Hot on the heels of Raspberry Pi that launched officially earlier in the year, a second manufacturer is about to enter the ‘extreme low budget’ PC market. APC have developed a computer that has been built using a popular VIA microchip. Running at 800Mhz the micro-computer will retail at $49 and works using Google’s popular ‘Android’ operating system, found in many new smart phones and tablets. The team at APC have created a special version of android to make it compatible with a keyboard and mouse – much more common in a home PC than a touch screen.

Because the micro PC has a built in Internet Browser, it is instantly compatible with cloud based services like our own E>nable Learning Management System, which makes it the perfect budget device for e-learning. Offices and schools around the world will be able to take advantage of the light machine and because it is designed using low power components, it’s cheap to run, using as little as 4 watts when idle (switched on but not doing anything) and a staggeringly low 13.5 watts when fully loaded (i.e. the processor is being pushed to its limit).

The APC is estimated to be shipping as soon as July 2012 and you can register your interest in the device at the APC website.