10 Apr 2010 lkcl   » (Master)

$100 (retail) 300mhz ARM9 netbook with a 10.1in 1024x600 LCD!

linuxfordevices report

chinese review

good god :) i don't know whether to be impressed or horrified. we will see if this machine gets taken up outside of china. on sheer price alone it should be compelling enough, like the Skytone Alpha 400.

but, the problem with the skytone alpha 400 is that due to the low cost, the margins are so low that it's unlikely that retailers actually made enough money to consider doing a different machine.

at this sub-£99 price range, the profit margins per machine are just ridiculous. you have to sell 50,000 machines just to get one person a salary plus tax plus corporation tax.

and, unlike "ordinary" laptops, there's no way you can slap a 2-3 year warranty on it and charge £200 per year for the privilege.

so ... i'll say it again: if free software people want an ARM netbook that they would actually stick with for years, and be happy with, they're going to need to get it custom- made, just like the open-pandora. retailers are _not_ going to deliver.

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