The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organization has announced it is already hard at work on the development of a successor to its XO laptop, which is currently providing many impoverished students in developing countries with their first direct access to computing technology.
“Based on feedback from governments, educators and, most important, from the children themselves, we are aggressively working to lower the cost, power and size of the XO laptop so that it is more affordable and usable by the world’s poorest children,” said OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte.
Focusing Media Attention
Since the XO’s launch in November 2007, approximately 600,000 units have shipped at an average price of $188 each, Negroponte noted. “The delivery of the first-generation XO laptop has sparked tremendous global interest in the project and provided valuable input on how to make the XO laptop an even better learning tool moving forward.”
OLPC is committed to achieving an XO-2 target price of $75 when the next-generation device launches in 2010. To make the device far more affordable for purchase by developing nations, the organization says it will be employing the latest developments in display and processor technologies, together with new software empowered by the Linux operating system.
Gartner Research Vice President Leslie Fiering notes that the latest OLPC announcement is representative of Negroponte’s usual modus operandi — to create as much media attention as possible, and then let the details sort themselves out over time. “Negroponte originally was talking about a $100 laptop, and this quickly went to $200,” Fiering recalled. On the other hand, “he has been relentless in making the right deals to keep the price down, so I am sure he will be able to get some innovative things done.”
Delivering an E-Book Experience
The XO-2 laptop is expected to be about the same size as a…