cherrypalafrica

The first $99 laptop to go on sale didn’t come from One Laptop Per Child after all. Cherrypal, a company founded by Max Seybold with offices in Hong Kong and California, debuted their newest model, the $99 Cherrypal Africa. The computer is named in reference to the learning center in Ghana where 20 Cherrypal laptops are currently being used by children under the guidance of PAAJAF.  I thought that kid who fragged me in Halo the other day sounded Ghanese. 

The company has dubbed the computer “small, slow, sufficient”.  Here are some specs (full specs here):

  • 400 MHz Xburst processor, a mysterious type of Chinese microprocessor that might be based on an ARM core, or perhaps a gerbil on meth.  Nobody knows!
  • 256 MB RAM
  • 2 GB of flash memory
  • 7″ screen (800 x 480 pixels)
  • runs Linux or Windows CE
  • ethernet and 802.11 b/g wireless internet
  • SD/MMC card slot
  • two USB 1.1 ports and only one USB 2.0 port
  • four hour battery life
  • weighs 1.2 kg (2.65 lb)

Definitely not something I’d want to be stuck with, but for $99 new it’s a bargain for people just trying to get into the game.  I know at least one master of the dank dimension who can afford this computer:

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[Sources: itnewsafrica and pcworld]