A bid by the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, OLPC, in Cambridge to sell low-cost laptops to Americans has stumbled. Thousands of buyers are still waiting for the $200 computers months after purchasing them.
"I have no confidence that a company that can't find a town in Texas is going to be able to send thousands of laptops to Third World countries," said Marilyn Jones, a 60-year-old retiree in Mason, Texas, who placed two orders under OLPC's Give One Get One program to help the foundation achieve its goal of distributing millions of cheap computers to children in poor countries.
Under the plan, people living in North America paid $400 for two computers - one for themselves, the other to be donated abroad.
In November and December, Jones paid $800 for a total of four computers, including two for her own use. But she said that OLPC employees have acknowledged that neither of her machines has shipped yet. Now Jones has filed for a refund.
Similar stories have appeared on blogs and tech discussion sites across the Internet, the downside of a promotional campaign that was more successful than the foundation expected. Walter Bender, the foundation's president of software and content, said that thousands of purchasers have been affected. "More people ordered laptops than we'd built laptops to date," he said. "We literally don't have them."
Bender said that about 84,000 people ordered laptops under the Give One Get One program, which ran from Nov. 12 to Dec. 31. "I'd say roughly 20 percent of them haven't been delivered yet," he said. The foundation compounded the problem by telling buyers that they'd receive their laptops by Jan. 15. "That was a mistake," Bender said. OLPC is a charity, with no experience in the mail-order business, and its customer service efforts have been "somewhat chaotic," said Bender.
"They should have let people know what was going on from the very beginning," said Jim Kajpust, 54, a telecommunications worker in Freeland, Mich. "Every time I call or e-mail it seems I have to reinvent the wheel with them as far as address or phone number or anything else. . . . I got an e-mail Jan. 28 that said to call and correct my address."
In addition, OLPC placed a higher priority on shipping laptops to poor children, putting affluent American purchasers at the end of the queue. "We're not going to compromise the core mission by not shipping laptops to Mongolia and Haiti," Bender said. In any event, the overseas laptops are customized for particular countries. They have different keyboards and on-screen text fonts that would make them unsuitable for American users.
Bender said the foundation expected to ship 5,000 units to American buyers this week, with the rest to be sent as quickly as possible.
Despite the delivery problems, some purchasers say they're willing to cut the foundation some slack. "There are a few people complaining . . . but they should have a little patience," said Don Jenkins, 38, a teacher in Oak Harbor, Wash., who is still waiting for the laptop he ordered on Dec. 10. "OLPC has done a poor job of responding to complaints and questions," he said, "but understand this is the first time they have done this."
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.
