OLPC scrap dual-display XO-2; single-sheet “model 3.0 slate” in works

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on 11.03.09
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OLPC chairman Nicholas Negroponte has revealed that the twin-display OLPC XO-2 2.0 project has been scrapped, in favor of an updated – but cosmetically identical – revamp of the existing 1.0 XO-1 model and a new, model 3.0 that has “totally different industrial design, more like a sheet of paper”. Speaking to Xconomy, the outspoken exec also sought to redefine the initial, well-publicized aim of “the $100 laptop” in terms of total cost of ownership: $1 per child per week to buy, maintain and connect the machine.

OLPC XO 2 2

More OLPC model 3.0 details after the cut

“Not much to say [about the OLPC model 3.0] other than its aspirational aspects: 3.0 is a single sheet, completely plastic and unbreakable, waterproof, 1/4″ thick, full color, reflective and transmissive, no bezel, no holes. 1W. $75, ready in 2012″ Nicholas Negroponte, chairman, OLPC

Whereas the model 2.0 was to have dual touchscreens and a form-factor that could be used either as a traditional laptop or as an ebook, the new model 3.0 will have a more straightforward single-sheet design. In fact it sounds a little like Plastic Logic’s ebook reader, only using a reflective/transmissive display – likely courtesy of Pixel Qi – and requiring just 1W of power.

In the meantime, the current XO-1 will see an update, with the existing processor switched out for an ARM chip. Eventually there will be a no-cost connectivity option too, though Negroponte says that has been the slowest element of the package to get up and running. He claims to have shipped 1.1m XO-1 units, with a manufacturing backlog of 400,000-700,000.

[via Slashdot]

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