Negroponte’s new $75 e-book
I blogged earlier about my encounter with the original green version of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) computer at a House of Lords event addressed by Nicholas Negroponte. Initially Negroponte set a target of selling 100 million machines by 2008, but so far OLPC has only sold about 600,000 machines.
In an announcement today, details have been given on the new version of the XO laptop designed for schoolchildren in developing countries created by the OLPC project. It looks like an e-book and has had its price slashed to $75 per device. The first XO2 machines should be ready to deliver to children in 2010.
At the MIT launch event, Nicholas Negroponte announced the resumption of the Get-One-Give-One programme to allow people in wealthy nations to buy two XO laptops and donate one to a child in a developing country.The programme will be open to people in North America and Europe and start in August or September.