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Medison reveals more details on $150 laptop
To say the least, Sweden's Medison has attracted a fair bit of skepticism with its promise to release a $150 Linux-based laptop. The company looks to be doing its best to dissuade those naysayers, however, recently meeting with a group of Swedish journalists to make its case. While it apparently "did not exactly strengthen its credibility," according to Computer Sweden, Medison did reveal a few new details, including a promised August 15th delivery date (at least for the first batch of units). The company also said that the laptop will not be its primary source of income, with it instead expecting to make most of its money from advertisements on its website (mainly from accessory-makers and the like). Further adding to intrigue/ridicule surrounding the company, Medison's Valdi Ivancic reportedly also dropped the bomb that he's considering declaring his candidacy for Prime Minister of Sweden. Really.[Thanks, Eric S., photo courtesy of Computer Sweden]
Medison promises money back if it can't deliver... in three months
That $150 Medison Celebrity we glanced a few days back seemed to smell a bit fishy from the get-go, and a recent press release from the firm does a fairly terrible job of assuring us all otherwise. Typically, one's in dire straits if it has to address mass concerns of scamming, and Medison is now blaming the unexpectedly large amount of orders and "tremendous" amount of website hits and support calls for an apparent "shift in the time frame" in which customers will receive their orders. Granted, the company still promises that it will deliver, and now claims that your money will be returned if your machine isn't received in three months. Ah well, it's not like you had better things to do with your cash than let someone else earn interest on it while you fret over ever seeing it (or a laptop in its place) ever again, right?[Thanks, Valdi I.]
Medison Celebrity, $150 of Linux laptop for the people
Apparently you don't need to be a non-profit crazy, or nab few million pre-orders, to sell a laptop for $150 (or maybe you do, see update below). Medison, a Swedish consulting company, has just unveiled its Medison Celebrity laptop, which sports standard hardware, a 14-inch WXGA screen, an optimized Fedora Linux install, and a downright criminal $150 pricetag. Sure, you're not going to be launching Crysis on this thing anytime soon, with a 1.5GHz Celeron processor, 256MB of RAM, and VIA PN800 integrated graphics, but the casual user should find plenty to keep them occupied, and there's room for Windows XP if you want to pony up for a license -- which at retail costs more than the laptop itself. There's 40GB of storage, a CD / DVD combo drive, 802.11g WiFi, and even what looks to be a built-in webcam in the pictures. These'll be shipping in the US and Europe in 4-6 weeks. Oh, and in case it hasn't sunk in yet: $150.Update: The more we look into this one, the more it looks like a scam, with an oh-so-tiny air of believability -- perhaps just wishful thinking. Check out comments for the ongoing investigation, but at the moment we're thinking guilty until proven innocent.[Thanks, Jakob]
