Microsoft's answer to the $100 laptop: Pay-as-you-go
Microsoft's idea - referred to as "FlexGo" technology - circles around the prepaid phone card, which has been established global, especially in regions and population groups with changing income. Just like the phone, Microsoft's pay as you go laptop would be subsidized by the usage of "minutes," bought for example at convenience stores. The company says that such an approach can reduce the entry cost of a laptop by "50% or much more." Other than with the pre paid mobile phone model, consumers would actually own their loptop after a certain number of minutes has been purchased."Today there are already more than 1 billion prepaid mobile phones used around the global world, so we know FlexGo enables a familiar and comfortable pay as you go model that works for people with variable or unpredictable income," told Will Poole, senior vice president of the Market Expansion Group at Microsoft. "Offering unprecedented flexibility of laptop ownership will bring high-quality personal computers within the reach of hundreds of millions of families and small businesses in emerging markets so they too could enjoy the many benefits laptops bring in education, entertainment, communication and productivity."
Microsoft didn't propose details about how much such a Windows-based PC will cost, the type and price of services that will be offered or how many minutes consumers will have to purchase to own their PC. On the other hand, it's clear that the strategy will only lower the price to bring a computer system home. The whole system cost will actually be higher, according to the frequently asked questions posted on Microsoft's website. In other words, what Microsoft is introducing is ordinary a cross-financing model for PC to accelerate the adoption of the PC - and it is Windows operating system.
All in all, the One Laptop Per Child nonprofit association intends to offer a $100 laptop that is owned by buyer's right after the purchase. As of now, it appears that such a portable computer would use a 500 MHz AMD processor. There willn't be a hard drive, but a 512 MB flash memory unit as well as a screen that runs at a 1110 x 830 pixel resolution in black and white and in 640 x 480 pixel resolution in color mode.
Microsoft told that it recently completed a successful year-long market trial of pay as you go offerings in Brazil, in which 31% of participants stated they would haven't been able to purchase a PC otherwise. The next round of trials is headed to China, Hungary, India, Mexico, Russia, Slovenia and Vietnam.
Partners of the initiative include HSBC Bank Brazil, Infineon, Intel, Lenovo, Phoenix, Transmeta and interestingly also AMD, which also provides key technologies in the $100 laptop.
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