OLPC spin-off preps $75 notebook
updated 04:55 pm EST, Thu January 10, 2008
Pixel Qi 75 Dollar Laptop
A side project of the One Laptop Per Child team plans an even less expensive portable than the XO, according to news from the CES floor. Calling the firm Pixel Qi, Mary Lou Jepsen says her business intends to produce a $75 portable that will borrow key aspects of the XO's design while reducing costs. The system is still in the very early stages but will rely heavily on the unique technology of the XO's LCD (created by Jepsen) that allows it to be read even in broad daylight. Other parts of the system that can be drawn from the OLPC group will be purchased at cost and while others will be sold in the opposite direction, Pixel Qi says.
The startup hopes to break from its parent company by selling the displays and other components for; the former could end up in digital cameras and cellphones, the company adds. A release date for the extra low-cost PC is note expected for some time but may depend on less expensive parts than are available today for the XO, which sells for $200.
