New $100 Laptop Unveiled

Yesterday, at OLPC’s Global Country Workshop in Cambridge, Mass., One Laptop per Child founder Nicholas Negroponte previewed the second generation of the much discussed $100 laptop.

Dubbed the XO-2, the versatile new model will apparently be half the size of the original and feature two touch-sensitive, indoor-and-sunlight displays. The dual screen design allows users to engage with the machine in two new ways.  Aside from the standard mode that uses one display as a keyboard and the other as monitor, the new model also allows content to be viewed in an e-book mode that splits text between a left and right screen when viewed vertically and a tablet mode that utilizes both screens to form a continuous surface.

While Negroponte didn’t share many details about the XO-2’s hardware, it was announced that it will reduce power consumption to 1 watt. The XO-2 is scheduled to be released in 2010.