translates to a growth of 30-35% for the Indian PC market compared with the current forecasts of 20-25% CAGR over the next four to five years.

But as the race to serve the computing and connectivity needs of the next billion kicks off, tough issues face the vendors. For one, there are no success stories. All price warriors?Usha, Sterling?s Siva, PCL, Wipro?s Janta PC, Simputer or the Rs 10,000 PC?are today known mostly for their mistakes. Also, no one is sure of the right formula till now. Will stripped down versions work? Which computing and connectivity needs are top priorities of SEC C and D households? Will the volumes support a market-driven model or will subsidies drive the growth?

No one seems to have the right answers. But the recent experiments have thrown up clues to what is not likely to work. ?Nothing has worked so far,? admits Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT Chennai, who helped incubate a thin PC with no local storage. ?Stripped down versions won?t work and neither would the solutions that solve only a part of the problem. We need PC as a service with broadband and complete maintenance,? he quips.

To appeal to a first time user, complications in running a PC need to be weeded out. It needs to work like a TV or a DVD player. In fact,the industry?s dream is to sell it like a cellphone where most buyers don?t bother which processor or operating system has gone into it.

?It is important to offer a complete solution and users don?t need to worry about its components. It should be sturdy enough for Indian conditions and a vast service network should be available,? says Ajai Chowdhry.

Software is also an essential part of the equation. Most of the solutions, especially at the bottom of the pyramid, offer Linux. Analysts fear that Linux desktop is for technologists and not first time PC users.

It will work only if someone makes a user-friendly front-end. Chowdhry?s MiLeap claims to be doing exactly that. The entire ecosystem is now ready for this product, he asserts.

At the same time, PCs still have a long way before they establish their importance in our lives. ?Computer ads have to stop looking like a laundry list of components and should start talking of what it can do for you. We need to facilitate a certain type of usage rather than the current mishmash of software,? explains Microsoft general manager (unlimited potential programme), Latif Nathani. Microsoft tested its affordable pay-as-you-go computing initiative, FlexGo software in fiscal year 2007.

Modelled on the successful prepaid mobile phone cards, Flexgo is learnt to be undergoing modifications and might appear in a new version but ?not for another six months in India?. Even as it is early days yet for the pre-paid model, Novatium is trying out a pay-as-you-go model.

The target segment is clearly youth and primary needs?education, entertainment and connecting on the internet. Connectivity seems to be emerging a bigger hook than computing. ?We started with productivity solutions like spreadsheet and word processing. But we are now realising internet-based mail, chat, browsing, VoIP and media player applications are more popular,? reflects Novatium CEO, Alok Singh.

The entire solution should not cost more than Rs 5,000 upfront and Rs 500 per month, inclusive of the broadband and financing costs, he adds. Opportunity is huge in a country with about 40 million internet users and 200 million mobile phones, but PC as a service will require a much faster rollout of broadband connections and better interest rates.

Clearly, affordability equation is getting newer parameters. New experiments, as Jhunjhunwala points out, will have to continue for this segment to take off. Despite having burnt their fingers several times, vendors seem to bursting with greater optimism and confidence today. Is the learning process over? With virtually everyone targeting the affordable computing market, there?s a lot riding on the answer.