Login:
Password:
Lost Password?
Print this article  |  E-mail this article  |  Comment on this article

$498 Laptop Coming to Wal-Mart

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

December 20, 2004, 4:25 PM

Wal-Mart introduced a USD $498 notebook computer Monday, the first factory-new laptop to break the sub-$500 price barrier. The company approached San Diego-based Linspire earlier this year to build a low-price laptop that would be competitive, yet inexpensive enough for Wal-Mart's normally bargain-minded customers. It will run Linspire OS, which is based on the Linux operating system.

The notebook comes with a 1.0GHz processor, 128MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, two USB 2.0 ports, and a 14.1" LCD screen. OpenOffice.org is also included, which is an alternative office suite that is compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

Linspire says the laptop is intended for use as a second or third computer, and that users should find the operating system easy to use as the features and software are patterned after Windows.

As a bonus to Wal-Mart customers, Linspire has included a 3-month subscription to the CNR Warehouse with the system. Buyers will have free access to the company's file library which includes over 1,900 programs. After the subscription ends, customers will have the choice of paying $4.95 USD per month or $49.95 USD a year if they wish to continue the service.

The laptop is available for purchase on Wal-Mart's Web site. No announcement has been made on whether or not Wal-Mart intends to sell the laptop in its stores.

Add a Comment (28 Comments)

BetaNews reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Foul language and personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Name (required):

E-mail (required):

Enter Your Comment:

By shallybaby01@yahoo.com

edited May 22, 2006 - 10:24 AM

Dear seller, My name is mrs shade

janet from US. I will like to know

the cost of this item of yours

which i saw on auction page. I want

the items urgently but i want 3

pieces of this items and i want you

to send the total price of the item

including the shipping cost to west

africa, you can let me know the

real cost as I am willing to do

this fast due to the urgency. I

need to send this item to my

company branch in west africa

within the next 1 week. I will make

my payments by (BANK

TRANSFER)payment which as I was

told is reliable and

secured........... To ship the

package i will require UPS. For the

payment, I will only need your,name

and full bank details so that i can

make the payment to your bank

account.Reply me back to my e mail

address(shallybaby01@yahoo.com).

Thanks

Score: 0

By _byte

posted Dec 22, 2004 - 1:30 AM

The level of arrogance shown in these posts is absolutely astounding.

One would think that people who are as "highly educated" as everyone here would be just a bit more mature about the opinions and viewpoints they discussed. Rather than argue based on technical merits alone, and bringing a brand new (read: NOT bought on ebay) laptop to the table for comparison purposes, people boo and hiss at the price of the processor or the fact that it is sold at Wal-mart.

Regardless of whether the processor cost $10, or $1000, it happens to be a relatively capable processor for the kinds of tasks this product is being aimed at. Besides, I'd like to see any one of you take that processor, or any others for that matter, design a laptop from scratch around it, have it be competitive with this same laptop, cost the same amount of money, and make even a miniscule profit off of it. Laptops are so very highly integrated that it is very expensive to develop and produce even the least expensive ones available. This is the main reason there is no "home-brew" market like there is for a desktop.

Also, just because it is sold at Wal-mart or costs $500 does NOT mean it is automatically terrible. Whatever chip on your shoulder you may have about Wal-mart, the world does not care to hear about it. Been there, done that, don't need to go there all over again.

Saying that the laptop is for "the dummies who the book for which will follow" is only a reflection on how little you yourself really know. For each of you who think that way there are easily 10 more intelligent people who could say the exact same thing about YOU. (Think about that)

Wal-mart has a good idea going. By offering this laptop at this price they can accomplish a few different different things (all of which one would figure "computer geeks" would be cheering about instead of turning into a lynch mob):

1. Wider exposure of Linux as a desktop environment
2. Wider computer usage as a whole (which is always a good thing for computer geeks)
3. Possibility of laptop prices overall coming down a little bit more in the near future.

Sure the memory can be upgraded, but this is geared toward Linux, which is already known for functioning very well on less ram than windows. I myself would definately consider getting one of these for use as a workhorse for day-to-day tasks, this is what is was meant for. And I also know several people that this would be perfect for as well.

