To cater to the educational needs of children in developing countries, Cherrypal, which is part of Tristate Hong Kong Group Limited, has launched the first-ever $99-priced "small, slow, sufficient" computer - Cherrypal Africa!

Essentially a no-frills, low-power portable "mini-netbook," the Cherrypal Africa has been built with the chief aim of bringing Internet access to the not-so-rich of the developing world.

Featuring a small 7-inch screen, the computer, though not too fast, is good enough for browsing the Internet. Available at Cherrypal's online store, the computer has a 400-MHz processor; 256 MB RAM; 2 GB of NAND flash memory; and it runs either Linux or Windows CE.

Strangely the Cherrypal Africa contains two USB 1.1 ports and one USB 2.0 port, and the connectivity to the computer is supplied by 802.11b/g and 10/100 Ethernet. The computer includes an
86-key keyboard, with a "built-in touch panel," a pair of speakers and a microphone.

Cherrypal, which has offices in Palo Alto, California, and Hong Kong, has named the computer 'Africa' as a tribute to PAAJAF, a humanitarian services group based in Ghana, West-Africa.

The company's founder, Max Seybold, said in a statement: "At Cherrypal, we're extremely conscious of the so-called 'digital divide'. We're constantly looking for ways to bridge that gap, and the Cherrypal Africa is a huge step in the right direction. Plus, everyone who has tried it has absolutely loved it!"