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new £99 laptops
February 17, 2008
The £99 laptop: how can it be so cheap?
A new laptop computer for just £99 sounds like the kind of offer found in a spam e-mail or on a dodgy auction website. But the British company Elonex is launching the country’s first sub £100 computer later this month and hopes to be making 200,000 of them by the summer. It will be aimed at schoolchildren and teenagers, and looks set to throw the market for budget laptops wide open.
Called the One, it can be used as a traditional notebook computer or, with the screen detached from the keyboard, as a portable “tablet” – albeit without the planned touchscreen that Elonex had to abandon to hit its £99 price tag. Wi-fi technology lets users access the internet or swap music (and homework) files between computers wirelessly.
Personal files can be stored on the laptop’s 1GB of built-in memory or on a tough digital wristband (1-8GB, from £10) that children can plug into the USB socket of whichever computer they happen to be using, be it the One, a PC at school or their parents’ laptop.
So how can Elonex make a computer for so little? After all, UK consumers paid an average of £477 for a new laptop in 2007, according to the retail analyst GfK.
The secret is simple: open-source software. The One runs on Linux, which is a rival to Windows but completely free to use. Open-source software can be freely swapped or modified by anyone who wants it. In the past such operating systems (there are several of them) have been outgunned by the more sophisticated Windows programs. However, an open-source operating system is ideal for low-cost devices as it performs well on less powerful, cheaper hardware.
Naturally, the One is more basic than all-singing, all-dancing notebooks. Nonetheless, it includes a free word processor and spreadsheet, a free web browser and free e-mail software. It has a 7in screen, a rubbery little keyboard and no CD drive. And it all runs on an ageing chip that was designed before its target audience of seven-year-olds were even born.
InGear had an exclusive hands-on look at a preproduction One. The keyboard was slow and spongy and the built-in speakers could be louder but the screen was bright and the software package impressively varied (if rather sluggish) on this prototype.
Preloaded programs ranged from instant messaging software and a photo editor to games and an MP3 player. Moving files to and from the USB wristband was easy enough – and there’s a Bluetooth version with 2GB of memory (£120) that lets you swap files with mobile phones too.
Elonex will be launching the computer at the Education Show at the NEC in Birmingham at the end of this month, and is targeting schools as potential buyers.
The Elonex One isn’t the only low-cost educational laptop out there, however. Asus launched an open-source laptop in the run-up to Christmas last year. The Eee PC (about £200) has proved popular with adults as well as children, with its first shipment selling out nationwide within hours of its November release.
The One Laptop per Child initiative, which began in America, hopes to offer a “Give one, get one” event this year in Britain, where consumers can buy two computers – one for themselves and one for a child abroad – for about £200.
But open-source software has its problems. If no one owns it, there’s no one to complain to when things go wrong – and the One has no antivirus or firewall software built in. The old-fashioned feel of the One’s programs could also flummox modern cyber-kids used to the slick menus, wizards and plug-and-play simplicity of Windows.
Of course, in the context of laptops costing more than £1,000 – and even copies of Microsoft Office software retailing at as much as £120 – paying £99 for a fully functional, internet-ready laptop packed with software isn’t a huge risk to take.
And it’s this magic price that is the One’s biggest asset. The more that parents choose to buy Ones, the more music and games their kids will share, and the more sought after it will become. A laptop as the coolest thing in the playground? Stranger things have happened.
The £99 laptop: how can it be so cheap?
A new laptop computer for just £99 sounds like the kind of offer found in a spam e-mail or on a dodgy auction website. But the British company Elonex is launching the country’s first sub £100 computer later this month and hopes to be making 200,000 of them by the summer. It will be aimed at schoolchildren and teenagers, and looks set to throw the market for budget laptops wide open.
Called the One, it can be used as a traditional notebook computer or, with the screen detached from the keyboard, as a portable “tablet” – albeit without the planned touchscreen that Elonex had to abandon to hit its £99 price tag. Wi-fi technology lets users access the internet or swap music (and homework) files between computers wirelessly.
Personal files can be stored on the laptop’s 1GB of built-in memory or on a tough digital wristband (1-8GB, from £10) that children can plug into the USB socket of whichever computer they happen to be using, be it the One, a PC at school or their parents’ laptop.
So how can Elonex make a computer for so little? After all, UK consumers paid an average of £477 for a new laptop in 2007, according to the retail analyst GfK.
The secret is simple: open-source software. The One runs on Linux, which is a rival to Windows but completely free to use. Open-source software can be freely swapped or modified by anyone who wants it. In the past such operating systems (there are several of them) have been outgunned by the more sophisticated Windows programs. However, an open-source operating system is ideal for low-cost devices as it performs well on less powerful, cheaper hardware.
Naturally, the One is more basic than all-singing, all-dancing notebooks. Nonetheless, it includes a free word processor and spreadsheet, a free web browser and free e-mail software. It has a 7in screen, a rubbery little keyboard and no CD drive. And it all runs on an ageing chip that was designed before its target audience of seven-year-olds were even born.
InGear had an exclusive hands-on look at a preproduction One. The keyboard was slow and spongy and the built-in speakers could be louder but the screen was bright and the software package impressively varied (if rather sluggish) on this prototype.
Preloaded programs ranged from instant messaging software and a photo editor to games and an MP3 player. Moving files to and from the USB wristband was easy enough – and there’s a Bluetooth version with 2GB of memory (£120) that lets you swap files with mobile phones too.
Elonex will be launching the computer at the Education Show at the NEC in Birmingham at the end of this month, and is targeting schools as potential buyers.
