6 ms·

One Laptop Per Child launches XO tablet via Walmart

49 points by scholia 13y ago

Shivetya 13y ago
I have been on their site, http://xo-learning.org/sample-page/tablet-2/ http://xo-learning.org/sample-page/tablet-2/ , but I am finding difficulty in determining the suggested ages of the children whom will use it? I have quite a few relatives in the six to twelve year age range and I am pretty sure elementary age kids would be fine with it, not so sure about middle school.
limmeau 13y ago
According to http://xo-learning.org/family-oriented-xo-tablet-debuts-at-walmart-for-149/ http://xo-learning.org/family-oriented-xo-tablet-debuts-at-w... , this is essentially a 7" Android tablet with a separate educational UI with teaching programs. I wonder if that separate UI could be bundled as an app, eliminating the need for special XO hardware?
- simonh 13y ago
  Well, supporting a single target hardware device means you can hugely streamline your development and testing processes. You can also guarantee peripheral specifications and availability to applications (camera, microphone, speakers, motion sensors, etc). All of that leads to significantly reduced costs, which are a big deal to an ambitious shoestring project like this. I'm sure it would be possible, with sufficient effort, but what would their motivation be? This project funds itself by selling the hardware. Releasing the software as a free app would kill their revenue stream, and hence take away the project's air supply. Releasing it as a paid app would present all sorts of logistical problems regarding distribution and payment collection given the intended user base in the third world. It's important that they have a lean development process, but it's equally important that they have a lean and robust revenue and deployment model.
  - chromaton 13y ago
    Maybe I missed something. I thought this project was supposed to be all open source. That way kids could learn about the tablet itself, all the way down to the source code and hardware specification level.
    - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
      > I thought this project was supposed to be all open source. Ancient history.
    - simonh 13y ago
      Open source means you provide the source. It doesn't mean you're under any obligation to support the hardware, software, packaging, testing and distribution needs of anyone other than yourself. The OLPC project doesn't need to support different hardware designs, packaging and distribution forms that would be nice for other people or projects to have, and don't have the resources to do so, so they don't.
- Zigurd 13y ago
  If they are smart that's exactly how you should be able to get the OLPC software suite. Nearly all elements of all the "skinned" Androids could be repackaged as a software suite and don't need to be baked in to the Android system, probably this one included. $150 isn't an exceptionally low price for an Android tablet, so there's nothing magical about the hardware.
- netcan 13y ago
  That would be a good move. I'm not sure how much last is in these tablets, but they don't tend to get as much use/abuse as smartphones. If they're still nice to use 2-4 years after purchase, there will be second will be a lot of android tablets looking for a second life in a few years. iPads are already piling up It seems like olpc is constantly being outrun by devices.
wrath 13y ago
I've been tempted to buy a nexus 7 for my kids for a while, but at the same time I've been reluctant for several reasons. Since the XO seems to come installed with many productivity apps I may look at it instead. Not to mention that it looks a bit more durable compared to the nexus. All that said, I wonder how quickly it will be available outside the US. Walmart.com doesn't ship to canada on many items.
mhurron 13y ago
Isn't $150 a little high for the intended use of the One Laptop per Child aim? If I had a kid, I have a feeling they would be beyond the target ages for this before I would give them a $150 device.
- robg 13y ago
  What would you give them instead? $150 is certainly better than an iPad and even better than an iTouch, even at used prices.
  - venomsnake 13y ago
    Just today I bought 7 inch android tablet Prestigio with dual core cpu @ 1.5GHz and 1024x600 resolution for 120$ ... with 20% VAT and 5% customs tax included in that price. I bought it for my girlfriend's kid. So 150 looks steep indeed. On a side note - does anyone knows of a good educational suite for 6yo - basic math, basic english, etc?
    - salgernon 13y ago
      You should check out the software include in the XO tablet. I suspect it might suit your needs.
      - venomsnake 13y ago
        My googlefu may be rusty but it seems it is either not released yet or bundled only with the tablet.
        jamii 13y ago
        The software is open source and can be found at http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Downloads http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Downloads [EDIT] Retracted. This tablet is using entirely different software from the original sugar suite.
    - speeder 13y ago
columbo 13y ago
As someone working on a hardware project one of the biggest challenges we have is finding a tablet that is cheap, mass-produceable, and rugged enough to stand up for months/years of abuse. This might do the trick. Our only options so far has been very cheap knock-off tablets and the questionable long term viability of the pengpod. It's too bad nobody has made a 'cheap-hacker-tablet' something that might be 2" thick and weigh 4-6lbs but have a touch-screen, metal body, usb ports, screw placements for mounting, and easy to access replacable hardware.
- Zigurd 13y ago
  > It's too bad nobody has made a 'cheap-hacker-tablet' something that might be 2" thick and weigh 4-6lbs but... That's very difficult criteria. You might find cases engineered for industrial environments, but there is only so much stuff you can put over the screen before the touch sensor stops working. And if that is the "weakest link" what's the value of having a back panel you can use to drive nails?
  - columbo 13y ago
    Yeah the touch-screen has been a problem - especially when trying to give something out to the general unwashed public. No amount of protective cover would have helped us when some guy or gal decided to punch one of the screens in a few months back. Meh. By 2" thick I was talking more about a box with the touch-screen in the front with a simple plastic protective layer and a hinge you can flip open to reveal the internals. That way replacing the screen is just a dispatch-call. Or something to that effect. Basically something that can be mounted semi-permanently, the same way as a television screen, and with the most common parts (the screen) accessible by a technician so they can be replaced when broken.
    - Zigurd 13y ago
      If it's a public kiosk-like environment, especially if Google Play and related apps are not important, I would suggest using an inexpensive Android compatible "dev" board and spec'ing the display separately. You need to be careful about driver support. If 2" is really acceptable, you should be able to find stuff that will be fist-proof.
protomyth 13y ago
Are any of the original laptop's programming tools available for the tablet?
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
samuel 13y ago
What happened to the b&w-sunreadable screen?
- H3g3m0n 13y ago
  I wonder if it still has the mesh networking too. They also totally ditched their OS. This just seems like a stock tablet with some apps preinstalled. The device is a software/design project more than a hardware one now. Also it seems like they are trying to push the content to the kids rather than letting them explore themselves. The problem with the content push is now you have to provide all the content. You have just created a replacement for a text book. They can still fire up a webbrowser or dig through layers to what they want but it's not the same. Without a keyboard it is going to be massively less productive. Say goodbye to teaching them programming skills. Kids learning to program on a tablet will probably begin to hate the entire concept as they are fighting a sluggish interface. I love reading comics on my tablet, but I still use a keyboard/mouse device for browsing. A plug in keyboard might help but it isn't enough since its a hassle (Also will they be providing keyboards to students?) I don't think they are going to be able to fire up a copy of GCC (I remember having a go at C++ when I was like 12, my main problem was getting a compiler and tutorials since I had no internets, now days it should be easy). I learned heaps with qbasic since that was just sitting on my system. imho tablets are largely hype/marketing. They are a massive growth industry right now because it's a new market and everyone is trying to grab the market share but we aren't going to see desktops/laptops replaced, just augmented. The tablet market will likely die back when it has reached saturation. They have basically 'perfected' the tablet already. People won't really need to upgrade their current generation devices, they already have fast, smooth web browsing, gigs of ram, retina displays and so on. I don't see a new version of Android being released over the next 5 years that will no longer be compatible with the hardware out now (although manufactures might not release the updates for those devices) other then a few gimick hardware features things like NFC or that TV streaming stuff which will be desirable to some but not all. About the only thing would be more storage space which will also reach a point when its enough for most people. Then it will mainly be people replacing broken devices or just needing the latest. Maybe we will see a glassed free 3D display and then a retina version or it. Maybe they will make a transparent one. In any case the XO project isn't supposed to be about making a product to sell. It seems like it's been taken over by designers. Maybe for the XO-4, they will do something like a dockable tablet. With Ubuntu's Mir based Android hybrid. You would get the productivity of a keyboard and the power of a full desktop OS under the hood. They could also bring back their Sugar stuff.
nutmeg 13y ago
A friend's daughter has a Kurio Android tablet, which seems very similar to this. http://www.kurioworld.com/us/features.php#techspecs http://www.kurioworld.com/us/features.php#techspecs I'd really like to see any technical specs on this, but can't seem to find any on http://www.xotablet.com/ http://www.xotablet.com/ or http://www.vivitar.com/ http://www.vivitar.com/
future_grad 13y ago
Specifications(http://one.laptop.org/about/xo-tablet http://one.laptop.org/about/xo-tablet): 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Processor 1 GB RAM 8 GB Storage 7" 1024x600 screen Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity 1.3 MP Front & 2.0 MP Rear cameras Headset, MicroSD, Micro USB, and Mini HDMI I/O ports Android 4.1 operating system Built-in parental controls
jellicle 13y ago
The Nexus 7 is already a great, durable, child-friendly tablet, and it has been available to anyone for years. It's exactly the right size for small hands and arms. Install anything you like on it. For a more learning-oriented kidputer, the Leappad is available. Kind of expensive with every app/game costing $20 extra, but oh well. OLPC's products have never been available for consumer sale - this is the first one. They've been around for eight years. And they've finally launched their first product, which is going to be sold exclusively through Walmart, a company people should have philosophical objections to buying from, and which is known for squeezing their suppliers to death. I don't see any mention of the specs which means to me that "underpowered" is the right word to use. If you want to buy an underpowered, crappy, no-updates Android tablet, you can get one nearly for free from DealExtreme. They'll sell you one for $60 with free shipping. I'm not even making that up. I had such high hopes for OLPC when it was first started. But they've lost the track, gone off the rails, whatever metaphor you want to use.
- jdboyd 13y ago
  "The Nexus 7 is already a great, durable, child-friendly tablet, and it has been available to anyone for years. " Actually, the release date was July 13, 2012.
  - aptwebapps 13y ago
    Well, slightly more than one year, anyway. Or maybe that was in tech-years.
    - scholia 13y ago
      Unfortunately, the Nexus 7 bricks itself if you don't keep it charged. I've tried several unbricking ideas from the web, but none of them has worked....
jessaustin 13y ago
I purchased a laptop from OLPC years ago, as part of a buy-two-to-get-one deal. I eventually gave it to my niece. She got it when she was three. She's seven now, and still loves it and carries it around everywhere. Neither I nor her parents really understand all of the things she does on it (actually the interface seems quite confusing to me), but apparently it's a good design for certain young children. (I hate to play favorites with other nieces and nephews, but most of them would have destroyed this device long ago, like they destroy every smartphone they can get their mitts on.)

49 points by scholia 13y ago

I have been on their site, http://xo-learning.org/sample-page/tablet-2/ http://xo-learning.org/sample-page/tablet-2/ , but I am finding difficulty in determining the suggested ages of the children whom will use it? I have quite a few relatives in the six to twelve year age range and I am pretty sure elementary age kids would be fine with it, not so sure about middle school.

limmeau 13y ago

According to http://xo-learning.org/family-oriented-xo-tablet-debuts-at-walmart-for-149/ http://xo-learning.org/family-oriented-xo-tablet-debuts-at-w... , this is essentially a 7" Android tablet with a separate educational UI with teaching programs. I wonder if that separate UI could be bundled as an app, eliminating the need for special XO hardware?

simonh 13y ago
Well, supporting a single target hardware device means you can hugely streamline your development and testing processes. You can also guarantee peripheral specifications and availability to applications (camera, microphone, speakers, motion sensors, etc). All of that leads to significantly reduced costs, which are a big deal to an ambitious shoestring project like this. I'm sure it would be possible, with sufficient effort, but what would their motivation be? This project funds itself by selling the hardware. Releasing the software as a free app would kill their revenue stream, and hence take away the project's air supply. Releasing it as a paid app would present all sorts of logistical problems regarding distribution and payment collection given the intended user base in the third world. It's important that they have a lean development process, but it's equally important that they have a lean and robust revenue and deployment model.
- chromaton 13y ago
  Maybe I missed something. I thought this project was supposed to be all open source. That way kids could learn about the tablet itself, all the way down to the source code and hardware specification level.
  - fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
    > I thought this project was supposed to be all open source. Ancient history.
  - simonh 13y ago
    Open source means you provide the source. It doesn't mean you're under any obligation to support the hardware, software, packaging, testing and distribution needs of anyone other than yourself. The OLPC project doesn't need to support different hardware designs, packaging and distribution forms that would be nice for other people or projects to have, and don't have the resources to do so, so they don't.
Zigurd 13y ago
If they are smart that's exactly how you should be able to get the OLPC software suite. Nearly all elements of all the "skinned" Androids could be repackaged as a software suite and don't need to be baked in to the Android system, probably this one included. $150 isn't an exceptionally low price for an Android tablet, so there's nothing magical about the hardware.
netcan 13y ago
That would be a good move. I'm not sure how much last is in these tablets, but they don't tend to get as much use/abuse as smartphones. If they're still nice to use 2-4 years after purchase, there will be second will be a lot of android tablets looking for a second life in a few years. iPads are already piling up It seems like olpc is constantly being outrun by devices.

wrath 13y ago

I've been tempted to buy a nexus 7 for my kids for a while, but at the same time I've been reluctant for several reasons. Since the XO seems to come installed with many productivity apps I may look at it instead. Not to mention that it looks a bit more durable compared to the nexus. All that said, I wonder how quickly it will be available outside the US. Walmart.com doesn't ship to canada on many items.

mhurron 13y ago

Isn't $150 a little high for the intended use of the One Laptop per Child aim? If I had a kid, I have a feeling they would be beyond the target ages for this before I would give them a $150 device.

robg 13y ago
What would you give them instead? $150 is certainly better than an iPad and even better than an iTouch, even at used prices.
- venomsnake 13y ago
  Just today I bought 7 inch android tablet Prestigio with dual core cpu @ 1.5GHz and 1024x600 resolution for 120$ ... with 20% VAT and 5% customs tax included in that price. I bought it for my girlfriend's kid. So 150 looks steep indeed. On a side note - does anyone knows of a good educational suite for 6yo - basic math, basic english, etc?
  - salgernon 13y ago
    You should check out the software include in the XO tablet. I suspect it might suit your needs.
    - venomsnake 13y ago
      My googlefu may be rusty but it seems it is either not released yet or bundled only with the tablet.
      - jamii 13y ago
        The software is open source and can be found at http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Downloads http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Downloads [EDIT] Retracted. This tablet is using entirely different software from the original sugar suite.
  - speeder 13y ago

columbo 13y ago

As someone working on a hardware project one of the biggest challenges we have is finding a tablet that is cheap, mass-produceable, and rugged enough to stand up for months/years of abuse. This might do the trick. Our only options so far has been very cheap knock-off tablets and the questionable long term viability of the pengpod. It's too bad nobody has made a 'cheap-hacker-tablet' something that might be 2" thick and weigh 4-6lbs but have a touch-screen, metal body, usb ports, screw placements for mounting, and easy to access replacable hardware.

Zigurd 13y ago
> It's too bad nobody has made a 'cheap-hacker-tablet' something that might be 2" thick and weigh 4-6lbs but... That's very difficult criteria. You might find cases engineered for industrial environments, but there is only so much stuff you can put over the screen before the touch sensor stops working. And if that is the "weakest link" what's the value of having a back panel you can use to drive nails?
- columbo 13y ago
  Yeah the touch-screen has been a problem - especially when trying to give something out to the general unwashed public. No amount of protective cover would have helped us when some guy or gal decided to punch one of the screens in a few months back. Meh. By 2" thick I was talking more about a box with the touch-screen in the front with a simple plastic protective layer and a hinge you can flip open to reveal the internals. That way replacing the screen is just a dispatch-call. Or something to that effect. Basically something that can be mounted semi-permanently, the same way as a television screen, and with the most common parts (the screen) accessible by a technician so they can be replaced when broken.
  - Zigurd 13y ago
    If it's a public kiosk-like environment, especially if Google Play and related apps are not important, I would suggest using an inexpensive Android compatible "dev" board and spec'ing the display separately. You need to be careful about driver support. If 2" is really acceptable, you should be able to find stuff that will be fist-proof.

protomyth 13y ago

Are any of the original laptop's programming tools available for the tablet?

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

samuel 13y ago

What happened to the b&w-sunreadable screen?

