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"World's Cheapest Laptop" Available in Bulk Only
BobB writes to tell us that what one company is calling the "world's cheapest laptop" is now available at the price of $130. Unfortunately if you want to buy one you will also need to convince 99 of your closest friends to go in on an order with you since you cannot buy in less than units of 100. We have covered several "cheap laptops" in the past and many have turned out to be fraudulent, so especially with a large up-front cost, buyer beware. "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."
...who's in?
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With specs like that. It's pretty much useless.
Seriously. Just click around on that website. Looks like China is about to unleash a crapload of cheap laptops. I said it back when the EEEPC refocused on the $400-$600 market, that at those prices Linux was going to get replaced with XP and I was mostly right. But I also said somebody would remember the hugh interest when Asus mentioned a $200 pricepoint and that somebody would fill it. Consider it filled.
Most of these are very poorly thought out designs, especially today's link. Most will fail in the marketplace, only a few will even get into mass retail channels as even the morons at Best Buy can smell the fail. But all it takes is for ONE to succeed and that will probably happen. When that happens everything changes.
Democrat delenda est
As this liliputing article points out, this is a rebrand of a common product (razorbook, elonex one, etc.).
The linux distribution is, well, unknown, and the specs are less than impressive; basically it's a MIPS32 CPU, PDA rather than laptop range. Liliputing also has a $99 laptop on their homepage right now, with even less impressive specs.
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Couldn't you get a used laptop that beats those specs for $130? Granted, you would almost certainly need to buy a new battery for said used laptop, but nonetheless I don't see the advantage of this system.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
It's amazing what kind of impact the OLPC project is having. From a business standpoint, the project does not seem to be doing very well. However, from a humanitarian point of view, (and the name of the project at least implies that their mission is ostensibly humanitarian), it is being amazingly successful, having created and brought heavy competition into the cheap laptop business. Even if OLPC were to cease to exist, it very well might be possible that every child will have one laptop.
I was just looking at the minimum specs for running Flash version 9 http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/productinfo/systemreqs/ which apparently needs a P2-450 to run. I'm curious if this 400 MHz CPU would be fast enough for smooth playability? Lack of Flash support would eliminate a good chunk of uses for this thing.
Is there heaven? Is there Hell? Is that a Tuna Melt I smell?-Primus
I do not understand this obsession with cheap crap on Slashdot recently... This $130 "laptop" is a fine example. Seriously, I'm lost... why would anyone consider buying such thing?
At around $100, a laptop becomes an impulse buy for many people. Need a disposable machine you can buy for an overseas vacation? Need something you can give the kids where you don't have to worry if it gets lost or trashed? Need a laptop you can buy from a vending machine? How about handing out free laptops that tie you into some monthly subscription service? All of these become possible at a $100 price point.
Despite the best efforts of Microsoft, Linux is going to dominate the low end of laptop computing within three years. Microsoft will have to give away Windows in order to compete, and that ain't gonna happen. If the low-end manufacturers can standardize on a particular Linux distro/interface, the revolution will happen that much faster. Then, once everyone is used to operating these cut-rate machines, some enterprising vendors will need only package "deluxe" versions of the same Linux distro along with support for pricier laptops, and Windows will start to see some serious market erosion.
If you want some cheap, slow piece of crap that can surf the web and type documents, just buy a used laptop on ebay for even cheaper.
Sure, if you can live with zero tech support and have the technical skill to deal with all the hardware and software issues.
Why is it that Slashdotters can't grasp that most people are not techies? They cannot do stuff like resolve subtle system conflicts or install news OS.
My niece wanted a new computer, and didn't have much money. I found her an old XP system (actually pretty powerful) on Craigslist for $50. Except to keep it working, I have to answer a support call from her every few weeks. A few weeks ago, the mechanical mouse she had stopped working. I told her to go buy an optical mouse. She did, but then last week she accidentally unplugged it from the PS2 port while the system was live. I told her to disconnect the PS2 adapter and plug it into a USB port. Didn't work, and I wasn't up to figuring out why over the phone. So I had her reboot, which meant explaining how to do that from the keyboard. Which fixed the problem — until next time. I don't mind giving her all this tech support for free, but most people don't have access to somebody like me.
