The launch date of Goolge’s Project Ara modular phones is coming nearer and big names like Toshiba are showing off the first modules for Ara. Inspired by Project Ara, One Education– One Laptop Per Child’s non-profit partner is working on a new educational laptop for the past one year and its soon to be launch has been confirmed.
This hybrid modular laptop/tablet is named XO-Infinity. The very first XO laptops were shipped back in 2007 and since then there has been a constant improvement in the specifications and performance. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) hasn’t launched any new device in past few years; now its Australian partner One Education is revitalizing the project. XO-Infinity is a new modular laptop design which is promised to outlast a childhood.
The flexible configurations enable this modular laptop to be used at any primary school or home in the world by children. This is of proper fitting size and “small enough to fit in little hands, large enough to marvel at rich, engaging content.” There are touch screens for little children who don’t know the alphabets and keyboards for the older students.
Right now, more details are unavailable but let us take a look at the device after popping off the rear shell. 
I’m not sure about these components, but I guess the green module could be the CPU- housing processor, RAM, storage etc. The blue module is definitely the battery, the pink one is camera/web cam and orange one could be the WiFi or other connectivity. The grey component is the screen and the white part is the basic support structure of the laptop. This modular capability brings a whole new level of flexibility and customization to the XO Infinity. Taking about the social benefits of modularity, the One Education website writes:
“When the camera on a phone is getting old, or the processor, the device is generally thrown away and replaced with an entirely new one. With a modular design, it’s possible to update one part at a time as needed, at a much cheaper price. Leftover parts can be re-sold, or better yet, donated to those who wouldn’t normally be able to afford them at all.”
One Education has confirmed that the official announcement of this modular laptop will be made within two weeks. Right now, XO-Infinity is a prototype and a working model should be expected to be available till mid-2015. The group could launch a crowdfunding to support the One Laptop Per Child dream. This is a global initiative to ensure a laptop for every child in the world and this dream must live.
Can XO-Infinity modular laptop revolutionize the education? Comment down your views!
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