As for the $40 version with keyboard and screen, you can beat that price on Amazon.[1] There are several tablets under $40 now, and by $50 or so, they're not that bad. That's what those low-cost SOIC chips are made for, after all.
The tablet/phone industry is desperately trying to prop computer prices up. The industry would like a price point around $500 for tablets. But it's not working.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Android-Allwinner-Cameras-Capacitive-S...
It does not fix clean water, immunisation or physical security I know - but sub 20usd computers are a boon to the next two generations. Probably more so than our kids generations unable to reach past the retina display.
http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=3040
Western "open source" pales in comparison to the hacker communities in Asia.
EDIT: To be clear... CHIP is a very cool effort. But the headline is entirely too sensationalist; it is not the "world's first $9 computer."
Windows phone is better in this category. Cheap and packed with features but not rootable. I really wish if someone could jailbreak Windows Phones. Christ, for the specs, the price of those Lumia's could get ridiculously low. Quad-core cpu, 5mp camera, IPS Touchscreen/GPS/Bluetooth/NFC/Proximity sensor etc in a compact size with backup battery and micro sd support for somewhere between $35-$50? [1][2]. Aghh never understood why these manufactures are too keen on locking down their phone. Wouldn't they get a bigger sales by opening them up?
[1]http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-Nokia-Lumia-530-Prepaid-S...
[2]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/boost-mobile-microsoft-lumia-635...
At these prices, they aren't making any money on the phone - perhaps even subsidizing it. So they might get bigger sales, but they won't be making more money (or even losing more). Keep in mind that the old .com adage "We're losing on every sale, but we're making up for it in volume" is not the way to success.
Also note that the models you linked to are vendor locked. This almost surely means vendor subsidized as well - if you find the unlocked version of the same phone, it will likely be $30-$50 more.
The Chip has a 1 GHz CPU and 1/2 GiB RAM. The Gonkai has 8 MiB RAM...
Apples are way better than oranges!
> After the Kickstarter their computer will sell for 39$.
[0] https://olimex.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/how-to-get-in-the-ne...