OLPC tablet to have dual-mode screen, run Android, be at CES 2011


The One Laptop Per Child program’s leader, Nicholas Negroponte, showed off some renderings of the XO-3 tablet, and announced several new details at an MIT Media Lab event. The occasion for the presentation was a partnership with Marvell, whose extremely low-cost Moby tablet design surfaced a few months ago. They’re working with Marvell (and Pixel Qi, reportedly) to produce this new tablet, which they are hoping will cost only $75.

The tablet will show at CES 2011, but it won’t be final, said Negroponte: the main difficulty is getting the construction to be all-plastic, and by the start of 2011 they will likely still have to rely on a glass screen. He said it would use an ARM processor and run Android at first, although the final product will probably feature their own custom OS. The first prototypes we’ll see will be more Moby-like and less XO-like, so don’t get your hopes up about those renders.