The Android OLPC

I SAW MY FIRST OLPC a few years ago during Reboot and have to say I like the form factor and cost in the vision of the newest version. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was scorned for being underpowered and costing double of its initial pricing goals. And the teachers who tried to use it in the field had other issues. Notably, it didn't have a method for non-Latin characters to be input. It was also made of plastic and had moving parts that would often break in rugged environments. All sorts of character sets are available on the prototyped new device because its keyboard will be virtual and be able to adapt to different languages. This is just like my small Android phone behaves. The new OLPC XO-3 is also specified to have a few features that appeal to me, starting with the camera. It appears the XO-3 has at least one, and maybe two, video cameras. The device comes with Wi-Fi antennas, multi-touch screens and enough power to play HD video. And unlike the iPad, the XO-3 can accept bog-standard plug-and-play (PNP) peripherals such as mice and keyboards. Sure, you can get the iPhone's Touch OS to accept the Apple-vetted keyboard docks and Bluetooth Keyboards, but not at the same price points as the after-market PNP commodity devices. However, all these features are just pre-spec. Lots can go wrong from the vision to the final product.

OLPC Boo

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Seth Weintrab -- "One Laptop Per Child is now a $75 Android tablet" in Fortune, 27 May 2010.

Marie Boran -- "OLPC Unveils XO3 Concept Tablet PC" in Silicon Republic, 23 December 2009.

Direct link to audio: http://www.insideview.ie/files/olpc_boo.mp3

Bonus Link: Other things I saw during Reboot 9.

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