Medison
Encyclopedia
Medison is a Swedish consulting company registered in the U.K. In July 2007, Medison caused massive attention world-wide as it announced its Medison Celebrity notebook computer
which it will be selling for just $150. However, critics suspect it to be a fraud and orders have yet to be delivered. As of September 2007, Medison's account at 2CheckOut had been suspended.
processor
at 1.5 GHz, 256MB of DDR333/400 RAM
, a 40GB hard drive, VIA
PN800 integrated graphics
, a CD/DVD Combo drive
and 802.11g wireless networking
. It will ship with the open-source Fedora Linux
distribution and an unspecified office application suite
.
The first orders would begin shipping in August 2007, according to Medison CEO Valdi Ivancic. They never did. On July 27, 2007, Medison reported that its e-mail system had failed due to heavy traffic, and stated that the company offers a full refund for undelivered orders.
On September 12, 2Checkout.com, the company that handles payments for Medison, announced that it would begin refunding customers for undelivered orders. On September 20, Medison's account had been suspended until further notice.
. Tele2 representative Thomas Ekman said his company had not purchased any space on the website. Robert Klanjack, Scandinavian CEO of Medison, had no comments when asked by Swedish financial site E24
, stating only that Medison will explain itself in an upcoming press event. At the press conference held in Stockholm, Sweden on August 1, 2007, at which the computer was shown to Swedish press, the manufacturer and serial number information had been removed from the case, to further add to the belief that it may be vaporware
. Ivancic asserted that the computer will be available and that most of the revenues will be generated from advertisements on the Medison website and not the sales of Medison Celebrity itself.
Support will, according to Ivancic, be handled by electronics service company InfoCare, however InfoCare representative Anna Rosander claims there is no such agreement as of yet.
To further add to the suspicions, Ivancic claims to have taken part in the design process of IKEA
furniture, and be responsible for the color schemes of the first Apple iMacs
. Ivancic also announced that he will be running for the prime minister post of Sweden at the next election.
On August 9, 2007, Medison issued a press release, stating that it will no longer talk to media. According to the press release, negative media attention regarding the controversial Medison Celebrity has been harmful to company relations. It also stated that it will deliver the product as promised, which as of September 2007 it has not.
On September 10, 2007, Medison CEO Valdi Ivancic issued another press release, dismissing recent criticism in media as lies. In addition, the Medison website had been taken down only days before. The company stated this was a temporary technical error, however a representative from its web hotel Manufrog claimed the account had been misconfigured and later suspended, as reported by a blogger. Ivancic dismissed all accusations of the company being a fraud, and speculations of the website downtime being Medison's escape with early buyers' money. Due to great demand, the company has experienced logistical problems, but will deliver the Medison Celebrity, according to Ivancic. The press release encouraged Medison customers not to believe in media speculations, stating that Medison is a serious company with intentions to deliver.
However, on September 13, 2007, 2CheckOut announced that customers would be refunded within 7–10 days. According to 2CheckOut, customers that still wanted the computer would have to place a new order.
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
which it will be selling for just $150. However, critics suspect it to be a fraud and orders have yet to be delivered. As of September 2007, Medison's account at 2CheckOut had been suspended.
Medison Celebrity
The announced computer sports a 14-inch (35.5 cm) WXGA screen, an Intel CeleronCeleron
Celeron is a brand name given by Intel Corp. to a number of different x86 computer microprocessor models targeted at budget personal computers....
processor
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
at 1.5 GHz, 256MB of DDR333/400 RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
, a 40GB hard drive, VIA
VIA Technologies
VIA Technologies is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory, and is part of the Formosa Plastics Group. It is the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets...
PN800 integrated graphics
Video card
A video card, Graphics Card, or Graphics adapter is an expansion card which generates output images to a display. Most video cards offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors...
, a CD/DVD Combo drive
Combo Drive
A Combo drive is a type of optical drive that combines CD-R/CD-RW recording capability with the ability to read DVD media. The term is used almost exclusively by Apple Inc. as a name for the low-end substitute for their high-end SuperDrive, which was designed to both read and write DVD and DVD...
and 802.11g wireless networking
Wireless LAN
A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
. It will ship with the open-source Fedora Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
distribution and an unspecified office application suite
Office suite
In computing, an office suite, sometimes called an office software suite or productivity suite is a collection of programs intended to be used by knowledge workers...
.
The first orders would begin shipping in August 2007, according to Medison CEO Valdi Ivancic. They never did. On July 27, 2007, Medison reported that its e-mail system had failed due to heavy traffic, and stated that the company offers a full refund for undelivered orders.
On September 12, 2Checkout.com, the company that handles payments for Medison, announced that it would begin refunding customers for undelivered orders. On September 20, Medison's account had been suspended until further notice.
Criticism
The low price of the Medison Celebrity has raised concerns that the computer may be a fraud. In addition, the physical appearance of the hardware is reported to be identical with a product from Taiwanese manufacturer Clevo. On the Medison website, the copyright disclaimer is identical to that of computer manufacturer Apple Inc.. Also, the site initially contained an unauthorized advertisement from Swedish telecom operator Tele2Tele2
Tele2 AB is a major European telecommunications operator, with about 34 million customers in 11 countries. It serves as a fixed-line telephone operator, cable television provider, mobile phone operator and Internet service provider.- Overview :...
. Tele2 representative Thomas Ekman said his company had not purchased any space on the website. Robert Klanjack, Scandinavian CEO of Medison, had no comments when asked by Swedish financial site E24
E24 Näringsliv
E24 Näringsliv is a Swedish online business newspaper based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was previously named Näringsliv24 , but changed to E24 in 2006. It started as N24 on 4 October 2005, and is owned by Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet...
, stating only that Medison will explain itself in an upcoming press event. At the press conference held in Stockholm, Sweden on August 1, 2007, at which the computer was shown to Swedish press, the manufacturer and serial number information had been removed from the case, to further add to the belief that it may be vaporware
Vaporware
Vaporware is a term in the computer industry that describes a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is never actually released nor officially canceled. Vaporware is also a term sometimes used to describe events that are announced or predicted,...
. Ivancic asserted that the computer will be available and that most of the revenues will be generated from advertisements on the Medison website and not the sales of Medison Celebrity itself.
Support will, according to Ivancic, be handled by electronics service company InfoCare, however InfoCare representative Anna Rosander claims there is no such agreement as of yet.
To further add to the suspicions, Ivancic claims to have taken part in the design process of IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
furniture, and be responsible for the color schemes of the first Apple iMacs
IMac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....
. Ivancic also announced that he will be running for the prime minister post of Sweden at the next election.
On August 9, 2007, Medison issued a press release, stating that it will no longer talk to media. According to the press release, negative media attention regarding the controversial Medison Celebrity has been harmful to company relations. It also stated that it will deliver the product as promised, which as of September 2007 it has not.
On September 10, 2007, Medison CEO Valdi Ivancic issued another press release, dismissing recent criticism in media as lies. In addition, the Medison website had been taken down only days before. The company stated this was a temporary technical error, however a representative from its web hotel Manufrog claimed the account had been misconfigured and later suspended, as reported by a blogger. Ivancic dismissed all accusations of the company being a fraud, and speculations of the website downtime being Medison's escape with early buyers' money. Due to great demand, the company has experienced logistical problems, but will deliver the Medison Celebrity, according to Ivancic. The press release encouraged Medison customers not to believe in media speculations, stating that Medison is a serious company with intentions to deliver.
However, on September 13, 2007, 2CheckOut announced that customers would be refunded within 7–10 days. According to 2CheckOut, customers that still wanted the computer would have to place a new order.