Quanta Confirms Order for One Million Laptops for OLPC Project

Quanta Computer has confirmed orders for one million notebook PCs for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, a company representative said.

The OLPC project is aimed at ensuring children around the world don't miss out on learning how to use computers. The fear is that the high cost of computers is keeping too many people in developing countries from learning how the software, Internet and communications benefits of computing can improve their economies, job prospects and lives, a conundrum commonly referred to as the digital divide.
Quanta is manufacturing the OLPC laptop, and mass production is the key to slashing its cost. Currently, the laptops cost around $130, but the goal is to whittle down the price to $100. The groups involved in the OLPC project, including the MIT Media Laboratory that launched the effort, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices, and Linux software developer Red Hat, believe they can reach that goal once millions of the laptops are being produced annually, and had set a target to reach that price sometime in 2008.

Quanta said it could ship between 5 million to 10 million units this year because seven nations have already signed up for the project. That may be enough to reduce the costs and meet the $100 goal sooner than expected.

Source: Yahoo News