The Great Primate Handshake – Volunteer in Africa, working to conserve monkeys and apes through film and educational content production

Revealed at last week’s CES 2011 show in Las Vegas (International Consumer Electronics Show) – OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) demonstrated their new laptop, aptly named the XO 1.75 (not quite 2.0, but getting there).

The Great Primate Handshake currently use the older XO model to explore ways in which educational materials can be distrubuted to schools and students using XO laptops across Africa. We have experienced the advantages of using XO laptops in the field, as well as the disadvantages, so it was with delight to see that some of the existing limitations have now been overcome.

The improvements:

The Hand Crank - The once trailed, but deemed unsuccessful, “Hand Crank” was designed to allow students to crank up their laptop, producing enough power for a typical lesson. Although in principle the device should have worked, it was found to have been to clumsy and inefficient, resulting in several hours of cranking for perhaps an hours use of the laptop. With the change from AMD processors, to Marvell processors, the laptop now uses 2 – 3 watts of power instead of 4. This dramatic power reduction, combined with an improved crank, should result in a 2 hour crank achieving 7 hours worth of use. A very necessary requirement for children using the laptop in areas devoid of power.

The Cost – Thanks both to the lowering cost of hardware since the XO’s initial release, coupled with the change of processor, the XO laptop should now be available for $165 (£106). This is still not the initial “$100 Laptop” (the original laptop’s desired cost) but is an improvement on the path to a sub-$100 machine. As a comparison, the original XO laptop was closer to $250 when launched if purchased by individuals or organisations.

For more information view the BBC’s coverage here