CES 2012: OLPC Shows Off $100 (€78) XO 3.0 Tablet

OLPC certainly took its time with the development of the XO 3.0 tablet, but at this year’s CES fair the organization has finally presented this presumably unbreakable slate whose mission is to help every child in the world gain access to a modern education.

At the heart of the tablet stands a Marvell Armada PXA618 SoC which lowers the power requirements of the XO 3.0 to a mere 2 Watts, enabling its users to recharge the tablet by using solar power or a hand crank, not just a regular power network.

According to OLPC, winding the cranks for a minute should result in 10 minutes of power, while the optional four watt solar panel can deliver two minutes of power for every minute spent in the sun.

As engadget reports, OLPC customers that opt for the XO 3.0 can customize the tablet according to their needs, the organization allowing them to get the CPU clocked at either 800Mhz or 1GHz, while the display can use a standard LCD panel or a Pixel Qi sunlight-readable screen.

An optional 1800mAh battery is also available (the standard version features a 1500mAh battery pack), and the rest of the features list includes 512MB of RAM, 4GB of NAND Flash storage, and a couple of USB ports. The XO 3.0 can run either Android or Linux.

"We're proud to introduce the XO 3.0 tablet, showcasing the design, durability and performance features that make it a natural successor for our current laptops, which have been distributed to more than 2.4 million children in 42 countries and in 25 languages," said Edward McNierney, Chief Technology Officer of One Laptop per Child. 

"The XO 3.0 builds on many of the technology breakthroughs we made with the XO 1.75, including the use of the Marvell ARMADA PXA618 processor, resulting in a significant decrease in power consumption-a critical issue for students in the developing world," concluded the company’s rep.

No word on availability just yet, as OLPC expects to finalize the hardware once it starts receiving the first orders, but the XO 3.0’s price target is set at $100 (78.7 EUR).