The problem with these kind of articles and releases is that for most people, $9 vs $100 isn't that big of a difference... At least in the U.S. and other first-world countries where an initiative kid can earn either in a relatively short period of time, and most parents could gift it to them if not.

As others have and will point out, it isn't just $9, there's the need for another system to be able to read documentation, and work on while doing projects on said $9 computer... there's also the peripheral costs, kb, mouse, monitor which would likely run it up to close to $100 anyway.

I think the issue is sparking ideas and interest in younger people... most are more interested in writing phone/tablet apps than they are in touch with tinkering. There's a reason that Radio Shack had to shift gears, and in turn died off...

Don't get me wrong, the availability of cheap computers with decent i/o pins is really nice, and for anyone interested in integrating electronics and software, there's never been a better time... But having yet another <$100 option really isn't going to spur extra tinkering at this point... And getting exposure into schools is particularly difficult given that most people with the skills to actually work and teach for these things are likely employed at a much higher salary than they'd get in a K-8 role (at least 2-3x).