OLPC announces XO Tablet coming to select Walmart stores later in 2013
One Laptop Per Child still hasn't revealed any pricing details about that US-bound XO Tablet, but today the company's announcing some of the retail shelves we can expect its new child-friendly device to hit. For starters, the XO Tablet will be available at 'select' Walmart brick-and-mortar stores and website in the US this year, however OLPC wasn't quite clear about when exactly that's going to be -- we tried asking the company ourselves, but we were told no information could be given at the time. Furthermore, OLPC said it has struck a deal with Sakar International, which gives the latter exclusives rights "to sell the XO Tablet to leading US retailers for both in-store and online sales." Only time will tell how many retailers will join Wally on offering the learning device, but one of the world's largest retailers certainly isn't a bad place to start.
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One Laptop per Child Association to Release XO Learning and XO Tablet at CES
New XO Learning Tablet to be Available at Select Walmart Stores and Walmart.com
2013 International CES
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One Laptop per Child Association (OLPCA), the world renowned project to provide a modern education to children through a connected computing device, announced today that it will introduce a new touch screen device, the XO Learning Tablet, at CES. OLPCA will also unveil for the first time the XO Learning System, an Android compatible software package for child-centric learning.
"The expectation of the tablet user in the U.S., India and South Africa is the same."
Every child has dreams and XO Learning directs the child's passion, creativity and energy for these dreams into a new user interface that has 12 dreams. Such dreams include "I want to be" an artist, a musician and a scientist. Each dream features a rich learning experience and applications, books, games and videos that allow children ages 3 to 12 to naturally explore their dreams and learn at the same time. Content within a dream has three levels, so as the child advances in his/her learning, there is no need to pay for additional apps or content. Every dream features a "hero," a real person who personifies the dream.
"The challenge in computing and education is to use the technology to develop new ways for children to learn. The rich content of the dreams allows the child's natural passion to be directed into learning experiences," said Giulia D'Amico, the lead designer of XO Learning.
OLPCA teamed with the legendary designer Yves Behar of Fuse Project and his team to create the XO Learning user interface and cover. All of the content in XO Learning has been curated and selected for appropriateness and educational value by both OLPCA and Common Sense Media, the leading non-profit reviewer of age appropriate computer-based content in the U.S. XO Learning also offers a full range of parental controls and user IDs for up to three children, a dashboard where the child or the parent can review usage, types of content and the skills the child is developing. XO Learning also includes a journal that records all usage including websites visited. Press a single icon and XO Learning switches from English to Spanish with all new content depending on the language. Additional languages will be available in future releases.
XO Learning also offers unique learning experiences from leading partners who support OLPCA's program to foster child-centric learning. OLPCA partners include Sesame Street, MyCityWay, Common Sense Media, Little Pim and UNESCO, among others. OLPCA is currently in negotiations with many other of the world's leading companies to provide unique experiences through XO Learning in time for the product introduction in 2013.
XO Learning will be offered through licensing agreements to tablet manufacturers, governments, book publishers, and international distributors in the U.S., Europe and the traditional OLPCA markets in developing countries.
"With the popularity of tablets, the standards and specifications of the devices are converging to one worldwide standard," said D'Amico. "The expectation of the tablet user in the U.S., India and South Africa is the same."
Sakar International, based in Edison, New Jersey, is the first licensee under their Vivitar brand. It will offer XO Learning on a 7" inch Android tablet of its own design with specifications as shown in the attached schedule. The tablet will be marketed as the "XO Tablet." Sakar has the exclusive right to sell the XO Tablet to leading U.S. retailers for both in-store and online sales.
The XO Tablet will be available at select Walmart stores and Walmart.com this year.
About One Laptop per Child Association
One Laptop per Child Association (OLPCA at http://www.laptop.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression. In partnership with the public and private sectors and non- governmental organizations and supported by comprehensive implementation and pedagogical services, OLPCA seeks to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power connected laptop that empowers individual learning and growth.
About XO Learning
"A learning experience designed to unleash children's creativity" for 3-12 year olds.
XO Learning believes that tablets offer new ways for technology to provide a child-centric learning environment through the convergence of virtual and physical activities. These experiences are made possible, in part, through app-cessories, sensors and other devices particularly suited to the form factor and user interface of a tablet.
http://www.xo-learning.org
