OLPC's Future
With rising competition and higher laptop costs than planned, OLPC still
has some work to do before it can be considered viable. Two countries
have placed orders through their governments, and others are planning on
doing so, even though some countries have abandoned OLPC for other
alternatives. TO make up for the smaller orders, OLPC is also using
donations to help send laptops to developing countries. OLPC is also
planning on expanding its audience. For 2008, they have planned to
create an OLPC America for the underprivileged in the U.S.
Participating Countries
Some countries have withdrawn from ordering laptops from OLPC, others have remained involved. And some countries are waiting to become involved.
Uruguay was the first country to order the OLPC laptops, leading Negroponte to comment about the discrepancy between making deals with countries to sell XO laptops and actually selling the laptops. After trouble getting an initial order from the originally interested countries, the 100,000 machine order was the starting point of implementation of the vision of the project.
In October of 2007, Peru was ready to be the second purchaser of OLPC laptops when President Alan Garcia Perez announced a [plan][peru] to purchase 40,000 XO laptops and 250,000 more in 2008. As of December 2007, Peru ordered 260,000 laptops and in Mexico, Carlos Slim, a Mexican billionaire who is also an old friend of Negroponte, has ordered 50,000 laptops for Mexican schoolchildren.
In the United States, Alabama bought 15,000 laptops for its schoolchildren during the "Give One Get One" drive. Mongolia received 10,000 machines from the Give One Get One program. Haiti, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Cambodia are each expected to receiving 1000 machines from the Give One Get One program as well.
Lost to the Competition
Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan originally planned on buying XO laptops from OLPC, but have signed deals with Intel to buy Classmates instead.
Donations
In addition to taking orders from countries, OLPC allows individuals and groups to donate laptops to developing countries. Individuals can donate laptops, but they cannot choose what country the laptop will go to. With larger donations, usually by companies, the donators can choose to which developping country they want to donate laptops. This is because larger orders will minimize the cost of delivery.
Even with these two additional options for distributing laptops, there were fewer laptops distributed than originally planned because of the smaller orders placed by developing countries. In response to smaller orders than expected, OLPC began the "Give One, Get One" program on November 12, 2007. The "Give One, Get One" program allowed Americans to buy 2 XO laptops for $399, keeping one laptop and donating the other to a child in a developing country. The program was expected to end after 2 weeks, but positive feedback prompted OLPC to extend the program until December 31, 2007. During this time, 162,000 laptops were donated, raising $35 million. Although there are no plans to reinstate the "Give One, Get One" in the U.S., OLPC is considering implementing similar programs in other countries.
OLPC is also exploring other options to help bring the "one laptop per child" goal to reality. They are currently trying to get developed countries to donate lapotops to developing countries. Specifically, Italy and Spain are being considered for such donations.
For the Future
According to Negroponte,the Give One, Get One project was both successful and
not. It was a great success because there are 162,000 XO laptops gaining
support for the project in the U.S. However, he still would like to see more
sold. In order to make the project viable, Negroponte says they will need to
sell about three million devices. The program also aims to
lower the production cost of the laptop to the original target of $100.
OLPC America is expected to launch and begin distributing laptops in the US beginning in 2008. The U.S. was not part of the original focus of OLPC because other countries had a greater need than the U.S. In the U.S., $10,000 is spent per child per year for primary education and many people can afford to buy laptops for their children. OLPC America is being launched in part to help the children in need in America. However, OLPC America also gives the program the possibilty of creating a critical mass and gives the children in the U.S. the chance to expand their horizons by communicate with children in developing nations.