From TechRadar · · 1m 30s
Dell let kids build their own laptops
At a Miyazaki workshop, children assembled real Dell laptops, learned repair basics, and took the machines home.
In brief
At a Miyazaki workshop, children assembled real Dell laptops, learned repair basics, and took the machines home. Dell used a hands-on laptop build to make PCs feel understandable, repairable, and still personal in the age of AI servers. Originally reported by TechRadar.
Kids built real PCs
Seven children in Miyazaki spent a Saturday assembling working Windows 11 laptops from trays of parts, then powered them on and took them home.
Nine parts, 23 screws
Each group built a 14-inch Dell 14 laptop with an Intel Core 5 120U, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
Not a free workshop
Entry cost 113,275 yen, about $730. That price included the finished laptop and one year of on-site service.
Repair was the lesson
Dell framed the class around knowing what is inside a PC and understanding that broken machines can often be fixed.
“If they break down, they can be fixed.”
Mascot, tour, origin story
The children toured the office, heard how Dell began in 1984 with Michael Dell's $1,000 investment, and watched Miyazaki mascot Hii-kun dance.
AI got a warning label
The session included a short AI lesson: it can help, it can make mistakes, and it should not receive more personal information than needed.
The quiz sealed it
University interns followed with a ten-question true-or-false quiz about Dell, Intel, and PCs, turning the hardware lesson into a game.
Marketing with a point
Dell also showed press how to replace a USB-C module on an XPS laptop, linking the kids' class to its wider repairability message.
The big picture
Dell used a hands-on laptop build to make PCs feel understandable, repairable, and still personal in the age of AI servers.
