Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 15th Sep 2007 19:57 UTC, submitted by Bobthearch
The vaunted 'USD 100 laptop' that Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers dreamed up for international schoolchildren is becoming a slightly more distant concept. The USD 100 laptop has many innovative features including a pull cord for recharging by hand. Leaders of the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child that was spun out of MIT acknowledged Friday that the devices are now slated to cost USD 188 when mass production begins this fall. The last price the nonprofit announced was USD 176; it described USD 100 as a long-term goal.
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Feature vs feature comparison
by renox on Sun 16th Sep 2007 07:50
in reply to "One point missed by CNN"
Member since:2005-07-06
What piss me off in these comparison is that usually they compare screen size, CPU and memory, and that's it.
They don't take into account that the OLPC was ruggedised, that it's screen has a 'readable in outdoor sunlight' mode, and that it has very low power usage, all three very important caracteristics for the planned usage.
Even a normal much more powerful laptop would be less adequate for the task: after all what good does a laptop when it's broken due to dust or rain, or when you can't read the screen?
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Member since:
2006-01-27
The more expensive this non-profit laptop becomes, the more it comes within range of similar commercial products like the Classmate PC. Not that I think the Classmate is equally suitable, but with competitive prices plenty of people will be comparing the two products' features side-by-side, and I expect many will find the Classmate attractive.
And if the laptops cost twice as much as originally estimated, governments will be able to afford only half as many as they originally planned. Which brings about the dilema of ordering half as many as they want, or skipping it altogether.
I also have doubts as to whether the countries that have committed to 3 million OLPCs will actually follow through with purchases. If I pre-ordered something and the final cost ended up being double the original estimate, there's a better-than-good chance I would not buy.
I've also seen a brief blurb about other similar projects, including and Indian-designed laptop with an estimated production cost of $49. So far it's only on paper, but it shows the interest in alternative projects. Buy a $200 item, or hold out for a possible $49 item?