OLPC XO-1 Goes On Sale to Public

Consumers in North America will be able to pick up their own XO-1s by buying them in pairs, with one laptop to keep and one to be donated to a child in a third-world country.

Although the One Laptop Per Child program has always been targeted at children in third-world countries, it would be fair to say that it has attracted a fair amount of country from curious geeks in developed countries as well. Those in the United States and Canada will finally get a shot to buy their own OLPC XO-1s on November 12 when the program opens sales of its hardware to the public.

The catch: they’ll need to buy a package of two for $399, one to keep and one to be donated to a child abroad. OLPC adopted the “Give 1 Get 1” sales technique due to less-than-anticipated initial orders. Nicholas Negroponte, the project’s chairmen, expressed some disappointment in the laptop’s financial support from world leaders. “I have to some degree underestimated the difference between shaking the hand of a head of state and having a check written," he told the International Herald Tribune.

Part of the reason for the laptop’s lukewarm reception could be its rising cost. Initially expected to sell for $100, the laptops leapt from an already-inflated estimated price of $176 apiece to $188 apiece just last week. Strong consumer orders in North America could boost orders to the 3 million Negroponte initially expected, eventually lowering the cost through mass production.