These are all problems you or I could solve faster than it takes to describe them. But most people can't. That's why a simple, Linux-based, preconfigured laptop without a lot of features that most people don't need is a good deal, even if it's more expensive than a more powerful used machine.
I believe you're right; and further, I think this will seriously endanger the One Laptop Per Child project. They were way out in front, and maintain a slight advantage thanks to some of their tech (screen, wifi, battery life, ruggedness) -- but it just takes one manufacturer to not be braindead to fill the market for low-power, high-portable, low-price, high-performance laptops.
Of course, it's possible that the best thing to fulfill OLPC's goal is for this exact thing to happen.
Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
Because of projectors. There are lots of them that have only VGA plugs.
Also I think it is very rare for there to be a projector or display that has DVI but does not also have VGA.
Despite the best efforts of Microsoft, Linux is going to dominate the low end of laptop computing within three years. Microsoft will have to give away Windows in order to compete, and that ain't gonna happen.
They already nearly give Windows away in developing countries in order to try to sustain their market dominance in the face of competition from Linux. And they admit that piracy isn't a problem because it gets developing countries hooked on their products. Why wouldn't they give Windows away to keep from losing this market as well? They can see the writing on the wall as well as we can that this is a great opportunity for Linux to break out and will pretty much do anything to stop that.
Except for slower processor, half the RAM
So what? If I really need the power, I'll fire up an EC2 instance -- which, by the way, is one more thing to add to the list of things that I can do with this device.
And that's leaving aside the fact that I was talking about ssh, which, even with modern cryptography, runs acceptably on a Pentium 2. And by "acceptably", I mean excellent -- I mean that humans can only type so fast, and even a machine that old can more than keep up with my keystrokes to encrypt, compress, and send over the wire.
one eight the storage
For less than the additional cost of an iPhone, I could by a USB stick to use with it. Or I can connect to S3. Or that EC2 instance. Or my server at home.
non-integrated WiFi requiring an extra dongle
Boo hoo, extra dongle. As compared to the iPhone, which, if it does require a keyboard, that's a whole separate device I'd have to carry with me -- and one significantly bigger than an iPhone.
no bluetooth
While I'm at it, could get a bluetooth dongle. But one of the main reasons I'd want bluetooth is for a keyboard, so if the keyboard's good...
lack of GPS
If the battery life is like other laptops, that and the boot time probably make it not the best GPS device. That said, I live in a small town -- I rarely have a use for even Google Maps, so GPS would mostly be a toy.
no cellphone hardware
I've got a phone already. It's much easier to use than an iPhone for making calls -- mostly since it's actually just a phone; if I open it up and start pressing numbers, and then press "send", I'm connected.
It cost me $1, since I already had a service plan. Speaking of which, I actually get to pick a service plan, and I don't end up with half the cost of the hardware going to AT&T, whether I buy service from them or not.
inability to make calls
I'm sure Skype will fit on there, and I already have a USB sound device.
no built-in iTunes music and app stores
Oh how I'll miss the wonder of buying DRM'd tracks, or free tracks in a proprietary app...
And app store? You must be fucking joking... You do realize that, being Linux and open, I can load any Linux app onto it that I want? And that, seeing as the App Store has a rather hefty fee even to submit your app for consideration (which isn't a guarantee that Apple will sell it), and the selection is considerably more limited...
You've actually managed to hit on one of the weakest points of the iPhone.
doesn't fit in your pocket
You've got me there, but... You have seen an EEE PC, right? Even a Macbook Air? I can live with that not fitting in my pocket. Or weighing five times as much. It's still less than half of a full-sized laptop.
and it could be vaporware.
So could the iPhone, before it was actually launched. But hey, if it is, there's still the EEE PC, which is several times more powerful, has a lot more built-in (camera, etc), and I personally know it works.
Yeah, besides all that, its a much better thing to type on than a cellphone...
Yes, it is. Which is kind of the point.
In fact, I noticed you made not a single point about typing. iPhone typing is good, but it's not perfect, and it's miles away from being able to type 80 WPM on an actual keyboard.
Let's also completely ignore the fact that the iPhone will only run one app at a time, and while the screen is a decent resolution, you're going to have to squint a bit if you want to get real work done.
So, question: Have you ever actually used ssh, given that's the specific purpose (other than browsing) that I want out of a mobile device? Or are you just reflexively jumping to defend your shiny new toy?
Looks like your signature fits perfectly.
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