| Sumario: | Part of a special section on the 2002 Asian Innovation Awards, which recognize the efforts of individuals who are finding new means of improving quality of life. The recipient of a special mention is the Simputer, a small, hand-held computer, a little larger than a Palm Pilot, which was developed to address the needs of poorer and rural users in India for as little as $200. The Simputer incorporates easy-to-use features: it uses ordinary batteries; it is able to speak to users in a variety of local languages; and, of significant importance, it has a slot for a smart card that contains personal information, thus allowing a single computer to be shared among an entire community.
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