Lifestyle | Technology

MIT’s $100 PC for Poor Kids

MIT’s computer for children in developing countries is one of several recent proposals of low-cost computers.
September 29, 2005

A $100 laptop designed for children in emerging markets is expected to be unveiled later this fall, according to its creator, the MIT Media Lab.

The portable computer, aimed at children in emerging economies, has an AC adapter that doubles as a carrying strap, and a hand crank that gives 10 minutes of cordless power for every minute of winding. It will have a processor with a speed of 500 MHz and flash memory storage of 1 GB.

The machine will be equipped with Wi-Fi and will be able to hook up to the Internet using a cell phone connection. It will run the free Linux operating system. All the machines will make a mesh network of their own, peer-to-peer, according to the lab.

“They will be able to do everything except store large amounts of data,” according to the MIT web site.

Lab chairman Nicholas Negroponte showed off blueprints for the machine at Technology Review magazine’s Emerging Technologies conference at MIT on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The prototype is expected in November.

Companies that partnered in the project include Advanced Micro Devices, Brightstar, Google, News Corporation, and Red Hat.

Lucrative and Humanitarian

Since Mr. Negroponte first briefed Red Herring in January on plans for an affordable laptop for developing countries (see The Hundred-Buck PC), PC alternatives from several companies have hit the market, suggesting that PCs for the poor may be as lucrative as they are humanitarian.

Bangalore, India-based Encore Software introduced a $230 Linux-based notebook in May (see $230 Portable PC Hits Market). Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) started selling a specially designed computer in August (see AMD Sells PCs In Jamaica), allowing people to pay for it in $15 monthly installments for two years, as well as get high-speed Internet for about $30 per month.

On Wednesday, Lenovo said it would start selling cheaper PCs in several African countries (see Lenovo Targets Africa). And refurbished used computers are a growing business, with opportunities in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia-Pacific (see Used PC Biz to Double by 2009).

To be sure, the MIT project is different. Unlike other endeavors, the $100 machine is geared toward the education market, hence the emphasis on making the machines rugged and kid-friendly. Mr. Negroponte said he hopes that the computers’ distinctive look will become so linked to the education landscape that they prevent people from using or buying ones that are stolen.

The portable PCs will be shipped directly to education ministries. MIT’s web site declares: “They are not—and will not—be available for purchase by individuals.”