OLPC 2.0 dual touchscreen mockup surfaces in the wild

What we're staring at here is apparently the first "in the wild" shot of the promised dual touchscreen OLPC 2.0. As far as we can tell (thanks, Mr. Blurrycam), we'd wager this is a purely non-working mockup, since that "touchscreen" looks a bit too much like "glued-on paper" to us, but we're really short on info otherwise. What is encouraging here is that apparently someone is taking this dual screen idea seriously, and it's hard to deny that such an improbable form factor could really end up being the shot-in-the-arm this project needs.

[a ham sandwich @ Jan 28th 2009 2:08PM]

i guess by "touch screen" they were literally going for "well....you CAN touch it."

[Loonie @ Jan 28th 2009 2:47PM]

My-my-my-my music hits me so hard makes me say oh my Lord
Thank you for blessing me with a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet
That's good when you know you're down
A superbowl homeboy from Oaktown
And I'm known as such
And this is a screen uh u can touch.

Can touch this.

[Deuche ex Machina @ Jan 28th 2009 3:04PM]

No fair replying to the first post with unrelated stuff just to get to the top of the comments.

Wait, I sorta did it myself. Shit. Hmm, kinda awkward moment here. Well, THIRD!!!

Preparing for fade into background in 3...2...1...

[Loonie @ Jan 28th 2009 3:13PM]

Allow me to explain:

His comment put that bloody song in my head, and I'm damned if I'm going to suffer it alone.

[Deuche ex Machina @ Jan 28th 2009 3:42PM]

Well, you magnificent bastard, you. Mission accomplished. Thankfully I had a trans-cerebral shocker installed for just such purposes. Let's turn up the gain here, press the red button, aaand... (unintelligible babbling)

I like grapes.

[Lars @ Jan 28th 2009 5:51PM]

@ham: I'm sure it's just a mockup. Companies usually create mockups to make sure a design will work before prototyping. It could be a concept, but the folks are so fanatically devoted that I have little doubt that it will come to fruition.

On a side note, I've been trying to get my hands on a XO for a while... Seems like I always miss the buy-two-get-one offers. Maybe that's why they're doing poorly. Many potential casual investors are hitting walls.

[Mitch @ Jan 28th 2009 2:14PM]

Looks extremely fake.

[Flashpoint @ Jan 28th 2009 5:38PM]

Make it run iPhone OS and slap an Apple on it.


"Apple singlehandedly improved pre-K -8 computer education "

[KilgoreTrout @ Apr 18th 2009 9:22PM]

But desirable too.
I would like to see this concept applied to "grown ups" netbooks

[Jay Voorhees @ Jan 28th 2009 2:16PM]

Well I guess atleast if it's touch screen you don't have to worry about the end user learning English...

[Harnish @ Jan 28th 2009 2:18PM]

This will not remain a low cost PC I am assuming if it comes to existence?

[jeesusfreek @ Jan 28th 2009 2:24PM]

stop spamming on engadget, you annoying d-bag.

[Hackettman @ Jan 28th 2009 2:18PM]

Its a fine idea.......

[Crazygreg @ Jan 28th 2009 2:20PM]

Don't be too exited, it's probably a estetic mockup, printed screen as it doesn't look backlighted at all.

[Zeca @ Jan 28th 2009 2:34PM]

Specially with the screens being above the borders.... *points at the shadows*

[Christian @ Jan 28th 2009 2:20PM]

would be awesome if the 2nd generation of DSi would be like that...

[KarlW @ Jan 28th 2009 2:32PM]

If that comes out in the next 10 years, I'll bite through my own face.

[Josh @ Jan 28th 2009 2:45PM]

Is that a pull string ring on the top?

[Kevin @ Jan 28th 2009 2:55PM]

That's the best E-ink I've ever seen.

[Nocuts @ Jan 28th 2009 3:11PM]

I'm no expert, but they are probably just testing out the plastic case. The touch screen probably hasn't been developed yet.

[Fred Mulligan @ Jan 28th 2009 3:43PM]

Exceptionally cool idea, however the model in the picture is unquestionably fake for one indisputable factor:

Your finger won't draw a shadow over a backlit LCD that's on (what the model is depicting).

[cmonkey @ Jan 28th 2009 7:10PM]

Unless, of course, the screen isn't backlit. It's no secret that Pixel Qi is working on color, sunlight readable screens similar to the greyscale mode on the XO-1.

Of course, that screen is almost certainly just a paper mockup if the whole device isn't just photoshopped.

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Jan 28th 2009 3:35PM]

It's about time everyone WOKE UP to dual touchscreens for a tablet, Look at Nintendo, They have been at it for years with the ds and like they say: That thing prints money.

[G @ Jan 28th 2009 3:55PM]

No more improbable than a paperback book :-)

I wish the Kindle were done this way..

G

[jinsei888 @ Jan 28th 2009 4:51PM]

someone's getting fired for this photo....

[Shelbz @ Jan 28th 2009 6:32PM]

Why would someone get fired for a piss poor photoshop job?

[indonesianme @ Jan 28th 2009 9:29PM]

Can somebody just glued 2 iphones together side by side??
I bet there's someone outhere who can make it happens.

[InTheLoop @ Jan 28th 2009 9:22PM]

It seems like one of the main points of teaching children to use a computer is that they will learn how to type. Unfortunately, you can't really learn how to type on a touchscreen.

[Aaron @ Jan 28th 2009 10:27PM]

Uhh, you can't cast a shadow on a screen. They call that 'fail'.

[Mariano @ Jan 29th 2009 9:05AM]

This looks SUPER fake.

[alex1jam @ Jan 29th 2009 7:38PM]

Hope this comes with Ubuntu.

[gunjam @ Jan 30th 2009 11:30AM]

Probably Fedora with a Sugar interface.

[Robert @ Jan 31st 2009 7:27PM]

More than anything else, this resembles the Apple Knowledge Navigator film that Sculley put together in the early 90's.

[Robert @ Jan 31st 2009 7:29PM]

...except, of course, the KN had no visible hinge line. So that proves it, this must be "real"