The Elonex One isn’t the only low-cost educational laptop out there, however. Asus launched an open-source laptop in the run-up to Christmas last year. The Eee PC (about £200) has proved popular with adults as well as children, with its first shipment selling out nationwide within hours of its November release.
The One Laptop per Child initiative, which began in America, hopes to offer a “Give one, get one” event this year in Britain, where consumers can buy two computers – one for themselves and one for a child abroad – for about £200.
But open-source software has its problems. If no one owns it, there’s no one to complain to when things go wrong – and the One has no antivirus or firewall software built in. The old-fashioned feel of the One’s programs could also flummox modern cyber-kids used to the slick menus, wizards and plug-and-play simplicity of Windows.
Of course, in the context of laptops costing more than £1,000 – and even copies of Microsoft Office software retailing at as much as £120 – paying £99 for a fully functional, internet-ready laptop packed with software isn’t a huge risk to take.
And it’s this magic price that is the One’s biggest asset. The more that parents choose to buy Ones, the more music and games their kids will share, and the more sought after it will become. A laptop as the coolest thing in the playground? Stranger things have happened.
shannon matthews
Shannon Matthews' friends jump for joy when they hear the amazing news
By Jan Disley 15/03/2008
Related Articles
In pictures: Shannon Matthews
Detectives to begin quizzing Shannon Matthews about her ordeal
Shannon Matthews: The hunt from start to finish
Stepdad's uncle is held as police find Shannon Matthews in his flat
Mother of missing Shannon Matthews: Someone took her to get at me
More Top Stories
Have your say on What are you talking about? in our Forums
News pictures
Related Tags
shannon matthews
(What's this?)
Shannon's friends yesterday jumped for joy in a confetti snowstorm of torn-up "have you seen her" posters.
Ecstatic best pal Megan Aldridge, eight, so lonely since Shannon vanished, said: "I've got my friend back."
Teachers and pupils at Shannon's school burst into tears as a smiling police officer broke the amazing news that she was alive and safe.
They were about to start assembly at Westmoor primary, Dewsbury, when the officer made the announcement.
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Children and teachers hugged each other. One of Shannon's classmates Callie Brown, eight, said: "I was crying my eyes out. I'm going to give these 22 letters to her from her friends. I have missed her loads."
Mp Shahid Malik said: "The town has been at a standstill. This is brilliant news, a great result."
In the roads around Shannon's home, there was a spontaneous party.
Drivers honked their horns and wound their windows down to cheer.
Family and friends grabbed mobile phones and spread the good news.
Neighbours headed next door to celebrate with bottles of beer and tumblers of whisky. Vicky Saunders, 28, a cousin of Shannon's mum Karen, opened her front door and screamed: "She's been found." She beamed: "We didn't know when we'd feel as happy as this ever again. I'm just ecstatic.
"I can hardly believe it. When I heard I looked outside to see who was there and then just opened the door and shouted it out.
"Since then people have just been celebrating up and down the street. We can't wait to see Shannon again...and then we'll really be having a huge party. Karen always said she thought her daughter was alive but I admit I was beginning to think the worst. A lot of us were. This is just the best news possible."
A huge white bedsheet hung from the window of one house. Welcome Home had been written on it and signed by dozens of wellwishers.
Kate and Gerry McCann, still waiting for news of their daughter Madeleine, four, missing for nearly a year, said they were thankful Shannon had been found alive.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "They are delighted that she is alive. It proves that children can go missing for whatever reason and still be found alive."
By Jan Disley 15/03/2008
Related Articles
In pictures: Shannon Matthews
Detectives to begin quizzing Shannon Matthews about her ordeal
Shannon Matthews: The hunt from start to finish
Stepdad's uncle is held as police find Shannon Matthews in his flat
Mother of missing Shannon Matthews: Someone took her to get at me
More Top Stories
Have your say on What are you talking about? in our Forums
News pictures
Related Tags
shannon matthews
(What's this?)
Shannon's friends yesterday jumped for joy in a confetti snowstorm of torn-up "have you seen her" posters.
Ecstatic best pal Megan Aldridge, eight, so lonely since Shannon vanished, said: "I've got my friend back."
Teachers and pupils at Shannon's school burst into tears as a smiling police officer broke the amazing news that she was alive and safe.
They were about to start assembly at Westmoor primary, Dewsbury, when the officer made the announcement.
Advertisement
//');
//]]>
Children and teachers hugged each other. One of Shannon's classmates Callie Brown, eight, said: "I was crying my eyes out. I'm going to give these 22 letters to her from her friends. I have missed her loads."
Mp Shahid Malik said: "The town has been at a standstill. This is brilliant news, a great result."
In the roads around Shannon's home, there was a spontaneous party.
Drivers honked their horns and wound their windows down to cheer.
Family and friends grabbed mobile phones and spread the good news.
Neighbours headed next door to celebrate with bottles of beer and tumblers of whisky. Vicky Saunders, 28, a cousin of Shannon's mum Karen, opened her front door and screamed: "She's been found." She beamed: "We didn't know when we'd feel as happy as this ever again. I'm just ecstatic.
"I can hardly believe it. When I heard I looked outside to see who was there and then just opened the door and shouted it out.
"Since then people have just been celebrating up and down the street. We can't wait to see Shannon again...and then we'll really be having a huge party. Karen always said she thought her daughter was alive but I admit I was beginning to think the worst. A lot of us were. This is just the best news possible."
A huge white bedsheet hung from the window of one house. Welcome Home had been written on it and signed by dozens of wellwishers.
Kate and Gerry McCann, still waiting for news of their daughter Madeleine, four, missing for nearly a year, said they were thankful Shannon had been found alive.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "They are delighted that she is alive. It proves that children can go missing for whatever reason and still be found alive."
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