June 30, 2006
A new line of low-cost computers is presenting local makers with an opportunity to break into emerging markets and create further demand.
Last month at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (Win-HEC) in Seattle, Microsoft presented FlexGo, a new pay-as-you-go program designed to make PCs more affordable for emerging markets.
Under the FlexGo program, users make a down payment of
USD 250 on a PC and use pre-paid cards to pay for their Internet usage. Users would also be able to purchase time from local Internet service providers. The program has already been tested in Brazil and is slated for further testing in a number of other countries including India, China, and Mexico.
Local manufacturers Asustek and Wistron Corp have already signed on to participate in FlexGo, according to the Economic Daily News.
Another low-cost computer project, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, features a low-cost laptop prototype made by Taiwan's Quanta Computer, the world's largest notebook maker. The laptop will cost about
USD 135 in developing countries when released in mid-2007, according to Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, the creator of the project.
Microsoft is also developing a low-cost smartphone with a number of manufacturers, including several from Taiwan.
(Economic Daily News, Taipei Times)
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