The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has begun the mass production process of the low-cost XO notebook computer. This puts the project on track to ship these in bulk as soon as October 2007.
The even bigger news comes from Reuters who says that the OLPC could be hitting the retail stores this holiday season. So what kind of price are we talking about? Well, it isn’t exactly the $100 laptop that it once set out to be, but they did manage to squeeze each of these out for a mere $175. But I don’t see you buying a million of these at one time, so if you’re looking to grab one for yourself it’s gonna run you at least $350. There are even talks of charging consumers $525 for one of these which would then help fund more computers for developing countries.
If you’re looking for a laptop that can be powered by a hand crank, and want a battery that lasts a whopping 12-hours this might be the computer for you. Or maybe you want something that can withstand severe weather? If none of those things appeal that much to you then you might want to think about an Eee PC instead. It’s going to have a version for less than $200 available later this year, and much like the OLPC XO laptop it too will be running Linux.
I think a consumer version of the OLPC XO notebook could have done reasonably well for $250 or even $299, but $350 is pretty darn high in my opinion. And then the thought of $525 for this thing is insane since I can get a full-featured laptop these days for a similar price.
I know I know…I’m not looking at it with the "help the developing countries" point of view, but I think there are other considerations that should be thought about. Most countries, if not all, have poor areas that can hardly afford school supplies. If there was a way where I could designate who gets the proceeds (which could be delivered in the form of a laptop) from my purchase I might be more willing to do it. I’m sure that is something they are already thinking about though.
How much would you be willing to pay for an OLPC XO laptop?
I think $250 or $300 would make this an attractive option. If you only want to check your email, browse the ‘net or maybe play some tunes this could be just the ticket due to that long battery life and the fact that the housing seems to be rather sturdy.
I’d say if you’re not in a 3rd world country, stick to a real PC. If you want a cheap PC you can get a Dell I1501 for $500. Those ultracheaps are toys.
That’s true, but what about for laptops?
The Dell Inspiron 1501 is a laptop
. Just took a peek at the dell website. You know what really surprised me. Vista’s price is pretty steep compared to XP, but it seems like when the manufacturers switch over, PC costs actually went down 
honestly I like all the features of it and I’d be willing to pay up to 350, but it’d be a stretch for me to buy one at over 500. I think it’d be a good laptop for people who spend a lot of time in RVs or Boats with limited power and sometimes rugged conditions.
I didn’t even think about those remote conditions, like being on a boat, where this would be useful. I could definitely see that though.