| The XO laptop (nicknamed the hundred-dollar | | | | RoHS Directive, containing no hazardous materials. |
| laptop) is at the centre of the 'One Laptop Per | | | | The batteries include enhanced battery |
| Child's mission. The laptop was designed by | | | | management for an extended recharge-cycle |
| experts in the industry, and built by Quanta. It | | | | lifetime. Where direct power is not available, the |
| was specifically built to be a flexible, responsive, | | | | XO laptop can be powered solar energy or |
| ultra-low cost, ultra-efficient, durable from the | | | | manually, various options include a crank, a pedal |
| outset. | | | | or a pull-chord. |
| The 7.5" screen has alternate modes of display: | | | | Durability from the outset was a key function. |
| transmissive, a full colour, fully lit mode and a | | | | Equally the need for it to appeal to it's target |
| reflective which the screen turns black and white | | | | audience, children was also factored in, so both |
| but is still readable in sunlight. In the latter mode, it | | | | weight and looks were also important issues. |
| consumes a mere 0.2 watts. The transmissive | | | | Consequently the XO laptop is about the size of a |
| mode still consumes about one watt, but that is | | | | textbook, the edges are rounded off and weighs |
| still about a seventh of the industry average LCD | | | | no more than the average lunchbox (approximetly |
| laptop. | | | | 1.5kg depending on the battery). The 'transformer |
| More energy savings come from the CPU, which | | | | hinge' allows it to function as a e-Book, games |
| selectively suspends operations cutting the need | | | | console and a standard laptop. The child-friendly |
| for power. All these energy saving initiatives mean | | | | interface features a rubber membrane keyboard |
| that the XO laptop consumes around a tenth of | | | | and a dual-mode, extra-wide touchpad for |
| the power of a standard commercial laptop - a | | | | pointing, drawing and writing. |
| mere 2 watts! | | | | More robustness comes from the absence of |
| A full time wireless route is fitted, creating it's | | | | moving parts and the hard drive, which statistically |
| very own mesh network 'out of the box'. This | | | | is most likely to fail. The walls are almost twice as |
| crucially allows children to enjoy internet access | | | | thick as standard laptops at 2mm too. Protection |
| with its immeasurable resources of information, | | | | of its USB ports comes from the mesh network |
| communication and entertainment and be linked to | | | | antennas, the display also being cushioned by |
| other children, teachers and families. | | | | internal 'bumpers'. |
| XO is fully compliant with the European Union's | | | | |