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A $100 Midget PC at the local dollar store? Not so fast

arstechnica.com — One of the hot items of the last few days has been Coby Electronics supposed plan to enter the netbook market with the Midget PC—supposedly a smaller netbook with a Chinese CPU inside. but there are some serious holes in the story. There is a company interested in bringing a Chinese-powered notebook to market—but it isn't Coby.

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 5, 2008

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  • RudeTurnip, on 12/05/2008, -0/+23Right...because when I think of quality, I think of Coby!
  • asgardshill, on 12/05/2008, -0/+14I'm half-expecting to see a free netbook in my next box of corn flakes.
  • spritom, on 12/05/2008, -1/+15I thought we couldn't use the M-word anymore and used "dwarf" instead.
  • freehunter, on 12/05/2008, -0/+14Hey, it's 20F here in Michigan, and my Prescott Space Heater keeps me quite toasty.
  • inactive, on 12/05/2008, -1/+14i hope they wont compromise with the quality
  • daengbo, on 12/05/2008, -0/+7Goldstar later changed its name to LG. You might know the Korean company since they've sold 97 billion USD and 47 of that overseas. http://www.lg.net/about/overview.jsp
  • sturmgiest, on 12/05/2008, -3/+9chinese processor? is that a joke?
  • robdiggity, on 12/05/2008, -0/+6"A $100 Midget PC at the local dollar store?"

    Read that sentence again.
  • theplop, on 12/05/2008, -0/+6Shall i sum it up for you all?

    FTA:
    "Rubin contacted Coby Electronics himself, and was told by the company's PR representatives that "this story, or any announcement regarding a netbook, was not (emphasis theirs) initiated, condoned, or approved by Coby Electronics." The story itself was dismissed as erroneous. "

    "I call shenanigans on Coby's so-called "Midget PC." The timing is wrong, the price is too low, and the idea that folks are gonna pop out to the dollar store to buy themselves a new PC is ridiculous."
  • BluBerryGTI, on 12/05/2008, -1/+7haha they are really going to call it midget thats kinda messed up...
  • hokie47, on 12/05/2008, -0/+5I thought they liked to be called little people. Man they are hard to please now days. I remember when they were happy to work at the circus and perhaps a Willy Wonka movie. Oh how have times have changed.
  • banthis, on 12/05/2008, -0/+5and they are at the right height for the average men.
  • hokie47, on 12/05/2008, -0/+5It's still better than the P4
  • ncc74656m, on 12/05/2008, -0/+5Good, cause Coby makes pure trash anyway.
  • cdigioia, on 12/05/2008, -0/+5CPUs are made there already...why not have one designed there as well? Odds are it's not the best (they don't *yet* have a very developed local industry in designing such things in thier entirety), but at a low enough of a price it could be awesome.

    A $100-ish netbook with a lightweight version of Linux sounds pretty cool to me.
  • ninjaskimo, on 12/05/2008, -0/+5Oompa Loompa doompadee doo..
  • inactive, on 12/05/2008, -0/+5midget hookers $2 ea/
  • cdigioia, on 12/05/2008, -2/+6Midget = small but normal proportioning

    Dwarf = small with abnormal proportioning.

    So...depends on the case. Though I think it'd be more polite to side with midget when referring to anyone .
  • breckinshire, on 12/05/2008, -0/+4Hell of a basketball player, though.
  • monospaced, on 12/05/2008, -0/+4Wal-Mart will start selling iPhones, why not sell other small computers?
  • aspec, on 12/05/2008, -0/+4It's just a little lead. No big deal.
  • freezerburn666, on 12/05/2008, -0/+4a fine cheese too
  • jbmcb, on 12/05/2008, -0/+4I know a Sorny when I see one. And that's a Magnetbox, and a Pansonic...

    I just hope it comes with a nice plastic case to prevent fall-apart.
  • Aboriginee, on 12/05/2008, -0/+3well, people shop at walmart for them now... the dollar store isn't that far off.... this story sounds crazy though

    the hell with it, let's just open the flood gates and let the chinese sell whatever they want here, might as well
  • daengbo, on 12/05/2008, -0/+3The chip is Loongson. It's MIPS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loongson
    This is probably the REAL laptop: http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9413803799.html
  • reddikilowatt, on 12/05/2008, -0/+3I could see it. There are quite a few Colby DVD players out there, most of them bought at places like dollar stores and pharmacies. In fact, that would be a real sign that the PC has reached another milestone. When they become so cheap as to be available anywhere.