People are entitled to their opinions, but at least bring some common sense with you. If you like it, then great, what are your reasons for liking it? If you don't like it, then still say so and back it up with mature reasons. Most of all, for both sides of the discussion, leave the childish insults back in the 3rd grade please, they only serve to discredit those who use them.

Score: 0

By sjc001

posted Dec 22, 2004 - 7:15 PM

You must realize that this laptop is costing American jobs because it is being manufactured in China, or some such, where the labor is paid next to nothing and thus they can undercut others in an unfair way.

Score: 0

By readski

posted Dec 22, 2004 - 6:57 AM

I never claimed to be THE expert and have always felt that there were 1000's of people who new more than me but you validated a couple of MY points...

wider computer usuage is a good thing for computer geeks (The Dummies book, the repair techs, etc)

laptop prices coming down ... (This is Walmart's NICHE)

I can't wait for the Walmart Health care clinics! The low price Dr.

If you believe the world is better off when everything is low price then so be it. We are our the enemy and will destroy ourselves.

Score: 0

By sjc001

posted Dec 22, 2004 - 7:16 PM

You already have Wal-Mart health care, they're called HMOs.

Score: 0

By _byte

posted Dec 22, 2004 - 3:52 PM

"laptop prices coming down ... (This is Walmart's NICHE)"

Way to take the cooment out of context of the sentence. You forgot to add the word I said in front of it: POSSIBILITY. The major computer companies will have one of two reactions to this new offering. They will either see some threat of some kind (unlikely) and react in their fashion. Or, (most likely) they will yawn and ignore it. If you really believe Wal-mart to be a niche market, then why are you crying bloody murder over this?

"wider computer usuage is a good thing for computer geeks (The Dummies book, the repair techs, etc)"

Well, again not exactly my context, way to twist things to attempt to make a point. Oh, by the way, you forgot a few professions in there: Software Engineers, Web Developers, Network Engineers, etc. EVERYONE in the computer industry benefits from wider computer usage. People have to start somewhere and one of the biggest barriers to entry here is the high price of products. No one said the people who bought this would never buy anything again. The next time they buy a piece of computer equipment, they most likely will gravitate toward bigger and more complicated equipment.

"If you believe the world is better off when everything is low price then so be it."

Just because it is a low price does not mean the item is crap, on the same note, just because it is a high price does not mean the item is good.

"We are our the enemy and will destroy ourselves."

No real news here, we have been doing that for a looooong time.

Score: 0

By bleh427

posted Dec 22, 2004 - 5:15 AM

"Also, just because it is sold at Wal-mart or costs $500 does NOT mean it is automatically terrible. Whatever chip on your shoulder you may have about Wal-mart, the world does not care to hear about it. Been there, done that, don't need to go there all over again."

Wow so you speak for the world now. Better luck next time. Walmart is on a race to the bottom. Quantity over quality, low wage labor

Just think, now you can buy your milk, your cowboy hat, your plowing supplies, and your computer all at the same store. Too bad its costing everyone.

Score: 0

By _byte

posted Dec 22, 2004 - 4:12 PM

"Wow so you speak for the world now. Better luck next time. Walmart is on a race to the bottom. Quantity over quality, low wage labor"

Well, I will agree with you on the first 2 sentences, I am sorry, I worded it the wrong way. For the second 2 sentences, pretty much the only company I can think of who isn't on a race to the bottom is Apple, whos products are pretty, nicely built, and very expensive.

Now I'm going to go do something constructive with my time, like take my new $500 laptop, remove the logic board, add some ram and turn it into an embedded media server for my car so my kids can watch movies on a trip or I can use a USB GPS to navigate....

