Recently in Cherrypal Category

Everybody's heard about the One Laptop Per Child concept, and the ups and downs of that project, its rather tentative connection to free, open-source software and the fact that it still hasn't reached the $100/unit price it set out to meet.

But what if I were to tell you that another company not only is committed to offering a $99 laptop to the world but is already doing it. (Or so the story goes; there are problems, principally with a crucial part of this whole feel-good enterprise - actually getting the machines delivered to those who order them.)

Cherrypal is that company, and the Cherrypal Africa is that $99 laptop. I'm more than a little tempted to buy one just to see if it's the real deal (but am not excited at the prospect of sending $99 down a rat hole).

The way the company both hits the $99 price point and makes a little profit at the same time is to a) ship with free, open-source Linux and b) offer minimum specs but actually build the laptops with whatever the cheapest components are at any given time.

That means that the Cherrypal Africa might vary in specs from day to day, but it also means that, given the price and availability of components, you stand a very good chance of getting something a whole lot better and more powerful than the Africa's stated "minimum" specs, which are:

400 MHz processor, 256 MB DDR / 2 GB NAND-flash and runs Linux (Ubuntu, or Debian, or Green Maraschino). Here are some more basics: Screen: 7 inch high-resolution TFT .(800 x 480 pixels) LAN:10/100M Ethernet Access WIFI: IEEE 802.11 b/g Ethernet RJ-45 Keyboard: QWERTY 86 keys Mouse&Touch pad:build-in touch panel, set two shortcut key,and support usb port mouse USB Port: USB 2.0 x 1 (aid external memory) USB 1.1 x 2 (aid keyboard & mouse only) External Memory : SD card , U-Disk , USB-HDD Card port: SD / MMC card slot (8GB) Battery: 7.4 V 1800Mha built in Lithium battery 1800MAH Last time:4 HRS Sound effect:build-in realtek sound effect chipset, Built in 2 x 0.5W Built in speaker 1 x microphone Weight:1.2kg Size: 213.5 x 141.8 x 30.8 mm

According to a recent Cherrypal blog entry by company founder/leader Max Seybold:

We soft-launched the Cherrypal Africa in November and started shipping early December. So far we got nothing but positive feedback from admittedly surprised customers. What we promised was a 7″ laptop, 400 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 2GM storage, and what we shipped were 10.2 inch, 1.6 GHz, 160 GB (new) laptops.

The Cherrypal brand promise is that you get at least or more of what we promise. So when we promise that you get a laptop with a 400 MHz processor it doesn't mean you actually get one. ... Most likely you get much more. What we post in our online catalog as product description are minimum technology characteristics. In other words we "meet or beat" the Cherrypal Open Store online catalog promise. Another promise, we don't ship any systems with Windows Vista or Windows 7.

In order to avoid any confusion, do we use XBurst processors for the Africa, yes we do, do we use ARM processors, yes we do, do we use Intel processors, yes we do, we use any proven components as long as they are inexpensive, high quality, and meet or beat our promised online product specifications, and last but not least, allow us to manufacture low energy consuming systems.

We have created a new product category for the laptop market, a product category that guarantees a particular functionality rather than technical specifications. When you buy a toaster you don't care about what components are inside, as long as the toaster works; almost like our imaginary car manufacturer example that promises to deliver a car that drives you from A to B. The Cherrypal Africa promise is to deliver a small-screen system that enables you to browse the Internet, for 99 bucks plus shipping. That's our promise, that's the Cherrypal brand promise.

...

Last but not least, the Cherrypal Africa is neither a marketing hoax nor competition to the "One Laptop Per Child" initiative, our campaigns are very complimentary. We are proud to report that we received purchase orders from over 150 countries in the last 4 days, from some countries we didn't even know they exist. Thousands of emails from new customers and supporters confirmed the need for the Cherrypal Africa. We are thankful for your support and grateful for the opportunity to making green computing available to everyone.

So, what's next. Our goal for 2010 is to make our Green Maraschino Linux flavor, combined with seamlessly integrated free cloud based applications, mainstream. It will be fun, a lot of work, and will reduce the cost of laptops even further.

Happy Holidays, Max Seybold, Chairman, max@cherrypal.com

Again, I don't have one of these $99 laptops, so I don't know quite what to think of them. And many reports on the Web tell of problems with delivery. See these links for some of that feedback:

• Engadget: CherryPal debuts $99 netbook, names it Africa (check the comments for a) word that the CherryPal stinks and b) there have been delivery problems
  
• TeleRead: Cherrypal laptops: Any shipping delays or other issues?
  
• Gizmodo: Cherrypal Delivers "Africa" Netbook For Only $99