The "$100" Laptop for sale near you - now that *is* interesting

From the BBC

Computer enthusiasts in the developed world will soon be able to get their hands on the so-called "$100 laptop". The organisation behind the project has launched the "give one, get one" scheme that will allow US residents to purchase two laptops for $399 (£198). One laptop will be sent to the buyer whilst a child in the developing world will receive the second machine. The G1G1 scheme, as it is known, will offer the laptops for just two weeks, starting on the 12 November.

This is potentially very disruptive, in that:

(i) The economics make it attractive as a ubiquitous device in the OECD

(ii) OECD takeup means the production costs should fall to $100 and below even faster, thus helping the developing world. It has yet it has not reached the $100 number, in fact prices went up from $175 to $188, leading (apparently due to nickel costs, though some wags say its the extra gear needed to run Microsoft OS) but with large OECD volumes and a 72% learning curve (fairly typical in large batch manufacturing) the price gets to $100 in 2 years.

(iii) A large penetration in the OECD would launch a new wave of innovation for the device

(iv) Its an interesting device in its own right - it has WiFi, a flash drive, a sunlight readable display so that it can be used outside (the above picture shows it in eBook mode). It has no moving parts, can be powered by solar, foot-pump or pull-string powered chargers and is housed in a waterproof case. There are a lot of applications in an "Enterprise 2.0" world as well as home and leisure environments one can imagine it being used for.

The laptops will go on sale for a week through the xogiving.org website or by calling +1 866 XOGIVING (US number). If it is successful they will manufacture more for the OECD.

Postscript - good heavens...the New York Times has the story too, only 10 days later