The $75 Laptop Looms

[mdlbear]

Pixel Qi - Home

What computing can be, the XO laptop was just the first step.

Pixel Qi is currently pursuing the $75 laptop, while also aiming to bring sunlight readable, low-cost and low-power screens into mainstream laptops, cellphones and digital cameras.

Spinning out from OLPC enables the development of a new machine, beyond the XO, while leveraging a larger market for new technologies, beyond just OLPC: prices for next-generation hardware can be brought down by allowing multiple uses of the key technology advances. Pixel Qi will give OLPC products at cost, while also selling the sub-systems and devices at a profit for commercial use.

Posts in engadget and gizmodo try hard to make it sound like this is a bad thing; the NY Times article is a little more balanced. They all try to make it sound as though the OLPC is doomed. It isn't.

Note that Pixel Qi is licensing the display technology from OLPC. This does two things: gives the OLPC a revenue stream that doesn't depend on the whims of government contracts, and lowers the price of their most expensive component by raising the volume. What's wrong with that?

And if the side effect is gadgets that look good, have fantastic screens and great battery life, run Linux, and cost under $100, I'm all for it.

Comments

[mdlbear]

My understanding (I believe some of this information comes from interviews published elsewhere) is that both are happening: OLPC gets to buy displays and other subsystems at cost; everyone else pays more, which covers both profit for PQ and a license fee to OLPC. But I don't know; it could be that the deep discount on displays is the license fee.

Still gets OLPC cheaper hardware and raises the volume (resulting in cheaper hardware).