400 Maker Makes #9 in UK Laptop Sales (in less than 1 yr): ELONEX

Elonex went from zero to No. 9 in consumer laptop sales in the UK last year.

These things, the 400-MHz MIPS mini-laptops, can sell, and Elonex has the sales figures to prove it.

The current version is the Elonex ONEt. To read more, check this out.

Elonex ONEt (popular in Europe) for Just 99 Pounds ($143) ... Coby Netbook Has Model No., Trademark

Maplin Electronics in the UK has the Elonex ONEt, a refurbished one, that is, for 99 pounds, for Web order only, at http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=228796 . This is a limited-time offer, while supplies last. The refurbs come with a 3-month warranty. Heck, if they last that long, they most likely will last as long a new one.

On another 400-MHz MIPS mini-laptop (Alpha-400 lookalike), the proposed netbook from Coby Electronics has both a trademark and a model number, NBPC892. For more, see: http://www.alpha-400.com/2009/01/what-does-coby-netbook-look-like-black.html .

What's the Big Deal About a "Crayola" or "Hello Kitty" Version of the MIPS 400 / ALPHA 400?

This Sakar mini-laptop appears to be another clone of the Alpha 400 / Razorbook 400 / HiVision MiniNote / Elonex ONEt / Maplin.

It is called the "Sakar MiniBook," or PC-01017, or possibly the "Limited Too" (no wisecracks about the latter, please).  

The Big Deal is this: It could take the MIPS-400 platform mainstream. Take a look at the partial list of stores the company, Sakar International, sells to.


No one has taken ANY computer to all of these places, or anything close to that. In fact, no one has taken any computer to the mass-retail market. Sakar could become the most widely distributed computer in the US.

If Sakar doesn't do it, someone else will, probably this year. The significance to the computer, information-technology, and electronics industries is earthshaking.

Really cheap computers -- when made widely available -- will be the biggest thing since the initial sale of the IBM PC in 1981.

Sakar, a new 400-MHz MIPS--From the Crayola and Hello Kitty people ...

This is what I have been hoping for -- a proliferation of brands, with fanciful names, in new markets, for the lowest cost computers, the 400s. Now Sakar has come on board, with a mini-laptop said to resemble the Razorbook 400. Sakar is basically a licensing company that buys rights to well known brands like the above and puts them on cameras, MP3 players, and other consumer electronics for kids -- and now computers.

"Sell No Computer Above This Price"

Sakar claims it will sell no computer for more than $299. This is good, but, c'mon people -- the Alpha 400 already sells for over a hundred dollars less, $130 less to be exact. Why pay more?

What'll it be? The Hello Kitty 400?

The "Hello Kitty 400" has an about-8-inch screen and a keyboard somewhat larger than a Razorbook's. It has built-in Wi-Fi. No doubt it hails from Shenzhen China (see previous articles in this blog).

Still this is a good sign that we are headed for sub-$100 notebooks on bubblepack cards at Walgreens and your local independent dollar stores. The path will be: a profusion of brands of similar, but ever cheaper and smaller, computers in more and more markets. This one was spotted at the Toy Fair 2009. For more details and a video, check this.

Best Prices on the ALPHA-400, Around $170

Two California companies are offering the Alpha-400 online. Geeks.com sells for $169.95 but is sometimes out of stock. So another alternative is Star Surplus. Click below for details from each.

GEEKS.COM http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=ALPHA-400&cm_mmc=GoogleProducts-_-Laptops/Notebooks-_-MIPSPowered-_-ALPHA-400&utm_source=GoogleProducts&utm_medium=ShoppingSites&utm_campaign=ALPHA-400

STAR SURPLUS http://www.starsurplus.com/viewitem.lasso?i=ALPHA-400

Alpha 400 MIPS 400MHz 128MB 1GB 7'' Linux: Cheapest Laptop on the Planet

This blog: The "China 400" mini laptops (Alpha 400, HiVision MiniNote, Razorbook 400, Elonex ONEt, etc.) -- the cheapest laptops -- rule! We'll keep'ya posted with tech details, cheapest deals, where to buy, and offbeat places where China 400s are sold.

Alpha-400s are not netbooks (that's just an Intel gotcha word), not notebooks, not full-size laptops.

They lead the race to the bottom, in price, these 400-MHz miniature laptops from China -- therefore, they rule. It's a whole new platform, the China 400 / Alpha 400, and there will be dozens of brands besides Alpha 400 and hundreds of models eventually. All other "netbooks"/notebooks /laptops of whatever size will come down in price as a result.

We'll present all of the technical details here, along with the progress of the Alpha-400 in leading the race to the bottom in the price wars. Above is what one looks like inside.

For now, 400 MHz with an XBurst Chinese MIPS processor running Linux defines the world's cheapest TRUE computers. They can do about all that most people want: access the web by phone line or Wi-Fi, email, write notes and letters, view video, read almost all documents found online, run a printer or other equipment (and much more). For more, Google mini-laptop 400 .

The Linux eperience is superior to the Windows experience for most people.

Cheapest Deal Today: The cheapest version of the China 400 platform is the Alpha 400, available at geeks.com for under $170 .

Latest News on China 400s:

Offbeat places to buy a computer: Marks & Spencer department stores in the UK -- in the fashion department . The China 400 on sale there is the UK's own Elonex, which got its start in schools. Remember how Apple got its foothold in the US? Elonex has sold over 200,000 to schools, not much less than the Asus EEE sold in the US in its first year.

¿Hablas Linux?

Do you speak Linux? All the world does. The Cuban government is pushing the use of the Cuban Linux OS, called "Nova," and expects "that in five years our country will have more than 50 percent migrated (to Linux)." One has to wonder How many other countries will adopt this policy and reach 50-percent Linux usage? See the entire article at: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE51A77S20090211

Apart from security concerns, free software better suits Cuba's worldview: "The free-software movement is closer to the ideology of the Cuban people, above all for the independence and sovereignty."

I feel same way about software. Paying for software seems like a ripoff and, well, undemocratic, like paying for air and water.

That is why I started this blog. We have been ripped off too long by US software companies, mere publishers charging us thousands of dollars over a period of years, and by US computer makers who are not makers of anything except profits. I was so incensed that -- would you believe it? -- I almost bought one of the DOS computers shown. That was before I found out about the HiVision MiniNote, 3K's Razorbook 400, and the Belco/Bestlink Alpha-400.

The computer in the photo is still available from California Digital (interesting site, BTW) for $159. It conforms to my guidelines -- Small-Cheap-Easy -- but it runs only DOS. At this stage, I am not much interested in building things and programming things, just using them, however; so the 400s are what I am looking for in a "cheapest" computer. These things, the Fujitsu Poquet PC Plus computers, originally cost over $2000, and the technology is well worth a look. For example, the Poquet truly is instant-on, more so than any of the 400s. Also, it runs off 2 AA batteries for weeks. And it's great for hacking and experimenting. The whole California Digital site is well worth a look.