Intel is one of the most powerful and significant players in the PC industry. Its products drive much of modern computing and this gives it a huge voice when standards, prices and future directions are determined.

So it was galling that the tech giant was not contributing to the $100 Laptop initiative of the One Laptop Per Child group (www.laptop.org).

The non-profit organization is run by a consortium of vendors and researchers who want to make an inexpensive and rugged laptop available in developing counties. The laptop, called the XO, has built-in mesh networking and its battery can be recharged using human muscle power.

Companies behind XO include AMD, Google, News Corp. and Red Hat. They believe that once three million orders come in, the per-unit cost will drop from the current US$175 to about US$100.

So it was disappointing that Intel chose not to participate in the initiative and instead offered a competitive product, the US$225 Classmate PC (www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/classmatepc). Intel has signed deals in countries including Pakistan, Nigeria and Brazil.

While the Classmate is fine in and of itself, the price tag is too high and, by splitting the market, Intel was delaying the cost reductions that would follow mass-market sales.

So it is good news that Intel has decided to jump on the XO bandwagon. It looks like the Classmate product line will continue but the needier countries of the world may certainly benefit from Intel’s brainpower.

Peter Wolchak