XO costs are dropping
XO costs are scheduled to drop soon; while we’re not yet in the $75-$100 range, raw materials costs have stopped going up and other economies are kicking in. The Globe has a fairly balanced piece on the update.
Meanwhile, feature-limited appliances such as modern bookreaders and many single-purpose phones continue to keep their prices up around $400, well above production costs; or subsidized by locking into hefty service plans. Is that the model for the future? Are netbooks moving the default price of a laptop from 1500 to 500, or shifting us to a culture of dropping costs over time?
Sameer Verma said,
February 12, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
Ah! I spot the “red” XO in the mix in the pic from the Globe article.
http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2009/02/10/1234326817_7607/539w.jpg
I also see a OpenMoko Neo1973…whose desk is this, anyway?
–
Sameer
sj said,
February 12, 2009 @ 4:10 pm
That’s Richard Smith’s and Chris Ball’s workspace… the Neo is CJB’s, and we have a few more red XO’s (from that one-time only stock; sorry, red lovers) being put to work around the office.
Wayan @ OLPC News said,
February 14, 2009 @ 6:06 pm
How is this a price drop? OLPC has been adamant that XO’s are $187 or something around that for a while. Now Negroponte is saying that:
“Now Negroponte is promising to cut the price of the XO by $24, to $180″
Which means the XO is $204, not $187, or $188, or whatever price he and Chuck talked about.