$100 Laptop debuts at $399 in North America

Well, it’s not as bad as it sounds. At the moment the “$100 laptop” from One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) costs $200. By paying $400 (available only from Nov 12 to Nov 26), North Americans will get one, but also subsidize one for a 3rd world country. Because it’s a form of donation, the $200 are tax-deductible, according to Walter Bender, OLPC president of software and content.

The goal is to make the OLPC computer cheaper ASAP. The thing is: it is quite possible to build a cheap PC, running off-the-shelves software like the Asus Eee PC (although it might be more expensive than initially thougth). The OLPC is also painfully slow and lacks software.

Laptop Magazine has a review.