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Intel Calls $100 Laptops Undesired Gadgets
dolphinlover writes "Craig Barrett, Intel Corporation chairman believes that the $100 laptop computers to be manufactured by the MIT media lab run by Nicholas Negroponte beginning in early 2006 are merely 'gadgets', making them unattractive to consumers who will be disappointed by their 'limited range of programs'." From the article: "Negroponte said at their launch in November the new machines would be sold to governments for schoolchildren at $100 a device but the general public would have to pay around $200 -- still much cheaper than the machines using Intel's chips. But Barrett said similar schemes in the past elsewhere in the world had failed and users would not be satisfied with the new machine's limited range of programs."
If Intel thinks it's going to be a failure, then I guess they have nothing to worry about. These laptops are great idea whose success will be decided by the marketplace. How can you criticize an effort meant to help the less fortunate? Sounds like Intel has penis envy if you ask me.
gasmonso http://religiousfreaks.com/Are you people joking or just ignorant zealots? The CEO of Intel is absolutely correct. Big surprise, a highly successful businessman knows what he's talking about!
Here's a little tidbit to mull over. Dell is presently the highest volume laptop company in the world. Dell sells their Inspiron B120 laptop for $500 and their Lattitude 610 laptop for $1,000. Which do you think sells more? The much cheaper B120 for $500? No! The best selling laptop that Dell has ever had has been and continues to be the Lattitude 610 at fully twice the price of the B120!
So, why would people spend twice as much if they really want the cheap one? The reason is that while everyone would rather spend less money, they regard features as being more important than cost. They gladly pay twice as much for the more powerful and more featureful unit. The same is true when it comes to the "$100 Laptop". There will be some people that buy it both for the price and for the novelty but, most people would rather, and likely will, buy the $500 Dell because it is significantly more powerful, featureful and useful that the $100 laptop. And even then the more expensive Lattitude 610 will still outsell all others.
The CEO of Intel is informed enough to realize that people that need to hand crank their PC have more pressing and urgent needs than working on a spreadsheet that is restricted to only their computer(read no network) and they have even less need or ability to access the internet. Most people that would need to hand crank a PC do not need a PC at all! When the hippies in Massachusetts and the idots on Slashdot travel a bit and learn that the world is much different than they imagine in their snowbound fantasy world, they will realize that Intel's CEO is absolutely right!