$100 laptop production gets underway

Following a number of delays, the One Laptop per Child Foundation's (OLPC) much-awaited XO laptop for children in developing countries has finally gone into mass production. This week, Taiwan's Quanta Computer started producing the computer in its Changshu manufacturing centre.

This means children in developing nations could have the open source laptops this month. The OLPC has already received orders from Uruguay and Mongolia. Residents in Canada and the US participating in the Give 1 Get 1 programme - which donates an XO to a child in a developing nation for every machine sold online - are expected to start receiving laptops in December.

Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of the OLPC, said: "Today represents an important milestone in the evolution of the One Laptop per Child project. Against all the naysayers, and thanks to great partners such as Quanta, we have developed and now manufactured the world's most advanced and greenest laptop and one designed specifically to instil a passion for learning in children."

Quanta Computer has recently increased its manufacturing capacity and said XO production will increase over time.

The XO laptop, while generally heralded for its good intentions and potential impact, has hit a number of obstacles on the road to adoption. In addition to production delays, the price point, originally set for $100, has crept up closer to $200.

Leslie Katz writes for CNET News.com