Bargain or baloney? Medison Celebrity, the US$150 “laptop for everyone”

A brand-new laptop PC for $150 including a 1.5GHz Intel Celeron processor, 14” screen, 256MB of RAM, wireless connectivity and a Fedora Linux operating system pre-installed. If you think it sounds to good to be true, you’re not the only one – and its 6-week lead time on deliveries means the Medison Celebrity has almost 2 months in which to make blind sales before the first orders actually hit buyers’ doorsteps and we can find out whether the company delivers what it promises. Still, if it’s true, this has to go down as one of the most amazing pricing offers of recent times, and if positive customer reviews start coming in, you’ll have to get in line behind us!

Medison calls it “the laptop for everyone” – and at a frankly ridiculous price of $150, the Celebrity is certainly affordable enough to make that claim. The basic but functional setup looks like a very workable system – and at that jaw-dropping price, would be an absolute no-brainer.

The website, however, and the somewhat dubious Swedish company behind it, are yet to gain the confidence of many would-be buyers. The company history states that Medison is 11 years old, and all its previous work is in the internet, media and education fields – no mention is made of any prior manufacturing efforts.

How are they making such cheap laptops then? Let’s consult the FAQ: “We see this from a democratic point of view where we believe everyone should be able to afford to have a laptop. The other reason is that we have our own plants where we assemble our laptops.”

They’ve certainly got my attention, but I’ll personally be waiting until I hear from somebody who’s actually seen one before my credit card comes out.