The dual-touchscreen XO-2 was a fantastical concept. But it's nothing on OLPC's XO-3, a hot, messy wet dream of a tablet: All semi-flexible plastic, multitouch, backlit and reflective ereading modes, thinner than an iPhone and $75.

In other words, it's everything people have been fantasizing about in a tablet—durable, thin, multitouch, multiple screen modes for computing and reading—but for just 75 dollars. And Nicholas Negroponte, large head of the OLPC, wants it by 2012.
Remember, this is the organization that didn't just scrap the XO-2, but couldn't even tack a touchscreen onto the current XO-1 laptop, which isn't anywhere near a hundred bucks. (Hey, at least they gave up on the dual-touchscreen idea.) I think this sadly says everything about the likelihood of it happening, as much as I'd love to see and play with this thing: "We don't necessarily need to build it," Negroponte told Forbes. "We just need to threaten to build it."
Well, I can't wait to see the XO-4! [Fuse Project, Forbes]


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