Lenovo Aims $199 PC At China's Rural Population

athloi writes "Lenovo has announced they are gearing up to sell a basic personal computer for 'China's vast but poor rural market'. The pricetag could be as low as $199. 'The new Lenovo unit will include a processor and a keyboard and will use a buyer's television set as a monitor, Chen said. He said he had no details on the processor size or other features. The new PC goes on sale later this year at prices of 1,499 to 2,999 yuan ($199-$399), Chen said. Lenovo is the world's third-largest PC manufacturer, behind U.S.-based Hewlett Packard Inc. and No. 2 Dell.'"

Comments

Ugh

[afidel]

Almost all SD TV's make horrible monitors. I'd think you'd be better off with a OLPC from a usability standpoint.

Re:Ugh

[ScrewMaster]

{sigh} why do people persist in ignoring the actual content of a message, and focus instead on whatever detail they can use to deride the other person? If it matters to you, I'm typing this on a dual monitor software development system, so of course my expectations have risen.

Then again, I live in a country where personal computer ownership is near-ubiquitous, where the only people that don't have a personal computer (or more than one) are those who simply don't want one. But if I were a poor Chinese peasant, who has no expectations greater than what I had back in 1978, that TV-based computer might be considered a Godsend. It's all relative, and that TV display is a one Hell of a lot better than nothing.

At the rate China's industry is expanding, I would venture a guess that the people who are the target market for this system will eventually have the opportunity to raise their expectations as well. But that takes time, and you have to start somewhere.