$99 Laptop

[derspiess]

Introducing "The $99 Cherrypal Africa, seven inches no-thrills (sic) laptop for Internet browsing."

http://www.cherrypal.com/

Most happily presenting to you the specifications:

400 MHz processor
256 MB DDR / 2 GB NAND-flas
Linux (GMo) or Windows CE
7 inch high-resolution TFT (800 x 480 pixels)
LAN:10/100M Ethernet Access WIFI: IEEE 802.11 b/g Ethernet RJ-45
Keyboard: QWERTY 86 keys
Mouse&Touch pad:build-in touch panel, set two shortcut key
support usb port mouse USB Port: USB 2.0 x 1 (aid external memory) USB 1.1 x 2 (aid keyboard & mouse only) E
xternal Memory : SD card , U-Disk , USB-HDD Card port: SD / MMC card slot (8GB)
Battery: 7.4 V 1800Mha built in Lithium battery 1800MAH Last time:4 HRS
Sound effect:build-in realtek sound effect chipset, Built in 2 x 0.5W Built in speaker 1 x microphone Weight:1.2kg Size: 213.5 x 141.8 x 30.8 mm

Motto: "small, slow, sufficient"

[Josquius]

I wouldn't laugh at the specs too much, battery life is supposily amazing with these. Never heard of this particular model though...checking wiki the company is apparently out of buisness.

[derspiess]

I wouldn't laugh at the specs too much, battery life is supposily amazing with these. Never heard of this particular model though...checking wiki the company is apparently out of buisness.

The thing is, though, that this isn't a "full" PC.  If you shop around, you can find deals on an older Atom or Celeron-based netbook (which can run a fully-functional OS) for $70 more.  Build quality can't be very good, and you probably won't be able to even access the full web on the browser.

That having been said, for less than 100 bucks, what the hell-- I would almost be tempted to get one to play around with.  It's basically a large, wifi-enabled PDA with a 7" screen & qwerty keyboard. 

[Sahib]

Am I missing something why you wouldn't be able to access internet with it?

[derspiess]

Am I missing something why you wouldn't be able to access internet with it?

I'm sure you can access the internet with it.  But I would have serious doubts as to how *much* of the web you would be able to access.  The processor, OS, and web browser are going to limit you-- I wouldn't expect to be able to access any flash content whatsoever, for example.  And what is the web without youtube??

Now if you could run Android or Chromium on this puppy, things could get interesting.

[Ed Anger]

  And what is the web without youtube??

Better?

[derspiess]

Better?

Well, better without the comments sections, anyway.

[Sahib]

Am I missing something why you wouldn't be able to access internet with it?

I'm sure you can access the internet with it.  But I would have serious doubts as to how *much* of the web you would be able to access.  The processor, OS, and web browser are going to limit you-- I wouldn't expect to be able to access any flash content whatsoever, for example.  And what is the web without youtube??

Now if you could run Android or Chromium on this puppy, things could get interesting.

Well I asked because I remember using a computer with worse specs to access the internet less than ten years ago and it worked just fine.
Granted there wasn't much in the way of streaming videos and the like back then 

[derspiess]

Well I asked because I remember using a computer with worse specs to access the internet less than ten years ago and it worked just fine.
Granted there wasn't much in the way of streaming videos and the like back then 

The specs alone are not directly the problem.  The problem is that it is an ARM-type processor, which means it can't run any OS designed for an x86 system (e.g., no Win XP, no Ubuntu, etc.).  So you are limited to Windows CE and whatever the hell embedded Linux distro that is that they are advertising, which essentially means you'll have a crappy, outdated, underperforming web browser.

Some sites would probably look okay, like Languish for example.  But any site with advanced features would probably look crappy, load slowly, or not load at all.  Trust me, I used Windows Mobile Explorer for two years on my old WinMo phone & have the mental scars to prove it

But like I said, get Android or Chrome OS on this thing and you might have a decent device to play around with.