IT Week's Sideways view

Good Week
The One Laptop Per Child project was an unexpected winner in the surprisingly buoyant Christmas retail market. On eBay, buyers snapped up a rare batch of the XO laptops and were willing to pay significantly over the odds for the pleasure. Originally conceived as the “$100 laptop”, the XO’s real cost is closer to $200 but buyers on the auction site paid anything between $250 and $600 to get their hands on the innovative systems that use mesh networks, lithium-iron-phosphorus batteries and LED-backlit screens. Is this just plain-old desire to be the first on the block with the new thing, and maybe even turn a profit on the deal, or proof that charity is alive and well in the festive season? You decide.

Bad Week
Makers of full-priced, full-scale laptops are about to get squeezed, it would appear. Last week, it emerged that Asus will follow up its Eee PC with a second-generation product, probably featuring a larger screen and WiMax, due to go on show at the CES conference that kicks off today in Las Vegas. CES will also show off E-Lead’s Noahpad that can convert into a tablet format. And of course, we’re all waiting to hear more about Apple’s subnotebook plans, maybe including Flash storage, when Macworld starts next week. Large screens, fast wireless, solid-state drives… at this rate, the A4 notebook looks a bit unwieldy.

Word of the Week
Foleo. Palm never did get around to shipping its famous laptop-as-extension-to-smartphone device, but take a look at Celio’s new Redfly Mobile Companion to see that somebody else thinks the concept has legs.

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