Score: 0

By bleh427

posted Dec 25, 2004 - 11:44 AM

All I am saying is that people need more awareness to make an informed decision. People seem to think that Walmart is the greatest thing to happen to America, just because their products cost less. But Walmart cuts costs in _big ways_ to bring those low prices to market. Looking at the trend people won't realize it till its too late. You know, just like people put their life savings in HSBC, a Chinese bank. You have to have some forsight to see that choices you make even when shopping collectively plays a big role for your country and the people around you. I try to have some social consciousness when I shop, this is my preference. Im not going to force that on anyone, but getting that knowledge out a good thing in my view.

Also, if you dont think this is an issue of quantity over quality then how come the thing is running 128MB of ram with Lindows. Its not because Walmart has a love affair with Linux its because you cant reasonably run XP on 128mb of ram and its cheaper to go open source for them. Walmart got where they are by sacrificing the american worker to poor wages, now they have the assets to force cheap products down our throat. Have fun with the laptop.

Score: 0

By colblip

edited Dec 21, 2004 - 9:17 AM

Previous post not valid comment - desktop vs. laptop.Sorry.

Score: 0

By colblip

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 9:15 AM

A LOT more for the money in this one.

HP Pavilion a850e Desktop $549.99 + Free Shipping New Coupon
# The HP Pavilion a850e Series Desktop comes with AMD Athlon 3000+ processor, 160GB hard drive, 256MB memory, 48x CD-ROM and more. Click through and choose the following to get this deal: Customize
# Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2
# 256 MB DDR / PC3200 (1 DIMM)
# 48X Max. CD-ROM Drive
# none - under Secondary CD/DVD Drive
# 2 USB 2.0, 1 Firewire ports + WinDVD
# Integrated SIS Mirage2 Graphics
# Integrated 5.1 Capable Sound w/ front audio ports

Score: 0

By alister

edited Dec 21, 2004 - 9:45 AM

That is not a good altenative. A cannot take a desktop around with me now can I duh ....... the light must be burnt out.

Score: 0

By ktron

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 3:45 AM

Is there a website for the balance laptop besides walmart to check on other specs?

Score: 0

By carmad

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 1:01 AM

Sure this won't do for high end graphics, video editing or games- and a used ebay laptop or a big rebate deal is a much better value if the seller actually sends it to you / or if you get the rebates. But, throw XP on it and this will do almost anything a student or grandparent would need. And many users would be happy with Linspire or another Linux. A few years back, even all the techies used 1ghz or lower machines to do office and web work- everyone survived back then- more ram would help for running some stuff, but with a little patience this could be very functional.

Score: 0

By Pipewrench

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 11:24 PM

This laptop is not even a deal.

You can get a better Pentium 3 Laptop used off of ebay. What is going to happen is people will buy it because it's cheap and then be like "Why won't this Linux stuff do what I want? I hate this thing." And then they'll get their friend who knows computers to reload it with Windows 98 or Windows 2000 and it will run just "OK".

The case looks almost identical to the case that DELL used about 4-5 years ago on Pentium 200MMX laptops.

I'm not trying to bash this thing either. I just know that people would be much happier with say a Pentium III 833MHz Laptop with like 384MB RAM and a 20GB Drive. You can get that off of ebay for around the same price.

My $.02 :)

Score: 0

By readski

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 4:43 AM

Walmart has a niche for LOW price shoppers (not computer savy people).Would anyone who reads Betanews actually buy a computer at Walmart? This would be a laptop for dummies and the book that will come out soon.

Score: 0

By interspectrum

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 7:40 PM

Please people, try to think beyond your parents front door or your dorm room! There are millions of computer users out in the "real" world that don't drool over the next mega 3d game for id software or valve. This computer would be great for several of my users in a business world. Right now, some of our sales force are lugging around notebooks that are far more powerfull then they need for the applications that we run. Most of our sales support apps are web based and run on the server. They only need a computer with a web browser to run. Why would I want to spend $1500.00 on a notebook, when this $500 one has everything those users need?

Score: 0

By marcos_cu

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 10:17 AM

c'mon, gimme a break: "VIA C3 processor 1.0 GHz" ... this CPU sells for 10$ (yes TEN) bucks, and 7$ for S&H... so, do you expect any other performance then running cold stone!?? "Right"... what is right? to pay 500$ for a machine with a 10$ CPU!??

