IN BRIEF : One Laptop makes unbreakable tablet

NEW YORK - Nicholas Negroponte, the CEO of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) non-profit organisation, has said that the firm is currently working on a tablet version of its kiddie computer, which he says will be “unbreakable.” Negroponte admitted that plans for a double-screened e-book-type device for the second generation of XO laptop had been scrapped - likely due to cost constraints - but said OLPC was focusing its efforts on building a 3.0 version of the device which would be “more like a sheet of paper.” In a challenge to all the little vandals out there, Negroponte said the 1/4in-thick, waterproof, full-colour, reflective and transmissive device would be “completely plastic and unbreakable.” He added that it would have no bezels or holes, would use just one watt of power, cost a projected $75 and be ready in 2012. With 1.1 million XO Laptops in circulation and another 400,000 to 700,000 on the order books, Negroponte says the firm’s goal of establishing OLPC as a concept has been achieved, despite the fact it never quite managed to produce laptops for less than $100, as was its initial aim. The firm has also managed to dole out over a million e-books to kids. Ends

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IN BRIEF : One Laptop makes unbreakable tablet