OLPC XO-3 Tablet Hands-On at CES Unveiled

OLPC XO-3 http://www.netbooknews.com One Laptop Per Child -- a Santa Clara, California-based company -- is showing their latest product, the OLPC XO-3 tablet at CES Unveiled, and we have a hands-on video.

It has an 8-inch, 4:3 aspect ratio display, which is actually larger than most 7-inch, 16:9 ratio displays. OLPC took great pains to get the largest display while keeping the tablet a manageable size for young users.

The OLPC XO-3 features several ports: USB OTG for connecting peripherals and charging the device, headphone, mic, and a full-sized USB port to transfer files via "sneaker net". It also has both a front and rear-facing camera.

The XO-3 runs Linux, and typically has the Sugar interface running on top of Linux. However customers can choose to run other distributions of Linux and even Android.

Since internet connectivity isn't always available, OLPC preloads the XO-3 with a lot of educational content like Wikipedia "slices", subsets of Wikipedia for offline consumption. OLPC also makes it easy for 3rd-party developers to create their own offline, pre-loaded educational content.

There are several interesting accessories for the XO-3 tablet. A simple silicone cover protects the screen when the tablet is stored, and can be placed on the back of the tablet for storage when the tablet is in use.

There was also a prototype case that they plan to equip with a 4-watt solar panel and a thin battery pack. The battery pack can be recharged via the solar panel, and provide power when the tablet is placed in the cover via the 4 screws on the outer edge of the XO-3. Not only are the screws holding the tablet's case together, but they are also electrical contacts that the external battery cover can take advantage of.