High-tech firm launches cost-friendly notebook

A low-profile Taiwanese computer manufacturer partners with Intel and Microsoft.

A low-profile Taiwanese computer manufacturer launched one of the UAE's cheapest full-featured laptop computers yesterday, in partnership with Intel and Microsoft. DTK Computer, a manufacturer that produces music players, computer peripherals and laptops, announced a Windows XP-based lightweight laptop costing just Dh1800 (US$490). The machine enters a fast-growing market space for "netbook" computers, scaled-down laptops designed to do less, rather than more. The typical netbook is designed primarily for web browsing and basic applications, and is smaller and lighter than the average laptop, with a 10-inch screen and a weight of around one kilogram.

The market has been developing rapidly since the beginnings of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme, a project championed by Nicholas Negroponte that sought to produce a $100 laptop for use in schools in the developing world. As the OLPC initiative developed, manufacturers spotted the market potential for low-cost, basic-functionality computers, and what was initially a charitable endeavour has become one of the hottest markets in the computer industry.

Intel were partners of the OLPC consortium until withdrawing at the beginning of the year, releasing instead their own education-focused product, the Classmate PC. The company has launched a new line of processors specifically designed for low-cost computing, which power the DTK netbook released yesterday. Microsoft are keeping Windows XP, the operating system that was succeeded last year by the Vista system, available for sale at a discounted rate to low-cost PC makers until 2010, a year after it will be withdrawn from the general market.

To keep costs and hardware requirements down, low-cost PC makers like Asus, who make the popular eeePC, and Everex, who make the CloudBook, offer machines running on a customised version of Linux, an open-source operating system that Microsoft is keen to ensure does not become a widely-used standard. Despite major technological advances and booming global demand, the cost of basic laptop computers has not dropped significantly since the turn of the century. Companies across the industry have primarily focused on offering increasingly powerful systems at a steady price.

But with the voracious demand shown for low-cost machines - Asus expects to sell five million eeePC's this year - major PC manufacturers are quickly launching cheap new laptops. Acer, Hewlett Packard and Dell have all announced new machines below $500. The notable exception has been Sony, whose machines still remain firmly in the upper and mid-markets. Earlier in the year, a senior executive at the company's IT product division said if the low-cost product from Asus took off, the industry would enter a disastrous "race to the bottom".

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