Now that Laboratorio Tecnológico del Uruguay's Ceibal Request for Proposal deadline has passed, and the submitted proposals are open for public review, guess what the One Laptop Per Child bid is for OLPC Uruguay?
$205 dollars USD for one XO laptop
According to Proyecto Ceibal, OLPC partnered with Brighstar Uruguay SA to offer XO laptops at $205 per computer.
$205 per laptop per child?! That's no where near the original, and now fanciful, "$100 laptop" marketing campaign. In fact, that's almost the Libyan MOU price of $208 per laptop. And remember, one $208 laptop per child would be 73% of Nigeria's entire government income.
But OLPC laptop pricing gets better. Brian Bergstein is reporting why the OLPC/Brightstar bid was $205 per computer: the OLPC XO is now $188 Per Laptop Per Child!
Spokesman George Snell blamed the increase on a variety of factors, including currency fluctuations and rising costs of such components as nickel and silicon. He said the project was committed to keeping the price from rising above $190.Does he mean the XO laptop base cost is now
A revolution at any computer price
It is time to ask when the XO-1 price increases stop. When the price of components stabilize or the dollar appreciates? Or when the barometric pressure on Jupiter decreases or we have peace in the Middle East?
Or will Nicholas Negroponte finally wake up to the reality that his $100 laptop price point was a great dream and honorable goal, but still quite unattainable, even in the developing world, and drop his "$100 laptop" marketing gimmick.
And that's not to say he should admit the reality of a $200 XO laptop in defeat. He should say, with pride, that he changed the conversation, the entire computing paradigm, or as Nortel President John Rosese says in his blog:
The OLPC effort has given our R&D teams something very different to think about - e.g., a new type of end point, a new technology model, a new platform to link to our capabilities and a new consumer base.Even at $188, 190, or $200 dollars per laptop per child.
OLPC Uruguay isn't the only country with sticker shock. OLPC Brazil team members are being charged $340 in customs duties per XO BTest-4 laptop:
"Olá Pessoal! recebi 2 laptops pela DHL. Me disseram que entregarão amanha, terei que pagar R$650,00 de impostos. Existe uma possibilidade de eu nao pagar isso ou pedir reembolso?"
http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/brasil/2007-September/001022.html
Well, at this point we all know the symbolic $100 initial price was not more than marketing. Three refections:
- It seems that the agreement between OLPC and Intel included not dumping prices. Otherwise, someone would have done it, as Uruguay is a great show window.
- It is normal that the final offering gets somehow higher than the laptop's price, at least with the requests of Uruguayan call for bids: Local distributors have to give many services in addition to the laptops.
- The question is still: Is it well spent money? Well, the answer will depend on the country. Not only will it depend on the educational goals and economical restrictions, but also in the research and innovation support governments want to give.
Hands of Love who has officially stated earlier this year, that we have been monitoring the OLPC Program in conjunction with our Mindy Program and beg to differ with the recent article by BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer featured on the Yahoo News Site today, and the statement made by Wayan Vota, of OLPC News
The OLPC Technology in 2005 was at that time $100 per unit. We are now 3 years later and it seems the price has gone up, as a Gallon of Milk was $2.59 and now is $4.00.
The new price was also made public several months ago by The OLPC Foundation.
Based on many of the test markets, as it is not known publicly if any of the nations who are now testing the OLPC B Stable Release 400's and 500's models, are using demos or if they were purchased from OLPC.
This points to the vast amount of OLPC units that are in testing, as well as full support from the One Laptop Per Child Community and the value of what was originally a predicted as a joke, the Sumpter of the USA that was going no where. Now is making news that the price has gone up.
With big names like Linux , Intel and Microsoft looking on with interest as well as others. We at Hands of Love believe Mr. Negroponte has opened up a vast market in the IT Computing Experience in the third world, that's price could be called priceless based on the interest and implementation of IT Related Services in many third world regions around the world.
We had suggested several years ago that OLPC sell them for $40 each to meet the market. But unfortunately we did not see the vast potential of the market back in 2005.
Internet usage in the third world has seemed to have doubled since 2005 and there is also not that much data available to say other wise
We suggest to those who do not yet believe or understand the OLPC Concept of Learning as well as doing: Make a donation in the high 8 or 9 figures and help lower the price.
The OLPC Laptop is here to stay and from what we see worth every penny!
Hands of Love's worry is, "When will they ship the laptops but that's another story!"
Hands of Love Group Systems is a private, NGO type, undercover , watch dog group that comments on world issues to: World leaders and governments, international agencies and many others around the world to make change. Most issues are related to sustainability issues, the world's poor and the misinformed.
For more information contact: Ming English: (718)412-8308
Sorry, but please don't ignore exchange rates: http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=USD&to=EUR&amt=188&t=5y
The XO-1 has turned from a 100 Euro into the 130 - 135 Euro laptop after the B2 -> B4 upgrade and continuous to stay in that price range ever since.
Andreas,
Exchange rate fluctuations can account for a few dollars movement - say from $176 to $178 - but not a $12 price jump at this price point.
Take your B2-B4 example. The increase from $140 to $175 was not due to dollar-pound conversion but a hardware upgrade of the OLPC XO laptop: http://www.olpcnews.com/hardware/production/olpc_xo_btest-3_hardware.html
The price of the XO laptop is a $188 today and the price will continue to fluctuate up and down until we start mass production as expected in October when economies of scale will drive the price down.
Unlike private companies who can keep prices stable by increasing or decreasing their margins -- we are building and selling the XO at cost so there will be fluctuations until we get the mass production going.
The reason for the $205 pricetag in Uruguay is that they asked for a couple of features not on the standard model and for additional warranties which bumped the price upward.
$100 or below continues to be the goal (not a marketing gimmick) -- one we think we can accomplish in the near future.
Nikkel, currency fluctuations and fluctuations in the number of components ordered.
Let them mass produce it at a 10 million a year rate and the price will be below $150 quickly, maybe even toward $100.
OLPC is not lying about the price, everything is open about it. I'd like to know what the Classmate PC and the Asus EEE REALLY are going to cost in mass production if they ever are going to be mass produced as really low cost computers with the current power hungry Intel chips and that are inside of them the old LCD screen technologies that they include which don't save power and are unreadable outdoors.
Dear sir/madam
Good days to you ,well i would like to buy some computer products from your stores and they should be shifted to Entebbe Air Port Kampala Uganda am just hoping for your positeve respone
Regards
Bukenya Maurece
kampala(u)ltd
simon agencies
+256 752 596944
For another 100 dollars you can get a computer that is 600-700% faster, not sure if these computers will be able to run most of todays applications.