XO-3 Tablet for Kids - Source: OLPC
Are Tablets Expensive Toys? Not This One
Copyright © 2011-2012 TabletForKids.com. All rights reserved.
Over the last few years, the nonprofit organization, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) has been working with Marvell, to come up with a low cost tablet designed specifically for children in developing countries. That effort has finally come to fruition in the hip, yet rugged XO-3 Tablet just launched at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. While this child’s tablet is not necessarily designed to replace the iPad, it seems to be the perfect alternative tablet for kids in other countries where the iPad may not be affordable or practical.
This highly functional kids tablet has many impressive features which makes it an affordable, easy to use, durable, tool that can make learning fun for school children in developing countries. The XO-3 has an easy-to-read 8 inch touch screen and offers educational games, drawing software and book readers. It has two display versions, one of which makes it visible in bright sunlight and possible to use outdoors. Since electrical sources are not always readily available in developing countries the tablet is designed to operate on 2 watts of electricity. The battery can be charged conventionally, by using a hand crank or–best of all–through it’s solar panel in the cover, making it possible to leave the cover outside to charge, while continuing to use the tablet inside. The rubber green tablet cover is dust resistant and forms a watertight seal, which makes the tablet especially resilient to the rough usage that children can incur. The tablet has audio in/out, USB and mini USB for connectivity to the internet. Best of all the XO-3 is a real bargain for around $100.
It was the dream of former MIT Media Lab director Nicholas Negroponte to put a $100 computer into the hands of every child in the world. This idea has changed from a laptop to a children’s tablet, which was a sensible transition since tablets actually make interaction easier for children than laptops. So far OLPC has shipped out 2 1/2 million of their original laptops and will continue to fulfill the dream through selling the new XO-3 tablets for kids in bulk to many developing nations.
Copyright © 2011-2012 TabletForKids.com. All rights reserved.
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