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Low-Cost Laptops Get Mixed Feedback
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Designed for impoverished countries, low-cost laptops are being marketed to American consumers. But reviewers question whether they are durable or useful enough for kids anywhere.
30-Second Summary
The market for ultra-low cost laptops has been heating up, despite criticism regarding their utility for children in the United States and abroad.
Computer makers have long viewed production of a PC priced at $100 as the “Holy Grail” that would put technology into the hands of children in developing countries, reports ZDNet.
But that goal has proved elusive, and manufacturers are turning to Western consumers to supplement their sales in emerging markets.
The One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s popular green-and-white XO and its low-cost competitors, priced at $175 to $250, are still too expensive for developing nations, where typical adult earnings are under $100 a month.
Intel unveiled a new Classmate PC, reconfigured to appeal to Western consumers, with a larger screen and bigger hard drive—and a higher price of $300 to $500.
But after market-testing the XO, some American users say that the machines aren’t robust enough to be used by children. Other concerns include slow operating and internet speeds.
“We learned that cheap charity computers can't stand up to the probing fingers of the kiddie users they're supposed to serve,” wrote Forbes’ David Ewalt. “And now we find out that when they're not tearing the OLPC apart, kids are just bored with it.”
Analyst Annette Jump says the marketplace may be telling manufacturers that along with low pricing, Third World children require the very same things that American consumers want: “actual devices that are workable … for education and access to the Internet.”
Computer makers have long viewed production of a PC priced at $100 as the “Holy Grail” that would put technology into the hands of children in developing countries, reports ZDNet.
But that goal has proved elusive, and manufacturers are turning to Western consumers to supplement their sales in emerging markets.
The One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s popular green-and-white XO and its low-cost competitors, priced at $175 to $250, are still too expensive for developing nations, where typical adult earnings are under $100 a month.
Intel unveiled a new Classmate PC, reconfigured to appeal to Western consumers, with a larger screen and bigger hard drive—and a higher price of $300 to $500.
But after market-testing the XO, some American users say that the machines aren’t robust enough to be used by children. Other concerns include slow operating and internet speeds.
“We learned that cheap charity computers can't stand up to the probing fingers of the kiddie users they're supposed to serve,” wrote Forbes’ David Ewalt. “And now we find out that when they're not tearing the OLPC apart, kids are just bored with it.”
Analyst Annette Jump says the marketplace may be telling manufacturers that along with low pricing, Third World children require the very same things that American consumers want: “actual devices that are workable … for education and access to the Internet.”
Headline Links: Low-cost PCs in emerging and Western markets
Andy Greenberg at Forbes compares the affordable PCs designed for children offered by Intel and the OLPC Foundation, which have been competing for the market for cheap laptops by marketing them to American consumers and seeking sales to schools in Asia, Africa and South America. Intel, seeking to sell affordable PCs to American children, started offering its $489 Classmate PC, also called the 2goPC, in the United States earlier this month.
Source: Forbes
The $100 laptop, which has been touted as a tool to drive economic development in emerging markets, is still too expensive for its target markets in developing nations, reports ZDNet.
Source: ZDNet
Related Topics: Comparing low-cost PCs and free Linux open-source software
CNET reports on the recent unveiling of the updated Intel Classmate PC, which has a larger screen, bigger hard drive and a high price tag that shows that Intel is aiming to sell to a mainstream Western market as well. The 9-inch, 30GB hard drive version will become available this month and will sell for between $300 and $500, above the $200 price tag of the XO model from the OLPC Foundation. The laptop’s new price range also puts it in competition with the Eee PC from Asus, a small, light laptop intended for children.
Source: CNET
The free operating system Linux is gaining traction as interest grows in the market for inexpensive computers. Asustek Computer Inc.’s EeePC, which costs about $400, uses the Linux operating system, as does the One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s $200 XO computer and the “netbooks” made by Intel Corp.
Source: Austin American-Statesman (The Associated Press)
Opinion & Analysis: ‘One Laptop Per Dissatisfied Child’
David M. Ewalt at Forbes predicts an early death for the OLPC project, and says that recent reports that the cheap computers can’t stand up to the wear and tear kids submit them to is a lesson to academics on how difficult it is to design, produce and support a computer.
Source: Forbes
Wall Street Journal reporter Kevin J. Delaney tests the OLPC computer on his children and finds that they are largely uninterested. They preferred to play with his five-year-old PC, in order to play games and watch videos on the Internet, and ignored the new computer’s special software for creative-writing projects, animation and music composition. “Any technology aimed at kids needs to be able to deliver the richest experiences available on the Web or face an uphill battle in winning the attention of this browser generation,” Delaney says. However, he acknowledges that the machines were designed for kids in the developing world and not children like his who take high-speed Internet access for granted.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Technology blog Engadget reports that the OLPC laptops are not holding up well against children in the United States, leaving some people doubtful that they would hold up in the developing world.
Source: Engadget
Background: ‘Intel’s Laptop Flap’
Forbes chronicles the initial partnership between Intel and the OLPC Foundation, and their eventual split. The conflict is a sign that the market for low-cost computers is taking off, says Crawford Del Prete, senior vice president at tech research firm IDC. “It speaks to the emergence of a new segment,” he says. “What’s surprising is this is a category that has been pooh-poohed … and it was a place where you dumped old technology, where you tried all kinds of experiments.”
Source: Forbes
Reference: One Laptop Per Child
The OLPC Foundation’s Web site says that its goal is “to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.” The project was started by Nicholas Negroponte, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Schools and teachers in Peru, Mongolia, Pakistan, Senegal and other countries are currently using XO laptops, and the site offers news updates and videos.
Source: One Laptop Per Child
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