Another low-cost Linux laptop gets a price hike

I wrote recently (here) about the One Laptop Per Child project's plan to begin selling the XO laptop in a special one-for-two deal: buyers pay $400 for two, receive one, and get a tax deduction for the other, which is then delivered to a child in a developing nation.

This is the B1 version of the OLPC laptop.

(Credit: Mike McGregor (mikemcgregor.com))

As I said, I think that's a good deal--the XO is likely to be a pretty interesting machine, even though its price is twice its original $100 target, and battery life isn't likely to live up to OLPC's original projections (I covered that issue here and here).

Another low-cost Linux-based laptop that you'll soon be able to buy is the Eee PC from Asus. Pricing for this machine, originally expected to start at $199, is now rumored to begin at $260 when the machine goes on sale later this month, with high-end models coming in around $400.

These prices are reasonably appropriate, given the Eee PC's better performance vs. the XO--a 900-MHz modern Intel processor vs. the older technology of an AMD Geode at 433 MHz. However, the two machines are generally similar in other ways, and the XO will have the advantage for some users of a sunlight-readable display (although it is monochrome only in this mode).

Anyway, I think there's room for both systems in the market, and it'll be interesting to watch them compete for the hearts and minds of educational and open-source software developers.

I intend to get one of each for myself, and of course, I'll post here when I'm able to do that.

[Update 2007-10-02 1330: Reader "hitman247" points out in the comments that the price hikes in the XO and Eee PC don't solely reflect cost increases by the manufacturers; the drop in the value of the US dollar on international markets must play a significant part. As I alluded to in a reply, I've been wondering if I shouldn't accelerate my plan to buy a new BMW next year to replace my 1999-model year 540i. And then, just today, the Wall Street Journal published an article on this very topic (see Google News for the link). So whatever else happens, it may get temporarily more difficult to hit any price point for a new laptop, car, or whatever.]

[stevie97]

low cost???

It amazes me that these laptops that are not even attractive to most people are
getting more and more expensive and when they are at a point when they will be
usefull they cost more than the bargains you get at a best Buy store or multiple
other locations where you can buy as an end customer a brand laptop for 349
USD. Whats the point of making something if at the end it has less power and
costs more. My 30 cents (increased to 60 by the end of the day)

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

They'll get there

Remember, those $349 notebooks are only possible because all of the components sell in 20-million-unit volumes. When low-cost laptops catch on, as I believe they will, they'll fall from the $200 neighborhood down into the $100 neighborhood, which is territory that traditional notebooks will stay away from for a long time.

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[stevie97]

low cost???

It amazes me that these laptops that are not even attractive to most people are
getting more and more expensive and when they are at a point when they will be
usefull they cost more than the bargains you get at a best Buy store or multiple
other locations where you can buy as an end customer a brand laptop for 349
USD. Whats the point of making something if at the end it has less power and
costs more. My 30 cents (increased to 60 by the end of the day)

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

They'll get there

Remember, those $349 notebooks are only possible because all of the components sell in 20-million-unit volumes. When low-cost laptops catch on, as I believe they will, they'll fall from the $200 neighborhood down into the $100 neighborhood, which is territory that traditional notebooks will stay away from for a long time.

. png