The One
Laptop per Child foundation has announced that its next generation XO
laptops will operate using a
Via processor . The XO Generation 1.5 laptops will look the same as their predecessors, but will use a Via C7-M processor. The organisation’s vice president of hardware development, John Watlington, revealed the decision had been taken after AMD discontinued its low-power processor.
The laptop
PCs will boast an increased
memory of 1 gigabyte, up from 256 megabytes, as well as improved
flash storage of 4 gigabytes, up from 1 gigabyte, with a further option for 8 gigabytes. The new Via
processor will have a clock range of 400 megahertz to 1 gigahertz, causing an improvement in power consumption from 1.5 watts to 5 watts. The
notebooks will also offer improved audio and video performance as a result of the Via’s new VX855 chipset. The organisation are also working with screen designer PixelQi to improve the display quality.
Watlington confirmed that the update is separate from the Gen 2.0 project, which harbours plans to switch to an ARM-based processor. Those
computers are due for launch in 2011, though the Generation 1.5 laptops should arrive in the UK in November.