- How to make new stuff from your piles of obsolete tech
- Why your computer sucks
- 10 recession-proof IT skills
- Juniper execs share network vision
- 9-year-old plots his fifth Microsoft certification
A company is now selling what it calls the "world's cheapest laptop," which at $130, is not a bad deal if you can bear some hardware limitations.
The Impulse NPX-9000 laptop has a 7-inch screen and comes with the Linux OS. It has a 400MHz processor, 128M bytes of RAM, 1G byte of flash storage and an optional wireless networking dongle. It includes office productivity software, a Web browser and multimedia software.
There's a caveat though -- it has to bought in bulk, in units of 100. The laptop is available on Alibaba.com through the online store of Taiwanese company Carapelli Ltd.
The cheapest laptop to date was known to be One Laptop Per Child's XO laptop, available at $188 for a limited time late last year. While a technological landmark, it had some hardware limitations like a slow processor and limited graphics capabilities.
The laptop hints towards a trend of lowering PC prices. Last week, a company called CherryPal introduced a $249 mini-desktop, also running a 400MHz processor, with 256M bytes of RAM and 4G bytes of internal flash storage.
In a recent interview with the IDG News Service, former OLPC CTO Mary Lou Jepsen said she would bring out a $75 laptop by 2010. Now running her own company, Pixel Qi, she cited the falling prices of RAM and components as a way to bring down laptop prices.
The low-cost laptop industry's poster child is Asustek Computer's Eee PC, which was introduced last year and sold 350,000 PCs in its first quarter. The cheapest Eee PC, for $300, has an 800MHz Intel processor, 512M bytes of RAM and 2G bytes of flash storage.
Rss FeedRss Feed
The Leader in Network Knowledge
Partner Content
www.bmc.com
Gartner 2009 Magic Quadrant for Job Scheduling
Gartner has positioned BMC CONTROL-M in the Leaders Quadrant of their "2009 Magic Quadrant for Job Scheduling." The report assesses the ability to execute and completeness of vision of key vendors in the marketplace. Read a full copy today, courtesy of BMC Software.
Download whitepaper
Dell's SMART Approach to Workload Automation
Read a compelling case study by EMA, Inc. to learn how Dell uses BMC CONTROL-M to cut cost and increase productivity with workload automation.
Download whitepaper
Workload Automation Cost Savings 2 Minute Video
A major computer manufacturer uses BMC CONTROL-M and just four people to schedule and run over 85,000 jobs every month. By switching to BMC CONTROL-M, they more than quadrupled the workload without adding a single staff member. See how in this 2-minute video overview.
Go to video
Comments (6)
OLPCBy Anonymous on July 28, 2008, 3:52 pmOLPC was not available for $188. It was $399 ($200 of which was a donation).
Reply | Read entire comment
I'm pretty sure the $299 eeePC has a downclocked processor, too By Anonymous on July 28, 2008, 4:23 pmI'm pretty sure the $299 eeePC has a downclocked processor, too (think it runs at around 500MHz).
Reply | Read entire comment
wifi... dongle?By Anonymous on July 28, 2008, 4:32 pmnon-built-in-wifi = not worth it. Dongles are too easy to break, lose, forget. Bulk sales seem... silly unless they're targeting resale?
Reply | Read entire comment
Allow me to do you one better:By Anonymous on July 28, 2008, 11:41 pmhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/07/27/keepin-it-real-fake-part-cxxvi-jointechs-99-jl7100-rips-eee/
Reply | Read entire comment
this machineBy Anonymous on July 29, 2008, 4:08 ami've had one of these machines for review, and frankly it is limited. the linux os is unfinished and the wifi dongle couldnt negotiate our wpa system. it is cheap,...
Reply | Read entire comment
so is it worth it..?By Anonymous on June 8, 2009, 4:52 pmso is it worth it..?
Reply | Read entire comment
View all comments