Laptops Arena

Starting today you have the possibility to participate in the new Amazon’s program called OLPC Give 1 Get 1. It consists of buying a brand new XO laptop computer at a low price of just $399 and at the same time, another XO laptop will be sent to a child in a developing country. Practically you can buy two mini laptop computers for just $399, one of which will be donated to someone living in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq or others, totalizing 31 countries.

According to Amazon, which teamed up with the OLPC initiative, it takes pre-orders starting today, while the XO laptops will be shipped in the next 30 days to the US-based customers. Those of you who live in the United Kingdom or other countries will have to wait a little bit longer.

Just to remind you, the XO mini laptop computers are created at a cost of $100 each and the organization managed to ship over 500,000 units by this moment, expecting to reach 1 million by the end of 2008.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
In case you don’t need to buy yourself an XO model, you can just give one or more spending only $199 for each laptop you donate. There are two different webpages where you can order online from: the US version and the one destined to people outside the United States.
Also, Amazon highlighted the fact that all these mini laptop computers will come with the Linux operating system pre-installed instead of Microsoft’s Windows XP.

"The phenomenal success of last year’s Give 1 Get 1 program created tremendous demand from both the public who wanted to give more and from countries that saw an opportunity to attack poverty through education," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of OLPC, in a statement.

The One Laptop per Child, as you already know, is a smart initiative that proved its benefits since the first children from countries in development phase received it. The non-profit organization distributes the XO laptops at extremely low costs but with strong functionalities, so that every child who learns on it to have a rugged and fun mobile computer with access to the wonderful and full of knowledge world of the Internet.

To refresh your memory I will mention the essential elements characterizing this innovative laptop computer. XO measures 242 x 228 x 32 mm at 1.58 Kg with the NiMH battery, and features a 7.5-inch dual mode TFT convertible display with 1200 x 900 resolution, as well as moisture-proof enclosure. It doesn’t use a fan, but it integrates an AMD processor clocked at 433MHz, integrated graphics controller with the Geode CPU, 256MB DRAM memory, 1024 flash ROM, and 1024 MB NAND flash. The sound is provided via AC97-compatible audio audio subsystem, stereo speakers, amplifier and microphone.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
To connect to the Internet wirelessly, XO uses an 802.11b/g interface, while it integrates a color camera of 640 x 480 pixels and 30 frames per second.
Connectivity elements include headphone out, mic out, 3 USBs and flash expansion.
It powers from a NiMH battery or LiFePO4 and has open firmware to load the operating system.

News regarding the OLPC involves Dailymotion, world’s largest independent video sharing site, which announced its partnership with the non-profit organization to deliver educational content to the children using the laptop. Also, the XO users will be able to create and send videos using the video camera integrated in the laptop. Here is an example of a fun way of learning the vocabulary.

“We at Dailymotion truly believe in OLPC’s mission to empower the populations of developing nations with access to educational and technological tools that many of us take for granted,” stated Mark Zaleski, chairman and CEO of Dailymotion. “We are proud to lend our support to this noble and worthwhile project, and look forward to contributing to the brighter future of millions of children around the world.”

“We are delighted to have Dailymotion join the OLPC project,” stated Samuel Klein, director of community content at OLPC. “We are confident that the additional video capabilities that Dailymotion will bring to the XO laptop will serve to further the educational opportunities we can offer to enhance the lives of children around the world.”

In the mean time we can't wait to see the next XO laptop with touchscreen.

One Laptop per Child non-profit organization that provides affordable laptop computers to children in poor countries plans to develop the second version of the famous XO laptop, which will be called XO-2.


"Based on feedback from governments, educators and most important, from the children themselves, we are aggressively working to lower the cost, power and size of the XO laptop so that it is more affordable and useable by the world's poorest children," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of One Laptop per Child.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
"The delivery of the first generation XO laptop has sparked tremendous global interest in the project and provided valuable input on how to make the XO laptop an even better learning tool moving forward."



So what will the next XO laptop bring new? It seems that XO-2 will feature lower power consumption to 1Watt, smaller footprint of up to half-size the currently available XO version, and dual-touch sensitive display designed by designed by Pixel Qi to enhance the e-book experience.
OLPC will release it sometime in 2010.