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You will see below why the $100-laptop phenom is unstoppable though most everyone in the computer field does want to stop it.
We reported on this over a year ago while some famous gadget sites (I won't name Engadget.com or anything like that) were still in denial on this -- http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/08/cobys-sub-200-netbooks-handled-at-ces/ . :)
You see, everyone who makes their living in the computing game is loath to admit what they loathe. And, oh, how they loathe supercheap computers, because commoditization of computing will cut revenue streams from it, make it less profitable for all -- and that includes stores like Best Buy and product pointers like Engadget and CNet.
The Coby NBPC-722 (Netbook PC, 7-in. screen) will sell for well under the famed "$100-laptop" price barrier, as Engadget now admits (a year late) -- actually $85.
LET'S MAKE IT OFFICIAL
Here is Coby's page showing the 7-in. netbook PC: http://www.cobysz.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/ProductInfoExhibit.html?ProductInfoExhibit_ProductID=c373e91fae986c488fea6cf251e6dcb6&ProductInfoExhibit_isRefreshParent=false You can see the specs and a photo there.
1. The BIG Deal: YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIND THEM "EVERYWHERE"!
2. The OTHER BIG Deal: There Will Be DOZENS OF IMITATORS!
By finding them everywhere, I mean they will be in unusual venues for selling laptops, notebooks, and such: at GROCERY stores, HOME IMPROVEMENT stores, DRUG stores. We won't have to rely on conventional electronics like Walmart, Best Buy, and Fry's, who hate to sell cheap PCs. They just won't do it until they have to. Incidentally, I have seen the Augen Netbook for just a little over $100 at a TA truck stop. It also was available at the grocery chain Albertson's and the home-improvement store chain Menard's, last November (Black Friday) for both of them.
Out-of-the-ordinary-channel distribution is essential for the sub-$100 laptop phenom to take off and fly.
3. And "on the third hand": DOZENS OF IMITATORS
A city in China, Shenzhen, is the source of literally hundreds of brands of similar mini-laptops or EPCs, as the Chinese are wont to call them. Here are some between $50 and $100: http://www.aliexpress.com/category/702/laptops.html?minPrice=50&maxPrice=100&quantity= .
Here are many more for a little over $100: http://www.aliexpress.com/category/702/laptops.html?minPrice=100&maxPrice=200&quantity= .
LOTS OF $100 LAPTOPS, THAT'S a KEY.
4. AND THE COUP DE GRACE: The BLISTERPACK PC
When you see these on blisterpacks, you soon will see them in dollar stores (all kinds of dollar stores).
Breaking through the price floor will lower the price of all personal computers. Even Apple and Sony will not be able to hold the line. The bottom price point drags down the bottom line of all computer marketers and those companies and people who feed on them. It is very simple.
MORE FROM ENGADGET.COM
Engadget finally got on the ball with this and it is worth looking at: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/coby-85-smartbook-feels-like-a-hundred-bucks-hands-on/ .
