Next generation of OLPC laptop unveiled

The second generation of One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC) child-friendly device has been announced by Nicholas Negroponte, sporting dual touchscreens and an incredible $75 (38) target price.

The new XO device is designed as an educational tool by the project for developing countries, just as the original XO, but will be around half the size and use only one watt of power.

The low-cost is partly possible due to the falling price of the 16:9 ratio touchscreens used in portable DVD players. "To anticipate them costing $20 each is not out of the question," said Negroponte, speaking at an OLPC media event held at MIT.

"Some people have asked me; why not just give kids cell phones? But the cell phone is not a learning device. The next generation laptop should be a book," said Negroponte, who went on to explain that the design, "comes from something we've learned over the past couple of years - that the book experience is key."

The new notebook is expected to be ready for release in 2010, at which point the cost of the original XO laptop is expected to fall to its original target price of $100.

The original XO was hit by several incremental price-hikes which raised the cost to $188, nearly double the first announced target price.