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OLPC: Touchscreen XO-2 in Q1 of 2010—and Amazon to handle Give One Get One program in late ’08
September 4, 2008 | 7:34 am
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By David Rothman
The exact due date of the XO-2, successor to the XO-1 of One Laptop Per Child, is the first quarter of 2010. Costs is to be around $80, at least for mass buyers.
Meanwhile I’m glad to see an OLPC official telling the IDG News Service: “The e-book reader is the most popular function of the laptop.”
Now—if only software priorities can reflect this and OLPC can do a kid-friendly version of FBReader or the equivalent.
Give One Get One program to resume in November in the U.S.
The other big news is that the Give One Get One program will resume this November through the end of December in the U.S., and that Amazon will handle it.
Um, interesting possibilities here. Might Amazon be aiming to be a future supplier of content or even hardware for OLPC? Just asking. If so, that’s one more reason for Amazon to care about e-book standards and to think about business models that don’t use DRM. Given the size of the potential market, there are some commercial possibilities here, not just philanthropic ones.
Future customers, not just G1G1 beneficiaries?
As India and China shows, developing countries can end up with huge middle-classes even if the majority of the people remain poor. The children of today’s cash-strapped villagers just may end up prosperous enough to be steady buyers of both books and gizmos to read them with.
One big question: How internationalizedl program will Give One Get One be this time around? G1G1 will happen in the States. But what about elsewhere? I’d hope that a company like Amazon would have the resources for it truly to be global.
Related: OLPC News post on Amazon and G1G1.
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Comments:
I have a hard time believing very many people are going to want to take advantage of G1G1 this time around. Since the XO first hit the scene, a number of competitors in the form factor have sprung up, such as the Eee PC—most of them more suited to adult use.
Now, if they’re able to bring out that dual-screened thing in 2010 and do a G1G1 of it—I’d pay $160, or maybe even $200, for something like that. (Though I am highly skeptical they will be able to hit that $80 price point, given how “well” they did at hitting the $100 one with the XO.)
“Might Amazon be aiming to be a future supplier of content or even hardware for OLPC?”
Given the distribution difficulties G1G1 experienced last time I think it is more likely a case of taking advantage of amazon’s superb logistical infrastructure.
OTOH it could just be one more step by amazon in achieving Bezos’ quest of world domination.
I’m sure there will be plenty of demand for the G1G1 program. Remember, for the price of one Eee PC one is getting for themselves one of the neatest pieces of kit of the last few years AND making a charitable contribution of same.
It is apparently now possible to “sugarize” FBReader on the XO-1.
http://olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=2418.msg19963#msg19963
I first came across this in the Sugar FLOSS manual
http://en.flossmanuals.net/Sugar/RunningLiuxApplications
Sugarlabs still seems to equate books with PDF though.