Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) has been chosen as the original design manufacturer (ODM) for the ambitious US$100 laptop project called "One Laptop per Child (OLPC)," according to a news release posted on the Web site of the Delaware-based, non-profit organization under the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Media Lab.
The decision was made yesterday after the OLPC's board of directors reviewed bids from several possible manufacturing companies, the statement read. The local media had earlier reported that the organization negotiated with Quanta, Compal Computer Inc (
The initiative to develop a US$100 laptop in a bid to revolutionize global education for children was first announced by Nicholas Negroponte, Media Lab chairman and co-founder, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.
"Any previous doubt that a very-low-cost laptop could be made for education in the developing world has just gone away," Negroponte said in the statement.
Quanta has already signed the contract with the US organization, company spokesman Tim Li (
However, since the whole project is still in the initial stage with a few technological issues that have to be resolved, such as model specifications, it is difficult to predict the exact time and quantity for mass production, Li said.
But OLPC said in the statement that Quanta has agreed to devote a significant part of Quanta Research Institute's engineering resources in the first half of next year, with a target of bringing the product to market in the fourth quarter of next year, the statement said.
Li said Quanta can benefit from the project by reinventing cost-saving production through the sharing of research and development resources with other leading global companies such as central processing unit maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc and other panel makers, which will ultimately be advantageous to their clients.
The project would not be a money-losing business that could impact the company's margin and profitability, as Quanta is a profitable organization and knows its responsibility to its shareholders, he added.
According to OLPC, the 5 million to 15 million laptops will be launched in seven culturally diverse countries, namely, China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria and Thailand.
The organization will allocate one million units in each of these countries, with an additional modest allocation of machines to seed developer communities in a number of other selected countries. A commercial version of the machine will be explored in parallel, it said in the statement.
The laptops will be sold to governments and issued to children by schools on the basis of one laptop per child. These machines will be rugged, Linux-based, and so energy-efficient that hand-cranking alone can generate sufficient power for operation, it said.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS