OLPCv2 - dual screen Ebook reader for $75 !

[astrodad]

Originally Posted by HarryT

They're also highly succeptible to damage from water.

True, but isn't anything on a laptop susceptible to water damage?

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by jplumey

True, but isn't anything on a laptop susceptible to water damage?

Normally it's not the water directly, but rather the shorts that it can cause. That's why it's advised that you take the battery out and let it dry. It's different with OLEDs... if even a little moisture leaks into the inner layers, it can cause the organic molecules to break down.

[b0rsuk]

Originally Posted by formulajay

Have to agree with you on this point. The original OLPC XO laptops were projected at being just under a 100USD and ended up costing 188USD to produce.

From Wikipedia:

The project originally aimed for a price of 100 United States dollars. In May 2006, Negroponte told the Red Hat's annual user summit: “It is a floating price. We are a nonprofit organization. We have a target of $100 by 2008, but probably it will be $135, maybe $140. That is a start price, but what we have to do is with every release make it cheaper and cheaper— we are promising that the price will go down.”

(...)

The laptops can be sold to governments and issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. Pricing is currently set to start at US$188 and the goal is to reach the $100 mark in 2008.

No contradiction here. 2008 is still the current year, and it's still possible to bring the price down to $100.
By the way, xo-1.5 is planned in 2009:

XO 1.5 will be released in the spring of 2009 with the same design as the first generation but with fewer physical parts and at lower cost than XO 1.0.

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/9379.html

Originally Posted by formulajay;

Also, given the fact that these are expected to become a reality in 2010, e-ink technology is surely going to improve with time, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect cheaper, faster, better, "greener", and more durable ebook readers by then.

Semi-related:

Interestingly, in this clip from Laptop Mag, Negroponte says that part of the reason they're unveiling the design so early is that they're hoping people will copy it

So Nicholas Negroponte is not exactly afraid that someone's going to beat him at his own game. :-)

Originally Posted by formulajay;

Just take a look at what ASUS was able to do. Shortly after the XO laptop became available they released a sub-notebook with a processor that is twice as fast, twice the amount of ram, twice the storage space, and sell it commercially for 299USD. I wonder what it costs them to make it. Granted it does not have the dual-purpose screen.

That's not the whole story.
EEE pc may costs a bit more in absolute terms, but in relative terms it costs 59% more.
With backlight off and some small tweaks, XO-1 can last up to 10 hours of use without recharge. In this mode it's also readable in full sunlight. 4-6 hours of heavy use with backlight on.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13512_3-9768920-23.html
EEE pc is 3.5 hours.
XO-1 (OLPC) is capable of mesh networking. That means only 1 machine with "proper" internet, and the rest can forward the internet to each other. EEE PC can't do such thing, to my knowledge.
OLPC is very rugged - it's very dust-resistant, and easily survives 5ft(1.524m) drop.
OLPC does have a camera whereas in EEE PC it's optional.
Screen resolution: OLPC has 1200 x 900 @ 200 DPI. Cheapest EEE PC is 800x480 .
OLPC:

Temperature: UL certification planned to 45C in Q32007, pending 50C certification in mid-2008;
Humidity: UL certification planned to IP42 (perhaps higher) when closed, the unit should seal well enough that children walking to and from school need not fear rainstorms and dust;
# Maximum altitude: –15m to 3048m (14.7 to 10.1 PSIA) (operating), –15m to 12192m (14.7 to 4.4 PSIA) (non-operating);
# Shock 125g, 2ms, half-sine (operating) 200g, 2ms, half-sine (non-operating);
# Random vibration: 0.75g zero-to-peak, 10Hz to 500Hz, 0.25 oct/min sweep rate (operating); 1.5g zero-to-peak, 10Hz to 500Hz, 0.5 oct/min sweep rate (nonoperating);

(...)

Simply put, XO-1 is designed for very different environment. It is currently the toughest, most rugged, and durable laptop available. Battery life is, at the moment I'm writing this, unbeatable. All this while keeping the extremely low price.

[Wetdogeared]

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