November 3, 2007
WalMart to Offer $199 Desktop PC
WalMart wll be offering a dirt cheap desktop PC. Add a monitor and you are ready to go. One of the cheapest I am aware of. It runs on a VIA 1.5ghz processor, 512mb ram, CD/DVD-RW and a new linux OS called gOS.
Dog, this is a blog about WiMax, wireless, why this? Well for a couple of reasons, but the biggest is, again, Google. What!? How so? Well consider the PC being offered is lower middle of the road as far as processing power and storage goes. Even using Linux as the OS the unit will still be a bit stodgy on performance. The other factor is of course WalMart is going to offer linux to THEIR customer base? They are not the uber technorati.
So enter a new design. The OS is linux but a new distribution called gOS. Its biggest selling point is the OS is already linked to the Google online apps — Docs, Spreadsheet, gMail, Reader, etc via Google Toolbar. Setup the account initially, click an icon and your online application is served. The whole arrangement is inked with Google’s blessing. Interview with the OS developer is here.
Yes I am getting to the punchline. Remember I suggested that Google’s game plan was domination? Ubiquitous Presence? Well here is just another leg of it in the PC arena. Google inks a deal with Everex and gOS. The OS has Google Toolbar on it. Everex sells to WalMart at a market busting price. WalMart won’t sell hundreds, they will sell multiple thousands of these puppies. Google’s presence on the PC preinstalled, Google presence on the upcoming gPhone, Google presence on PDA’s. A WalMart customer base hooked on Google network applications that require no maintenance. Google’s viral approach to getting it’s presence anywhere it can is at work. It’s Eggo’s all over again.
Note to Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun. Yes the network IS the computer, but it will be Google’s network. Sorry.
Filed under OT by Dr. Dog
-->
Comments on WalMart to Offer $199 Desktop PC »
What’s most interesting is what’s missing - no in every Wal Mart - 1 in 10, and no Microsoft tax on every unit. Me thinks the Bentonville gang is going to see how quickly they sell before they make a decision to sell in all stores. Doing so is certain to unleash the wrath of the Ballmer.
Very true. But if anybody can stare down Redmond it is WalMart. What a lot of people forget is that WalMart for all it’s ribbing about the bouncing smiley face is the number 4 retailer of PC’s. Big deal I am sure, but keep in mind that they are #2 in game titles. I don’t think M$ will want to see Halo3 pulled from WalMart’s shelves. That would tend to carry some clout with he who spits and screams.
It’s going to be interesting to watch what happens with this offering. I know I can’t buy the components for less than this is being offered assembled. Damn tempted to buy one and turn it into a media pc. I also ran across an article that Everex is planning a laptop around the same concept for
Agreed. I am just “channeling” Steve Ballmer. He’s trying to decide whom he should try to sue first for using or selling Linux that has not yet signed a contract (and paid). Walmart may decide to go a ahead and chance it if these things sell quickly enough.
Sorry but It’s Sold Out… | @ 8:28 pm
[...] Remember this on the $199 PC by Everex? Well guess what — WalMart sold out of them on their website. 2 weeks folks, they sold out in 2 weeks. We never said this PC would be an uber gaming machine but for Ma Frickert it’s what she needs. Presence on the net, apps on the net, Linux for stability. About as maintenance free as one can get without burning it all on a FPGA. [...]
Will Linux and net based apps take over the low end computer market? | @ 8:48 am
[...] December 10, 2007Will Linux and net based apps take over the low end computer market? With the cost of Microsoft OS’s now consuming over 1/3 of the cost of low end desktop PC’s I believe that the light at the end of the MS-OS tunnel may be the headlight of an oncoming train driven by a penguin. As reported here earlier by our Dr Dog on its sell out release and its return, the single most enabling component in making WalMart’s highly successful $199 PC cost only $199 is a free linux based operating system that is hot wired to access web based apps. Combined with what is increasingly available low cost broadband, it’s an MS killer. Opinion — Sometimes, several unrelated changes come to a head at the same time, with a result no one could have predicted. The PC market is at such a tipping point right now and the result will be millions of Linux-powered PCs in users’ hands. [...]