Remember when xkcd predicted that the Kindle was in reality a disguised Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy? This is why. What the world needs is easy access to information, not necessarily easy access to computing. The lack of this flow of information is what is keeping the divide going for so long.
A Kindle, or a cheaper gadget based on the first generation of the e-ink technology with a 3G chip in it would do wonders to help the developing world. It would use very little power and can be built to be sturdy while keeping the price really low. I am sure that some creative accountant/tax lawyer can figure out a way for Amazon to burn out through whatever excess inventory they have, send it to a developing country for free and pocket a very nice tax break, which would beat whatever loss Amazon would take from liquidating the old inventory.
You could probably make a crank model that would power it for quite a while too. I'm having a hard time finding fault with this idea, but I'm working on it.
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