Sub-$100 Laptops Have Finally Arrived

Roman Phalanx writes "OLPC had promised that it would be possible to mass produce a sub-$100 laptop. The folks at OLPC tried to realize that dream by re-imagining what a laptop looks like. How large of screen and keyboard it has. What OS runs on the laptop. Now that OLPC has decided to super size their systems to run Windows XP, the $100 price point has slipped beyond their reach. A Chinese firm has realized that dream. Taking the best from both the OLPC and EeePC. They ditched x86 compatibility and switched to a MIPS architecture to further reduce production costs. HiVision has managed to create a UMPC that sells right now for $120.00. They say they have refined the manufacturing process and have learned from building this laptop how to mass produce a laptop that will sell for $98.00." (More below, including a link to a video of the device.) "The new HiVision MiniNote is due out in October of 2008. TechVideoBlog has footage of one of these Mini Notes being shown off at a trade show in Germany. They have managed to borrow a unit overnight for a while and have done a quick review on it. Overall it looks pretty good. MIPS based processor, WiFi, 1GB flash storage, it runs Linux, has 3 USB ports, Ethernet, SDHC card reader, audio in and out, multi-tabbed Firefox browser support and Abiword for word processing. Running a custom Chinese Linux distrubution named Xip.

Overall performance seems snappy and no problems connecting to WiFi. Other than the lack of a webcam and the Adobe Flash Player it seems perfect. For $98 it looks like quite a value."

Comments

video resolution...bleh

[Connie_Lingus]

looks like 800x480 is becoming the new 1280×1024.

Re:video resolution...bleh

[quantaman]

looks like 800x480 is becoming the new 1280×1024.

Dude,

It's $98 and runs Linux.

I'm willing to forgive them for a lower than average screen resolution.

Re:video resolution...bleh

[Handlarn]

What old laptop you buy from a friend for $50 wouldn't be capable of running Linux and have a higher screen resolution?

Re:MIPS will make it a hard sell

[quantumplacet]

it only has a 1GB HD. I think the idea is it's an appliance, not intended for you to really add apps to it. Theoretically it comes with what you need for what it's intended to do. It may or may not find a mass market, but only a subset of geeks will try to see what else they can run on it...

Wake me when they ship

[tfrayner]

They say they have refined the manufacturing process and have learned from building this laptop how to mass produce a laptop that will sell for $98.00

So... "Sub-$100 Laptops Have Finally Arrived". And yet... they haven't. It'd be nice (although, apparently, unrealistic) to think that we've learnt by now not to give credence to vaporware. Color me unimpressed.

Re:Wake me when they ship

[Anonymous Coward]

There's no doubt it's possibly vaporware.

But, there are 2 things to consider. 1. The model they displayed is 120--not too far off from 100, really. 2. The 98 model is due out in october, which is one month away. It might be that it is perpetually 1 month away, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until november.

The real question for me is the usefulness of it. That thing looks like it's slightly larger than a Nintendo DS, which is pretty small. I'm wondering just how easy this thing will be to use, or if I'll have to resort to hunt and peck, or thumbing the keyboard to type in what I want.

Re:MIPS will make it a hard sell

[oldhack]

It's about time we ditch the deranged lunacy that is x86 instruction set, especially when even Intel is going on multiple-core strategy. I'd love to see ARM- or MIPS-based multi-core chips take over.

I'll believe that they "have arrived"...

[Caspian]

...when there's a link to BUY ONE. Now. Right now. I have my credit card at the ready. Where can I buy one, even at the $120 price point that they are supposedly selling "right now" for?

Well? Link or it didn't happen. Otherwise, this is just another fucking slashvertisement.

Re:MIPS will make it a hard sell

[evilviper]

Just because Aptitude works doesn't mean there's any MIPS packages to download.

No, of course not.

It's the fact that:

it's trivially to compile for MIPS once you've got it compiled for every other major architecture.

the likes of Debian and other non-commercial distros have policies to ensure that all possible architectures are fully supported.

MIPS is an extremely popular architecture (Embedded, PDAs, SGI systems, etc.) ...that means there's tons of MIPS binary packages available for download.

There is nothing "super" about losing freedom.

[jbn-o]

Editorializing from the headline, Roman Phalanx wrote

Now that OLPC has decided to super size their systems to run Windows XP...

There's nothing "super" about losing one's software freedom. The XO was originally an educational project where even the computer the kids learn on could be part of the lessons. Switching to proprietary software means placing barriers on that education by telling the user that there are some things you weren't meant to know and shall be forbidden from learning, sharing, or changing to suit your needs. There's nothing good about that for the user, whose concerns outrank any proprietor. It is not society's job to placate software proprietors. The free software movement welcomes businesses that treat us as partners, not as a market to exploit. The free software community certainly gives businesses lots to work with and make money from.

Re:There's better products out there /w more RAM

[QuantumG]

At $350 per unit, It's not cost effective as a Sony PSP or Nintendo DS, but competitive to a mix between a QWERTY PDA with usable RAM/TV-out/redundant-expansion. In other words, it's a trade-off of a better Motorola A12000 CellPhone without the lock-in, more battery life, and better than the bulk of a laptop.

Did you miss the entire freakin' point of the story or what?