[DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership

[tom abeles]

Hi Andy

You are absolutely right- one piece of technology doesn't fit all. We know 
this, globally, in the cell phone marketplace if you just go to the wireless 
providers and see the spectrum of both phones and plans that they have to 
offer, all the manufacturers, private labels on phones, features etc.

Now we come to portable devices such as Intel's and OLPC's technologies. And 
we have to lay them side by side with the great number of "smart phones" 
which are both wireless and wifi, many of which run operating systems and 
software packages such as word processing and spread sheets as well as web 
browsers.  The prices come down and the features go up. And in the US, ATT, 
a service provider has many phones, including Apple's new iPhone which has 
less of the features of some other smart phones, but, as usual a simple and 
commanding "desk top"

And the price for the units are coming down so that OLPC and the current 
smart phones will meet in the middle- not at the desired USD 100. So we 
should stop, now, using the term, $100 lap top. I believe current suggested 
price will be closer to $200 than $100 and even more in inflation adjusted 
dollars.

But, and this is a big BUT, no one talks about the cost of access, the main 
reason that the wireless providers practically give away their phones. The 
connection costs are coming down, but they are constant even if one owns the 
machines. And then there is the question of service and support. This part 
of the package is never discussed and yet it is the major life cycle expense 
to having one of these devices and using them to greatest benefit.

Perhaps it is time to stop slavering over the non-existent device and its 
purported "cure" for the digital divide, like some miracle drug and look at 
the systems cost and see who has worked that into their development budgets.

thoughts?

tom abeles


>From: Andy Carvin <andycarvin at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: The Digital Divide Network discussion 
>group<digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>To: WWWEDU List <wwwedu at yahoogroups.com>,digitaldivide list 
><digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net>
>Subject: [DDN] Intel, $100 Laptop program form new partnership
>Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:39:06 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Breaking news: One Laptop Per Child, MIT's so-called
>$100 laptop project, has reached an accord with its
>main rival, Intel, to work together on providing
>low-cost Internet devices for the developing world.
>Intel will join the OLPC board and contribute funds to
>the project, and they'll each emphasize the role their
>devices can play depending on the appropriate
>development context.
>
>This strikes me as really good news, and should help
>countries make smarter, more strategic decisions about
>how and when to use these devices. I've blogged about
>the announcement here:
>
>http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2007/07/intel_olpc_come_to_an_accord.html
>
>andy
>
>------------------------
>Andy Carvin
>andycarvin at yahoo  com
>www.andycarvin.com
>www.pbs.org/learningnow
>------------------------
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