OLPC changing the line up for the new year

olpc-logoThe mission of the folks over at OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) is simple.  They want every child in developing countries to have a laptop, to help broaden and continue their education.

To achieve this goal requires producing and distributing innovative laptops that have wireless connectivity, low power consumption, have educational software, and robust designs. Another feature is relatively low manufacturing cost, which is why a lot of mainstream manufacturers tend to stay way.

According to Businesswire, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) has announced its product road map, which features 3 new laptops. The XO 1.5, XO 1.75 and XO 3.0 will be released in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively.

From the article:

The new versions of the XO laptop will be as follows:

  • XO 1.5 The XO 1.5 is the same industrial design as the XO 1.0. Based on a VIA processor (replacing AMD), it will provide 2x the speed, 4x DRAM memory and 4x FLASH memory. It will run both the Linux and Windows operating systems. XO 1.5 will be available in January 2010 at about $200 per unit. The actual price floats in accordance with spot markets, particularly for those of DRAM and FLASH.
  • XO 1.75 The XO 1.75, to be available in early 2011, will be essentially the same industrial design but rubber-bumpered on the outside and in the inside will be an 8.9”, touch-sensitive display. The XO 1.75 will be based on an ARM processor from Marvell that will enable 2x the speed at 1/4 the power and is targeted at $150 or less. This ARM-based system will complement the x86-based XO 1.5, which will remain in production, giving deployments a choice of processor platform.”
  • XO 3.0 The XO 3.0 is a totally different approach, to be available in 2012 and at a target price well below $100. It will feature a new design using a single sheet of flexible plastic and will be unbreakable and without holes in it. The XO 3.0 will leapfrog the previously announced (May 2008) XO 2.0, a two-page approach that will not be continued. The inner workings of 3.0 will come from the more modest 1.75.

The new lineup of OLPC laptops will allow for better educational tools and thereby, better learning for the children who receive them.

If you need a last minute Christmas gift, why not donate to the OLPC project and make a difference in a child’s life?  It’s a worthy goal to improve a child’s education and make them a better person.

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