Introducing Nettop Ng Bayan 2.0

nettopNettop ng Bayan 2.0 was in the technology news the past two (2) days and I find it appropriate to blog on the subject if only to take note of its effect on the Internet café industry in the country. Nettop Ng Bayan 2.0 is the new low-cost desktop that Intel Philippines  and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) unveiled the other day as a continuation of a previous project by the CICT and Intel called the “PC Ng Bayan.”  The project is aimed at providing affordable personal computer to the public in order to raise the computer and Internet penetration among Filipino families.

The new Nettop Ng Bayan 2.0 CPU assembly is encased in a regular  desktop casing with an Intel Atom N270 chip (single core, 1,600 MHz frequency, 533 MHz FSB), 80 Gigabyte hard disk, and 1 Gb of memory.  It comes with a 15″ wide screen LCD monitor at the recommended retail price of PhP10,800. The amount does not include an operating system (OS) nor any application software. The unit, if installed with an appropriate OS and application software, provides enough processing power for internet-related activities and office productivity.

CICT and Intel are confident that the latest version of the low-cost desktop will generate interest among budget-conscious consumers. CICT chairman Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua said the Nettop Ng Bayan integrates well to his agency’s programs to provide internet access to the people. One of the main programs of the CICT is the Community E-Center (CEC), which are Internet café-like facilities targeted at localities with low computer and Internet presence.

How will Nettop Ng Bayan 2.0 affect the struggling Internet café industry in the country? Will the low-cost PC become affordable to the people and take away some more customers from the Internet café’s already dwindling patronage due to oversupply in many areas? Many Internet café owners will say that because the Nettop Ng Bayan 2.0 cannot be used for the many current PC games, it will not have any effect on their income. Let’s hope it will be so, the industry cannot afford more blows to its already sub-par income earning capability.

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