H3g3m0n 13y ago
I wonder if it still has the mesh networking too. They also totally ditched their OS. This just seems like a stock tablet with some apps preinstalled. The device is a software/design project more than a hardware one now. Also it seems like they are trying to push the content to the kids rather than letting them explore themselves. The problem with the content push is now you have to provide all the content. You have just created a replacement for a text book. They can still fire up a webbrowser or dig through layers to what they want but it's not the same. Without a keyboard it is going to be massively less productive. Say goodbye to teaching them programming skills. Kids learning to program on a tablet will probably begin to hate the entire concept as they are fighting a sluggish interface. I love reading comics on my tablet, but I still use a keyboard/mouse device for browsing. A plug in keyboard might help but it isn't enough since its a hassle (Also will they be providing keyboards to students?) I don't think they are going to be able to fire up a copy of GCC (I remember having a go at C++ when I was like 12, my main problem was getting a compiler and tutorials since I had no internets, now days it should be easy). I learned heaps with qbasic since that was just sitting on my system. imho tablets are largely hype/marketing. They are a massive growth industry right now because it's a new market and everyone is trying to grab the market share but we aren't going to see desktops/laptops replaced, just augmented. The tablet market will likely die back when it has reached saturation. They have basically 'perfected' the tablet already. People won't really need to upgrade their current generation devices, they already have fast, smooth web browsing, gigs of ram, retina displays and so on. I don't see a new version of Android being released over the next 5 years that will no longer be compatible with the hardware out now (although manufactures might not release the updates for those devices) other then a few gimick hardware features things like NFC or that TV streaming stuff which will be desirable to some but not all. About the only thing would be more storage space which will also reach a point when its enough for most people. Then it will mainly be people replacing broken devices or just needing the latest. Maybe we will see a glassed free 3D display and then a retina version or it. Maybe they will make a transparent one. In any case the XO project isn't supposed to be about making a product to sell. It seems like it's been taken over by designers. Maybe for the XO-4, they will do something like a dockable tablet. With Ubuntu's Mir based Android hybrid. You would get the productivity of a keyboard and the power of a full desktop OS under the hood. They could also bring back their Sugar stuff.

nutmeg 13y ago

A friend's daughter has a Kurio Android tablet, which seems very similar to this. http://www.kurioworld.com/us/features.php#techspecs http://www.kurioworld.com/us/features.php#techspecs I'd really like to see any technical specs on this, but can't seem to find any on http://www.xotablet.com/ http://www.xotablet.com/ or http://www.vivitar.com/ http://www.vivitar.com/

future_grad 13y ago

Specifications(http://one.laptop.org/about/xo-tablet http://one.laptop.org/about/xo-tablet): 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Processor 1 GB RAM 8 GB Storage 7" 1024x600 screen Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity 1.3 MP Front & 2.0 MP Rear cameras Headset, MicroSD, Micro USB, and Mini HDMI I/O ports Android 4.1 operating system Built-in parental controls

jellicle 13y ago

The Nexus 7 is already a great, durable, child-friendly tablet, and it has been available to anyone for years. It's exactly the right size for small hands and arms. Install anything you like on it. For a more learning-oriented kidputer, the Leappad is available. Kind of expensive with every app/game costing $20 extra, but oh well. OLPC's products have never been available for consumer sale - this is the first one. They've been around for eight years. And they've finally launched their first product, which is going to be sold exclusively through Walmart, a company people should have philosophical objections to buying from, and which is known for squeezing their suppliers to death. I don't see any mention of the specs which means to me that "underpowered" is the right word to use. If you want to buy an underpowered, crappy, no-updates Android tablet, you can get one nearly for free from DealExtreme. They'll sell you one for $60 with free shipping. I'm not even making that up. I had such high hopes for OLPC when it was first started. But they've lost the track, gone off the rails, whatever metaphor you want to use.

jdboyd 13y ago
"The Nexus 7 is already a great, durable, child-friendly tablet, and it has been available to anyone for years. " Actually, the release date was July 13, 2012.
- aptwebapps 13y ago
  Well, slightly more than one year, anyway. Or maybe that was in tech-years.
  - scholia 13y ago
    Unfortunately, the Nexus 7 bricks itself if you don't keep it charged. I've tried several unbricking ideas from the web, but none of them has worked....

jessaustin 13y ago

I purchased a laptop from OLPC years ago, as part of a buy-two-to-get-one deal. I eventually gave it to my niece. She got it when she was three. She's seven now, and still loves it and carries it around everywhere. Neither I nor her parents really understand all of the things she does on it (actually the interface seems quite confusing to me), but apparently it's a good design for certain young children. (I hate to play favorites with other nieces and nephews, but most of them would have destroyed this device long ago, like they destroy every smartphone they can get their mitts on.)