One Laptop Per Child and chip-maker Marvell are showing off the new XO 3.0 tablet at CES this week. The tablet has a 1024 x 768 pixel display and a 1 GHz Marvel ARMADA PXA618 processor, 512MB of memory, and can be configured with a standard LCD display or a Pixel Qi screen which is visible in direct sunlight.
But you probably won’t be able to buy one anytime soon. The tablet is aimed at students in developing nations and OLPC says that if governments or other institutions order enough units and choose the least expensive configurations, the tablets could cost as little as $100 each.
If you wanted to buy one for yourself, it would cost much, much more — and OLPC currently has no plans to run another GOGO (give one, get one) promotion like the group did with the XO Laptop a few years ago.
That said, the technology involved in the little tablet is pretty nice. The device features a rugged design, a textured easy-to-grip back cover, and can run Google Android or OLPC’s Sugar OS Linux-based software. It may also be possible to charge the tablets using nothing but hand cranks or solar panels.