June 5th, 2007
Asus Announces a $189 Laptop (that looks like one!) at Computex
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
I dunno about you, but much as I admire the idea behind the OLPC, to me, it looks like a toy (yes, yes, I understand the target audience). This looks like a “real” laptop.
Asus chairman Jonney Shih sprang a surprise during Intel’s Computex keynote today with the announcement of a $189 laptop.
The notebook measures roughly 120 x 100 x 30mm (WDH) and weighs only 900g. We saw the notebook boot in 15 seconds from its solid-state hard disk. The huge auditorium then burst into applause as Shih revealed the astounding price tag. Dubbed the 3ePC, Shih claimed the notebook is the ‘lowest cost and easiest PC to use’. Source: PC Pro
We Say: Just because it looks like a “real” laptop doesn’t mean it performs like one. But this one, loaded with Linux like the OLPC, supposedly will come with “an office suite that’s compatible with MS Office” (though OpenOffice has not been confirmed). It’s unknown what CPU it has or how much SSD space was left after the OS was installed, but it was said to have 512MB of RAM. As the OLPC is currently around $175, this is pretty darn good pricing.
Laptop Blog » Asus Announces a $189 Laptop (that looks like one!) at Computex - RealTechNews says:
[…] Read More At: Google Inc. […]
June 5th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Charles says:
Is it possible that the sub-$200 laptop has grave implications for the PC hardware market?
I mean, what if the realization sets in to the masses that they don’t have to spend $1000 (or even $500) on a computer for 98% of their needs. (Web, wordprocessing, emailing, IM, and playing music)
Even though computer hardware is exponentially more powerful now, the basic users needs are the same as they have been for the last 5 years.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Joe Dagostino says:
Sounds like an Embedded linux ramdisk on a freescale or Arm processor to me. The freescale chips are selling for $15 each in lots of 10k.
If you have enough flash to boot from you could run the whole system diskless.
– JD in NH
June 5th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Mark says:
I’ve spent $189 on a battery. I wonder how long this thing runs on batteries?
June 5th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
rusty_angel says:
MARK, most power-consuming part of any laptop is hard drive. When it’s replaced by flash, there are no more moving parts in the laptop, so it needs significantly less power.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Lamar says:
Charles,
i’m using an old desktop disklessly with Linux to write this. i may be using a fairly ancient box, but i’ve been solid-state for months, and i’d dearly love to unleash and go mobile with something like the OLPC.
i have to agree that something like your 98% of need could be met with an OLPC-like device.
June 5th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
TiX says:
I think this device is perfect. Priced for taking to the bar / other hot spots and not having to freak if an accident happens.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Susan Gunelius (MarketingBlurb.com) says:
I think there are so many different market segments that would love this product. The strategies and opportunities are very exciting. From people who couldn’t afford a computer before to convenience users, the $189 laptop fills a need. If it works and provides even basic functionality, there should be a wide market for it.
June 6th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Paul Jardine says:
Hold on a minute, the dimensions quoted were 120×100mm, that’s pretty small. The Nokia 9500 is 148 x 56mm.
Will I really be able to type normally on this thing?
Or perhaps the quoted dimensions are wrong. Something about A5 size (210×148mm) would be fine.
The Flashdisk is fine, though it should probably have an array of 5 of them, hot swappable with RAID.
What about networking? Does it have WiFi? USB 2.0?
June 6th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
OLPC Τα πρώτα σημεία αλλαγής παραδείγματος είναι εδώ… « Στέφανος Ν. Παπανώτας says:
[…] Ενάμισι χρόνο μετά έχουμε τις πρώτες αποδείξεις της αλλαγής παραδείγματος στους φορητούς υπολογιστές, δηλαδή μετά το καινοτόμο OLPC εμφανίστηκε το CLASSMATE, μια γρήγορη κίνηση υπο τον φόβο του ανταγωνισμού, αλλά με την εμφάνιση του 3ePC απο την Asus αρχίζουμε πλέον να μπαίνουμε σε αυτή την εποχή που θα χαρακτηρίζεται όλο και πιο πολύ απο φθηνούς φορητούς υπολογιστές με ανοιχτό λογισμικό, ελευθέρα διαθέσιμο ασύρματο ιντερνέτ και ελευθέρα διαθέσιμο περιεχόμενο που στην μεγάλη του πλειοψηφία θα παράγεται απο τους ίδιους τους χρήστες. Η αλλαγή αυτή δημιουργεί τις συνθήκες για την εμφάνιση νέων επιχειρηματικών μοντέλων σε όλους τους κλάδους της οικονομίας αλλά θα σημάνει και πολλές αλλαγές στις σχέσεις του πολίτη με την πολιτική και τις κρατικές δομές. […]
June 12th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
And the most compelling form factor yet for the UMPC is… As a nanobook! « Great Falls Ventures says:
[…] My thinking altered somewhat by two recent product announcements, the first involves the “$189 laptop” announcement from ASUS. While somewhat flawed, the concept of a 15 second boot time, sub 2 pound Linux powered laptop, bundled with some form of Open Office suite, at such low price point makes an interesting option for those times you want the convenience of a fuller keyboard, and limited offline capabilities. Will it be market moving? No, but at least it is in the discretionary purchase range of consumers, unlike the recent Palm Foleo. It is really interesting how the OLPC (One laptop per child) effort is yielding innovation that may also result in products appropriate for developed markets. […]
June 18th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Ben Curry - $150 Laptop with Linux Preinstalled… Scam? says:
[…] I think you’re better off waiting for Asus’ 3ePC. […]
July 25th, 2007 at 11:22 am
ahmad thoha says:
Wow, it’s surprising. It’s a very cheap but sophisticated stuff.
I’m looking forward to this notebook coming to Indonesia.
August 24th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 6:34 pm