OLPC tablet unveiled, priced at $100

A project seeking to create affordable educational devices for use in the developing world has come up with a rugged tablet for students, UK’s The Register reported from the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US.

 

“We’re proud to introduce the XO 3.0 tablet, showcasing the design, durability and performance features that make it a natural successor for our current laptops,” One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) chief technology officer Ed McNierney.

 

The eight-inch tablet is reported to use a 1-GHz Marvell ARMADA PXA618 processor, 512MB of RAM, and either a 1024x768-resolution LCD or a lower-cost Pixel Qi sunlight-readable display.

 

It can connect to the Internet via an Avastar Wi-Fi system-on-chip and can be powered by a hand cranked or an optional solar cell in the tablet cover, the report said.

 

OLPC also said the tablet could run on Linux or Android operating system and will be sold exclusively to governments and aid organizations.

 

However, The Register noted the group made its hardware available in Western markets in exchange for a donated system.

 

It added the lowest cost tablet is expected to be around $100, although that would rise if Microsoft’s lawyers decide to extract an Android patent tax.  

 

The Register report also said that OLPC is using Marvell processors to power its XO 1.75 laptops, which will begin shipping in March.

 

XO 1.75 laptops are twice as fast as previous models but use half the power, with more than 75,000 units ordered by Uruguay and Nicaragua, the report said.

 

A separate article on tech site Mashable said OLPC’s fully functional tablet is designed to be inexpensive, use little energy and brave extreme weather conditions.

 

Mashable quoted McNierney as saying OLPC’s current laptops have been distributed to more than 2.4 million children in 42 countries and in 25 languages.

 

He said the XO 3.0 “builds on many of the technology breakthroughs we made with the XO 1.75, including the use of the Marvell ARMADA PXA618 processor, resulting in a significant decrease in power consumption — a critical issue for students in the developing world.”

 

OLPC is a non-profit working to bring modern education to children in the developing world. It seeks to get a low-cost, low-power laptop in the hands of every student on Earth. — TJD, GMA News