The cheapest 'hot' computer models

Do not expect that there is only a 100USD laptop from OLPC (One Laptop Per Child Project) on a super cheap computer playground. Intel, Dell, Asus and many other companies are also betting generously on this new trend.

Here are the most notable products, according to BusinessWeek poll.

1. OLPC Laptop

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Source: CNET

Either way, this idea is worth mentioning first. Simply because there is no low-cost computer project that attracts as much paper as OLPC, and honestly, a $ 100 laptop also has quite a lot of creative features.

The first batch of OLPC computers was shipped late last year, produced by Taiwanese computer company Quanta Computer, but the price was nearly double that of the original promises. Therefore, the Chinese and Indian governments turned against this project.

OLPC is equipped with a special type of screen, not glare even in the middle of the sun. In addition, it can be operated by a solar rechargeable battery and surrounded by a rubber cover (anti-sweat, anti-wet weather in many African countries, South Asia).

Using the Linux open source operating system, OLPC's production costs are significantly reduced.

2. Lenovo's Farmer PC

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Source: Rawfeed

Best known in the US for the high-end ThinkPad notebook brand (which it acquired from IBM in 2005), in August 2007, Lenovo launched a series of low-cost computers targeted specifically at rural Chinese users.
With the name "Farmer PC", this model is priced from 200-400 USD depending on the configuration.

To increase the attractiveness of the product, Lenovo even installed software that allows farmers to update agricultural information for hours.

3. Dell's EC280

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Image description

Last March, Michael Dell flew to Shanghai to announce the first "weapon" of the US giant to attack the Chinese low-cost computer market.

EC280 has a compact design, runs smoothly and is very energy efficient. Its size is only equivalent to Apple's Mac Mini computer, but the price is much cheaper: $ 340 for the basic configuration (without screen).

If spending $ 520, Chinese users will get a much more modern configuration, along with a 17-inch LCD screen.

4. Haier's Farmer PC

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Source: BW

Lenovo is not the only Chinese electronics company to "tap" domestic rural users. Another name, Haier, is also trying to make a profit from cheap computers, and coincidentally, its product is also called "Farmer PC".

Farmer PC's design is Haier's overall success with Intel chip giant. Since Intel did not manufacture and sell computers on its own, it chose to shake hands with partners like Haier to enter the low-cost PC market.

5. Intel's Classmate PC

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Source: BW

One of the key projects of the Intel Research and Development Center in Shanghai is the Classmate PC. This is also the main competitor of the OLPC laptop because it targets students / students in developing countries.

However, unlike OLPC, Classmate PC is also the basic design for computer manufacturers to produce higher-quality, better-quality and slightly higher-priced finished products, targeting users. popular in industrialized countries.

For example, Intel has just released a new version of Classmate with a 9-inch screen (instead of the 7-inch size of the original design), along with a 30 GB hard drive (replacing the 2GB flash memory of the early product). ).

6. Asus EEE PC

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Source: ILuvTech

This is the most popular and most popular product of the cheap computer market. Working with Intel, Asustek engineers modified the design of the Classmate to turn it into a mainstream but attractive configuration, in contrast to the OLPC Laptop's poor list of features.

EEE targets "non-specialized" users such as the elderly, children and housewives in developed countries, which do not require too high a feature.

The original EEE version was released late last year and on March 5, Asus continued to release the upgraded version 2.0 with a larger screen and double the memory capacity (1GB compared to 512 TB). .

7. MiLeap X Series of HCL

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Source: BW

Another computer company cooperated with Intel to jump into the low-cost laptop market. HCL is currently the largest domestic PC brand in India. Its market share in this South Asian country is only inferior to each of the US giants and even surpasses both Dell and Lenovo.

Last January, HCL launched the MiLeap X Series, which is the cheapest in the market today, with a starting price of just $ 350. This device comes with a 7-inch screen and Intel's Celeron processor.

Even, HCL is sensitive to the time to release a pink shell version exclusively for Valentine's Day 2008.

8. Dell Vostro 1200

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Source: BW

In order to narrow the gap with rivals HP, Dell is stepping up its "Eastward" strategy with many products favoring Asian users.

The evidence is that the company has designed Vostro 1200, a laptop line exclusively for Chinese users. Officially released from December last year, the Vostro 1200 is equipped with a 12-inch screen, Intel dual-core processor and weighs about 1.9kg.

However, at a price of over 900 USD, it's hard to call this a true cheap product.