Amazon signs buy two get one laptop deal
Online retailer shows charitable side
AMAZON IS DOING its bit for the developing nations by signing a deal with the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organisation.
The online retailing giant will begin its give one get one (G1G1) programme in November which will give customers the opportunity to buy one of the XO laptops for themselves and donate one to a school in a developing nation.
The OLPC group was thought up by MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte and was aimed at producing a powerful yet cheap laptop to give to children in developing nations.
Designers have come up with a green and white sporty livery laptop with built-in Wi-Fi, educational software and can be powered, quite ingeniously, by a pull cord.
OLPC has tried this G1G1 offer before, in November 2007 when they let US residents buy two machines for $398, however the company faced problems with production and delivery delays which led to a cancellation of orders.
Round two of this scenario has brought in Amazon to help iron out the glitches faced previously, it will begin again in late November and will run until the end of the year – however it will again only be open to US residents.
The OLPC group plans to bring out a XO-2 in 2010 which the company hopes will be even cheaper than the first – at present the XO laptop costs around $200 but round two is expected to be only $80. µ
Comments
Disappointed!
I'm disappointed after I clicked on the link. I wanted three laptops for the price of two, not paying for some laptop to be sent somewhere else, which receives our aid anyway. Am I selfish about this? You bet I am.let's wait and see
@BB above...if the second laptop will be tax-deductible as donation, then it may be worth it, otherwise not so much.
If the deductibility is not valid for all EU countries... i doubt the XO will do well in the countries where it's not deductible.
However, it will be good for eBayers in the countries where it is deductible... they pay for 2... use one as a tax deduction and sell the other on eBay to those users unfortunate enough to live in a country where the second XO is not tax-deductible.