"The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation is planning to sell the devices via online store Amazon's European outlets from 17 November.
The machines will be sold under the Give One, Get One scheme that the OLPC organisation has already run in the US.
When it goes on sale the XO laptop is expected to cost £268 (313 euros) and should be available in 27 EU nations...", reports the BBC.
When it was launched the XO originally cost $188, but 650,000 have now been sold, OLPC claims. Children in Peru, Mongolia, Rwanda, Haiti, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia and Iraq are already using them.
Surely OLPC must realise the reality of the credit crunch affecting many people in Europe, which is probably making people feeling a little less charitable than usual. At £268, the laptop will be competing against top brand laptops and netbooks. And just how does $200 translate into £268 even if we apply the Give One, Get One scheme??
I really want one of those for my 6 year old, but I am not prepared to pay £268.
Reported by Zadian's Tech Roundup http://zedian-on-tech.blogspot.com/.
translating costs
"And just how does $200 translate into £268 even if we apply the Give One, Get One scheme??"
As follows:
Cost of one laptop is approx $200
Give One Get One is of course 2 laptops, so that totals about $400
Convert $400 into GBP and you get £268ish
In other words, when you pay £268 (or whatever the final cost is) you are buying two laptops. One goes to you, one to a developing nation.
It is a charitable cause, and by participating in Give One Get One you are making a donation. It is not only about buying a laptop for yourself.