    Remember the $29.99 Goldstar VHS players?
  • FI5HERMAN, on 12/05/2008, -1/+4China the super power now in more ways than one !!!
  • tgc1, on 12/05/2008, -0/+3Toys and Prizes only come with the sugar laden cereals. I've rarely, if ever, seen Corn Flakes come with anything other than Corn Flakes.
  • ncc74656m, on 12/05/2008, -1/+4I just want you all to know that this is exactly why I love Digg.
  • cdigioia, on 12/05/2008, -1/+4Not according to Merriam Webster, which I trust more than UK Youtube boyo.

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/midget

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dwarf

    + the results of most Google searches, if you doubt Merriam Webster.
  • castletech, on 12/05/2008, -0/+2This PC is not PC.
  • lisaawesome, on 12/05/2008, -0/+2Coby might make the cheapest electronics known to man but my 12 dollar Coby DVD player still works after 4 years. I can't say I expected it to last this long.
  • depro9, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1little people pc you un pc mofos.
  • duggmeister, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1Does it have a Manchurian Chip in it?
  • tjr88, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1nothing funny about that.
  • oboshoe, on 12/05/2008, -1/+2AHRUPF!

    Its not midget PC. Its "Little people" PC
  • freehunter, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1Wait, do dwarves grant wishes? Ah, well there goes the phone in the bathroom.
  • BaoUnit, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1Damn, I first thought of $100 midgets - stock up for the holidays!
  • BenBenMan, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1I see what they did there
  • Myonosken, on 12/05/2008, -2/+3Other way around boyo.

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3BpONxW8F58
  • WesSabi, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1The battery in the Coby portable DVD player that my wife won would only hold a 10 minute charge. Still, that's better than I expected.
  • stellamaris, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1Family Dollar and Dollar General are not real dollar stores - things are generally a dollar. The only true dollar store is Dollar Tree, and even then you have tax except in Delaware.
  • bjs3171, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1a 100 dollar Chinese-made laptop? Why would I wanna buy a new laptop every month?
  • qwertycopter, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1So, as our security chief, I wanted you to be aware.
    But his little friend promised he wouldn't say it in front of the children, which is fine. Because, you know, there is an adult world and a child's world, and that's okay. I'm no censor.
    "Little friend"?
    Yes, he happens to be a dwarf. Or midget. I don't know what he's called exactly. But, uh, he's a little guy. Little Billy Barty. God rest. But thin fingers. Not the fat sausage fingers.

    RIP John Ritter
  • john2kx, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1I had a Coby DVD player that lasted about a week, so I wouldn't expect a more complex device from them to last much longer.
  • adkenc, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1i hate acronyms.
  • asgardshill, on 12/05/2008, -0/+1I've got the market cornered on insect parts and rat turds though. Let's see your fancy-schmancy Cocoa Bears or Diabetic Shockz do THAT! ;)
  • tmcdigg, on 12/08/2008, -0/+1Will it have the big "C" inside.. (China)?
    On a serious designing note.. it can't JUST be a laptop.. put a GPS, Media Player, Soft Phone (Wifi-N, VOIP) functionality which does NOT need the O/S to load for these functions to work! Then, they may have a leg to stand on.. companies are already saturating the market with cheap netbooks.. so something that is just another sub-laptop midget notebook, netbook, whatever won't make it in the US market.

    Yes, China wants to try and innovate and find products we fools will buy, but they need to listen to where the market wants to go and not just put out crap. Netbooks are grab & go internet devices.. hence the name. If you want another market expand off the PMP/PDA standalone functions & build a netbook around that, but with excellent battery life. We want to be able to use "functions" without booting an o/s!

    You may want to approach one of the PMP companies such as Archos, Cowon, Creative, Sandisk and see if they are interested in making a multi-function mini computer with their expertise in what they do best as a value added component.
  • inactive, on 12/06/2008, -0/+1I have a chinese made and designed lcd tv thats lasted 2 years and going strong. It was also a bargain and is also true 1080 HD with inbuilt HD tuner.

  • tekhubco, on 12/05/2008, -0/+0Will the Midget have Widgets?
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