20W: a cheap-as-chips South African-made, solar-powered Android PC

Two things computers, smartphones and tablets rely on most are power and the internet. That’s expensive. This South African-made Android desktop computer only uses 24 Watts of power and is built to run on solar energy. Developed by Capsule Technologies with the poverty-stricken in mind, the 20W is designed to give people a cheap and effective option to further work, play and educate themselves. It’s just the box, you’ll need to fork out for the display, keyboard, etc.

As seen in the image above, although it’s not the slimmest, sexiest piece of hardware, the 20W is still a prototype. It’s meant to fulfil more practical needs. For one, your average computer consumes between 150 Watts and 200 Watts of energy which means that Capsule’s 20W uses almost ten times less.

The 20W’s dimensions are 240 x 190 x 90mm which is much smaller than your average PC’s motherboard and will come pre-installed with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Inside the box, it holds 500GB of onboard storage and an ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 1GB RAM and has a GPU capable of supporting HD content.

Alhough the 20W comes with Wi-Fi and is compatible with 3G USB sticks, Capsule also takes into account those relying on other forms of data-transfer. The computer will therefore have an Ethernet port and will be capable of supporting printer drivers as well as CD burning software.

It’s also said to be the first Android desktop with built-in MESH node capability which, simply put, allows other devices to connect to it in order to gain access to the net.

Capsule says that the computer is as easy to use as a mobile phone and that the materials used are easily replaceable. The computer is also built to survive “extreme environmental conditions” meaning the company takes into account high humidity and temperatures levels.

“We believe that an economic IT solution that allows us to keep the cost of infrastructure low such as electricity will help the development of the continent, especially communities developing small business,” reads Capsule’s project page on Thundafund.

While this is still a product-in-the-making, Capsule Technologies is aiming to raise a minimum milestone of R70 000 for 20W of which the World Design Capital Cape Town will match R10 000.