Low-cost laptop nearly doubles in price

The "$100 laptop" is set to almost double in cost, as the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation has been forced to ramp up the cost because of rising material costs.

The XO, the low-cost educational laptop from the OLPC, will now cost an estimated $188 (£94) per unit. Rising component and material costs have forced several incremental price-hikes since the $100 (£50) price target was initially set.

Earlier this year, IT PRO reported the laptop was likely to jump in price to $175 (£88). Intel is also in the low-cost laptop market, developing a $200 (£100) machine.

The OLPC claims the $100 laptop is still an achievable target over the next year or two, due to increased economies of scale and reduced parts prices.

In a further blow, the XO has also encountered some software bugs which may delay production by more than a week. An OLPC community newsletter explained that, following network and security reviews, the code is not yet ready for production, which was due to start in October.

The XO was designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an educational tool for developing countries. The machine includes mesh networking and a unique, open-source user-interface sitting atop a Linux-based OS.

The laptop also has a pull-string charger, meaning that it can be used in locations where there's limited or no access to electricity.

OLPC say it has commitments for at least three million machines already, but it's unclear how the price jump will affect future orders. Brazil, Libya, Thailand and Uruguay have all expressed an interest in the machines.

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