It was nearly one year back when One Laptop Per Child started to parade a tablet that was specially designed to deliver low-cost touchscreen computing capability to folks worldwide, with students as their main target. The idea of the XO-3 tablet was simple – price it low enough, so much so that if it were to retail for $100 a pop, and you should not find yourself short of customers who are eager and willing to learn. Unfortunately, it seems as though plans for an XO-3 tablet has been shelved, but according to Network World, some of the technology from the prototypes could eventually make their way to future products, regardless of whether it is from the OLPC group or from other tablet manufacturers.
The XO-3 prototype originally carried a 1GHz ARM-based processor, an 8-inch Pixel Qi display at 1024 x 768 resolution, and a rugged rubber back – after all, you can never quite tell just what that mischievous kids are up to with a tablet in hand. Word has it that OLPC is still working on an XO-4 device, which is more or less a variant on the current XO laptops. Expect it to carry characteristics like a rugged chassis, a low power display and processor, with a shipping date estimated sometime in 2013.
Filed in . Read more about Olpc.