New, affordable PC.

Quanta Computer, the Taiwanese company manufacturing the low-cost laptop to be distributed to children in the developing world under the non-profit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) scheme, has confirmed it will also develop an ultra low-cost PC for as little as $200. Michael Wang, president of Quanta has said that the PC would have a small screen and use open-source, or non-proprietary software, to keep costs down.

Thanks to the work that Quanta has already done on the OLPC project, the company has a lead on its global competitors, many of whom are racing to develop computers for low-income countries. Interestingly, Wang says that he does not envisage that the new PC will be sold only in the developing world. "There are a lot of poor people in developed countries, too," he commented. One analyst was reported as saying the new machine could signal a 10% growth in global PC sales that currently stand at 250m units a year.