Better add another 50$ and get the Athlon mobile + Windows XP home if you're really into this crap...

just my 2 cents...

Score: 0

By DigitalSin

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 5:27 PM

That laptop is really crappy. You'd be better off spending the $500 on a nice PDA. If grandpa wants a simple computer to do stuff on, there are more powerful $500 desktops.

Score: 0

By RaveN-FH-

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 6:00 PM

seriously ... that is pretty funny.

"1.0GHz processor, 128MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, two USB 2.0 ports, and a 14.1" LCD screen. OpenOffice.org is also included, which is an alternative office suite that is compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files."

with the amount of crap in the above quote they should pay you to use it.

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 7:53 PM

This contains linux, not windows, 1.0 GHZ is perfect, I would only request more ram and bigger LCD screen. Sure the bigger the hard drive the better, same with processor and ram. We're talkin $500 for a laptop! If you want a better laptop, then get one, I'm sure this lap top costs $300-$400 just to manufacture.

I myself have bought a better laptop, and then put linux on it, but I am a power user, I'm sure you are too.

PS, Open Source users, check out this game http://super-tux.sourceforge.net

Score: 0

By TheRecklessWanderer

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 9:17 PM

Walmart normally uses a 50% markup, so expect the cost of the unit to be $250 or so. Maybe they are making an exception in this case.

My business partner was in China a while ago looking for an LCD for a mobile Digital Video Recorder we are manufacturing. Anyway, what he found was that there were LCDs that had been taken out of the big video game machines and cut down and used in the LCD screens. They were called remanufactured. I'm not saying that is what this company is doing, but it's sure a way to get a cheap LCD, and keep the costs of things down.

Score: 0

By eoswald

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 9:13 PM

Well guys,
If any of you have an extra $500 to throw down, and get this laptop, I would be interested in hearing whether anybody was successful in installing Windows on it.

Score: 0

By DJOmegaRush

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 10:20 AM

I've been watching beta news for a while now, over a couple of years. I love the site. Never joined till now. I just wanted to say I find it kind of funny with all the M$ bashing going on people still want to take a Linux system and put Windows on it just to be difficult. I think the more exposure the masses have to Linux, the better.

Score: 0

By LostProphet

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 10:43 AM

If you want power and stable linux/unix. if you want some stable and easy to use windows.

I run 2 mail servers. linux and windows Adv server. linux been up for over 460 days w/o issues, windows box must rest every 4 months or so.

Score: 0

By spiffyjeff

posted Dec 20, 2004 - 9:55 PM

yeah, that would be interesting
:-)

Score: 0

By Tenoq

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 6:31 PM

Seriously guys - there's a place for everything. Sure, I'd never be caught dead with this thing, but my mother would find it more than adequate. Web browsing, a bit of office work: it's a great price. Just think 'Dell' and you're on the right mark as for the market they're aiming at (well, at least here in Aus).

Score: 0

By blackcherry

posted Dec 21, 2004 - 9:19 PM

this is stupid. i wouldn't even pay 50 bucks for it. yes, im being dead serious.

Score: 0

Nov 21 - 6:51 PM ET Coalition urges better laws for e-mail and cell phone privacy

Nov 21 - 6:42 PM ET How is Internet advertising faring in this bad economy?

Nov 21 - 6:15 PM ET From out of the Amazon Cloud, an AWS winner emerges

Nov 21 - 5:20 PM ET Mufin music finder enters public beta, adds widgets

Nov 21 - 5:01 PM ET Google launches its SearchWiki semantics plug-in

Nov 21 - 4:57 PM ET Asus previews a slimmer, less costly Eee PC

Nov 21 - 4:32 PM ET New Adobe Media Player ushers in AIR 1.5

Nov 21 - 2:11 PM ET AT&T to add Pantech's low-cost C630 phone to 3G lineup

Nov 21 - 1:11 PM ET iPhone gets firmware 2.2 update

Nov 21 - 11:51 AM ET The Dell surprise: Higher earnings on lower revenue