Negroponte unveils the new OLPC XO2
By Susan Wilson
Remember the $100 OLPC laptop that wasn’t? Well, now the second version is allegedly going to cost $75. XO2 looks less like the XO than the Asus eeePC. It looks like an ebook reader and is projected to be available in 2010.
The new design is not an attempt to cash in on the ebook revolution that has been sparked by the Amazon Kindle, but rather to create something much more complex and simple at the same time.
Negroponte stated that this new form factor would create a multi-user, multi-purpose device. The new XO will be a dual touch screen device that can be used as a laptop (one side becomes a keyboard), an ebook reader, and an electronic board.
This new type of device can be used in the classroom by several children at the same time, hence the electronic board feature. The XO2 provides more options in the classroom since it is multifunctional without requiring multiple parts. Teachers can load hundreds of books on the new XO2, have children surf the web and type papers, as well, as use the device as a group activity.
Since it is essentially a foldable ebook reader with two touch screens, it is much lighter than the original XO and is expected to be more energy efficient as well.
It is currently unclear if the new ebook/laptop will be operating with a Windows or Linux OS. Either way, the system should sell better than the first XO
If the cost remains $75, OLPC may have created a winner on several fronts. Since most ebook readers cost between $150 and $500, the two for one program that OLPC ran with the original XO could easily sell out. Selling 1 million of these new XO2s would happen in very little time.
This great and noble idea has spawned a laptop/ebook reader that will be cheaper and more versatile than any other laptop or ebook reader currently found.
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