India produces $10-20 laptop. Negroponte breaks OLPC XO over knee in anger
For a few years now, there has been an ongoing one-up contest amongst developers looking to release ultra-cheap netbook concepts to emerging markets.
Most notably among them is One Laptop Per Child (chaired by Nicholas Negroponte), a non-profit created to deliver very affordable, internet-ready laptops to children in developing economies. Much of the technology that has emerged out of this project, and among competing projects, has been implemented in profitable, mass-market netbooks.
OLPC submitted a proposal to India’s government last year based on its “floating” price of $100-$175, which was rejected in favor of a cheaper, home built alternative. Well, now India has announced that a prototype will soon be released, and it will reportedly cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 to $20 USD.
It seems as though India is becoming an expert at releasing low-tech, but functional, and very affordable technology. One other notable example is Tata Motor’s air-powered vehicle.
Tags: netbooks, One Laptop Per Child
