Menglan
SHANGHAI Menglan Group, a Chinese company that invests in textiles and information technology, said Wednesday that it planned to sell a laptop computer for about 1,500 yuan (approx 100 Euros) starting May to tap demand in the nation's rural area.
The computer - called Longmeng, or Dragon Dream - will sell for the equivalent of $187. It weighs about 500 grams, or 1.1 pounds, and uses a Godson II central processing unit developed by the Institute of Computing Technology, Zhang Fuxin, an engineer at the Chinese institute, said in a telephone interview.
Menglan Group, based in the eastern city of Changshu, aims to sell 100,000 of the laptops this year, he said. The Longmeng will be marketed for lower-income groups and students in rural areas, Zhang said.
"We aren't looking to compete with the mainstream PC brands such as Lenovo and Apple as we are in a different class altogether," Zhang said. The laptop uses Linux software and does not support Microsoft's Windows program, he said.
"There are a lot fewer applications that run on Linux, and this may affect the acceptance," said Frank Shi, an analyst at CLSA in Hong Kong. "But price is the key. The growth rate for computers in the low-end market is faster than in the high-end market."
The laptop, which measures 17 centimeters - or 6.7 inches - by 14 centimeters, will have capacity equivalent to a Pentium III desktop PC and can play DVDs, Zhang said.
The computer will not use processors such as those made by Intel or Advanced Micro Devices, Zhang said.
The institute, controlled by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed the first Chinese-made central processing unit, called Godson I, in 2002.
"It's the institute's aim to help domestic companies develop technology and reduce reliance on the likes of foreign chip makers," Zhang said.
It is a clear competitor to our project, and will be sold in the open market. Are they compatible´s with our LAN?
It seems it will sport a DVD reader and some gaming facilities.
