Stan Beer
Friday, 09 May 2008 09:14
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 4
The obvious first query is why an endorsed office of OLPC has been opened in Australia, which is very much a wealthy first world country? Are
there specific pockets of the community, such as marginalised
indigenous Australians being targeted? If so, why is the XO a better
solution than other similarly priced commercial laptops which would
arguably serviced by a more professional support infrastructure? Or if
Australia itself isn't the target market, is OLPC Australia aiming to
serve as a base for marketing the XO to poorer neighbouring nations
such as Fiji, other Pacific Island nations and parts of South East Asia?
The answer to this query, according to Waugh, is
clear cut - OLPC Australia is targeting the education market.
"This is 100% an education project not a laptop project," says Waugh.
"In terms of what happens here in Australia, there's primary schools
and there's also communities, whether they be remote communities or
things like homes for children. Then there is the Pacific as well. Part
of the reason we have an organisation is to support the region."
If the XO is going to be sold in Australia, what will be the price
point? With the Australian dollar getting close to parity with the US
dollar, can we expect to see the XO selling in Australia at not too
much more than AUD$200? After all, OLPC is a not-for-profit
organisation so the XO shouldn't attract import duties (or will it?).
According to Waugh, OLPC Australia simply doesn't have an answer to
that question yet. "We haven't yet announced a model and usually when
people ask that they're interested in how can an individual consumer
buy an XO. It's highly unlikely that we're going to have anything like
the get-one give-one program in the US," says Waugh. CONTINUED
