Popcorn Sutton
07-27-2007, 11:54 AM
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=5746&tag=nl.e622
Would you try a $150 laptop powered by Fedora? Sure you would. And apparently so are a lot of other folks.
A Swedish company called Medison has unveiled a laptop called the Celebrity. Medison’s laptop is the latest in a race to the bottom of the pricing barrel. Nicholas Negroponte OLPC is one effort and others are also getting into the act.
There’s only one problem with Medison’s laptop–it’s a slog to get through to its reseller’s site to buy one. The laptop is available through a reseller 2Checkout.com. After a few tries I got through to order despite that “if it’s sounds too good to be true it is” feeling. Here’s Medison’s pitch:
Medison Celebrity is a high quality laptop for the everyday user. It is adapted to functionality that does not demand the highest performance, but rather to everyday tasks such as e-mailing, surfing the Web, word processing and working with spreadsheet programmes. Built-in Wireless and slim design makes this a truly flexible and mobile laptop for the active user.
The computer is shipped completely set up and ready-to-use with Linux pre-installed - no complicated installations or adjustments are needed -within 4-6 weeks.
The Medison Celebrity also consists of components approved for the American and European markets as an environmental friendly product according to new laws taken by them.
Umm. OK. I only cared it was $150.
As for the details: The Celebrity has a 14 inch LCD, an Intel Celeron 1.5 GHz chip, a 40 GB hard drive, 256 MB of memory. Linux and office applications.
The big question: How is Medison making money from this laptop?
In an FAQ, Medison addresses why the Celebrity is cheap. “We see this from a democratic point of view where we believe everyone should be able to afford to have a laptop. The other reason is that we have our own plants where we assemble our laptops.”
This laptop is supposed to arrive in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Stay tuned.
Would you try a $150 laptop powered by Fedora? Sure you would. And apparently so are a lot of other folks.
A Swedish company called Medison has unveiled a laptop called the Celebrity. Medison’s laptop is the latest in a race to the bottom of the pricing barrel. Nicholas Negroponte OLPC is one effort and others are also getting into the act.
There’s only one problem with Medison’s laptop–it’s a slog to get through to its reseller’s site to buy one. The laptop is available through a reseller 2Checkout.com. After a few tries I got through to order despite that “if it’s sounds too good to be true it is” feeling. Here’s Medison’s pitch:
Medison Celebrity is a high quality laptop for the everyday user. It is adapted to functionality that does not demand the highest performance, but rather to everyday tasks such as e-mailing, surfing the Web, word processing and working with spreadsheet programmes. Built-in Wireless and slim design makes this a truly flexible and mobile laptop for the active user.
The computer is shipped completely set up and ready-to-use with Linux pre-installed - no complicated installations or adjustments are needed -within 4-6 weeks.
The Medison Celebrity also consists of components approved for the American and European markets as an environmental friendly product according to new laws taken by them.
Umm. OK. I only cared it was $150.
As for the details: The Celebrity has a 14 inch LCD, an Intel Celeron 1.5 GHz chip, a 40 GB hard drive, 256 MB of memory. Linux and office applications.
The big question: How is Medison making money from this laptop?
In an FAQ, Medison addresses why the Celebrity is cheap. “We see this from a democratic point of view where we believe everyone should be able to afford to have a laptop. The other reason is that we have our own plants where we assemble our laptops.”
This laptop is supposed to arrive in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Stay tuned.