$100 laptop could sell to public

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The backers of the One Laptop Per Child project are looking at the possibility of selling the machine to the public.

One idea would be for customers to have to buy two laptops at once – with the second going to the developing world.

Five million of the laptops will be delivered to developing nations this summer, in one of the most ambitious educational exercises ever undertaken.

Michalis Bletsas, chief connectivity officer for the project, said eBay could be a partner to sell the laptop.

“If we started selling the laptop now, we would do very good business,” Mr Bletsas, speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show, told BBC News.

“But our focus right now is on the launch in the developing world.”

Nicholas Negroponte, chairman and founder of the OLPC group, emphasised that the launch to the poorest parts of the world was the organisation’s main task.

Of plans to sell the machine, he said: “Many commercial schemes have been considered and proposed that may surface in 2008 or beyond, one of which is ’buy 2 and get 1’.”

Source: BBC (link opens in a new window)