Google Inc began selling basic laptop computers to schools at a price of $99.
The Internet giant said on Monday that it will be offering the steep educational discount on Series 5 Chromebooks from Samsung Electronics Co through Dec. 21. They typically retail for $249.
Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child Foundation failed to meet his ambitious target, which critics said would be impossible to meet when he set it. His XO laptop currently sell for about $200.
Still, he is widely credited with helping to launch the era of low-cost portable computing.
The creation of relatively low-cost laptops from his foundation pressured industry giants including Intel Corp , Microsoft Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc to develop inexpensive versions of their products such as the netbook.