Wal-Mart unveils cut-price laptop under 500 dollars

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2004

NEW YORK (AFP) — The world's biggest retailer Wal-Mart is offering price-conscious US consumers the cheapest laptop on the market, priced at just 498 dollars, in a move described by some analysts as a "significant milestone."

The Balance notebook, armed with a 41.1 inch LCD screen, a 1.0 GHz processor and 128 MB RAM of memory, comes equipped with the Linux-based operating system Linspire.

It hits the shelves loaded with a Microsoft-file compatible office suite and users can access the Internet with both a dial-up modem and broadband connections.

Its price tag undercuts rival laptops on the market by several hundred dollars, with others offering starting prices around 700 dollars.

The result of a joint initiative between Wal-Mart and Linspire, Inc., a...