$100 laptop to boost uptake with donation scheme

 

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Posted on 24 Sep 2007 at 11:36

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is hoping to stimulate sales with a donation scheme that allows US residents to donate a laptop to a child in the developing world.

The "give one, get one" scheme allows customers in the US to purchase two laptops for $399, one of which will be sent to the buyer while the other goes to a child in a developing nation.

The scheme will begin on November 12 and run for just two weeks with the aim of boosting demand for the machines in poorer countries, while ensuring there's enough stock to fulfill new and existing orders.

The "give one, get one" scheme is the first time that the rugged laptop has been offered to residents in the developed world.

The laptop includes many innovative features, including the fact it's waterproof, uses around 10% of the power of a normal laptop and can be recharged by the sun (or by hand with a crank).

It also sports a built in Wi-Fi connection, a Linux-powered, child-friendly interface and separate indoor and outdoor settings so that it can be used in direct sunlight.

Though originally conceived as a $100 laptop, the green and white machine has so far risen in price to $188.

Though no details have been released concerning the countries which will receive the first wave of laptops, reported successes include an order from Peru which will distribute 250,000 of the machines among remote rural areas. Similarly, Italy has agreed to purchase 50,000 laptops for distribution in Ethiopia.

Read PC Pro's impressions of the first prototype here.

Author: Stuart Turton