Also, IMHO, AA batteries should be left alone out of such products. Especially when talking about markets of XO – batteries are simply way too expensive there, comparatively. One could use rechargables…but what's the point then, when you can have rechargable Li-Ion/Li-Po battery that's way more optimised for the device?

NorhTec has been a longtime customer of DMP's. Two years ago, DMP told me that they could produce a CPU that was similar to their Vortex86DX but targeted towards more commercial applications than pure industrial and embedded. I proposed setting up a company to focus on this CPU which is Xcore (http://www.xcore86.com). We signed an agreement to this effect.

Xcore focused on Education projects in emerging markets as NorhTec already had a presence in this market. We brought our requirements to DMP and we agreed on sharing the name Edubook which Xcore coined for the same product. Xcore was granted exclusivity in some markets and we began to jointly promote the product to customers.

DMP conceived the idea of offering a SKD barebones version with a minimum quantity of 1000 units. The barebones means no storage, no batteries, no power cord and no WIFI. SKD means that the parts are shipped as a kit to be assembled locally.

Some of the deals that we are together have the potential for several hundred thousand units. Together we have quoted very large opportunities which would involve shippng 100s of thousands of units to countries either assembled, assembled barebones, SKD complete and SKD barebones.

The price we have offered on these deals will make the Edubook the lowest priced x86 computer ever offered but the Edubook is in now way a cheap or crappy product. Out of the preproduction units we have shipped, we have seen no failures involving the electronics. The only problems we have seen have been from damage from customers who are taking the units apart and putting together again testing the units.

The Edubooks started shipping October 1st. We have held back shipping preproduction units — even when customers literally begged because we wanted to make the units production ready. The inital shipments are slowed as some of the parts are sourced in china which is having a week long holiday.

Today, the end user price for 512 MB RAM is $199.95. This is a completely assembled product. The product will be sold to dealers oor volume customers at a discount. We also offer a barebones assembled version for $150.00.

No customer has yet been offered or promised an assembled production unit, complete or barebones for $100.00 by DMP or NorhTec — even at 10,000 units.

Nicholas Negroponte makes the $100 Laptop a possibility.

If 6 million units had been ordered, the $100 price point would have been reached already.

And Intel netbooks are not $150, that' only when some retailers are dumping old stocks of it and selling them at a loss.