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Shane McGlaun23 December 2009, 8:00 AM
OLPC promises another dirt cheap computer it likely can't deliver on.
The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project started with a lofty goal of creating a laptop that could sell for $US100. That price point never materialized and today the OLPC has shifted gears a bit from the traditional notebook style device it was working on originally to a new design for the
XO 3.0 laptop.
The last XO iteration we saw was
version 2.0 in May of 2008. The machine was a concept that looked more like an eReader than a notebook. The OLPC today has unveiled a new XO 3.0 design that is set to be available in 2012 at a price well below $113 ($US100). The new laptop design uses a single sheet of flexible plastic and will be unbreakable.
The design seems a bit out there in all honesty and the chances of the OLPC hitting its price target with its existing track record is slim. The two page approach of the 2.0 version has been dropped. Exactly what hardware will find its way into the device is unknown, but it will be low power to come close to the price point the OLPC is aiming for.