On Thursday, One Laptop Per Child (the nonprofit behind XO laptops) announced a partnership with Marvel to produce inexpensive tablet computers. The founder of the project, Nicholas Negroponte, claims the tablet will likely combine the functionalities of a laptop, a Kindle, and an iPad all in one device. As Negroponte describes in the video below, the vision is a $75 slim, 9 or more inch, plastic, unbreakable tablet for children with a dual mode display both sunlit and backlit. Renderings of the proposed tablet show images of hands flipping through ebooks, typing a journal entry with a touchscreen keyboard or zooming in on Google maps.
Will OLPC deliver? We will have to wait and see. It is projected that the public will get to see the device at the Consumers Electronic Fair in 2011. It is unrealistic the device will be made of plastic in the first year of release, so expect glass and nothing waterproof. Capabilities might include a touchscreen, a camera and a built in video. The Financial Times and New York Times both wrote articles on the partnership and future possibilities here and here. The video featured on the NYT is available below.
To my Kindle library friends, perhaps this is your answer, although I am still a bit skeptical...
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