by Philip Lop

Created on: February 29, 2012   Last Updated: March 01, 2012

Since Apple launched the iPad in 2010, the technology market has seen an explosion of interest in tablet devices. Tablet sales in the first nine months of 2011 exceeded 1.2 million units, according to a report from The NPD Group and growth is expected into 2012 and beyond.

Somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop, the tablet device has created a demand that simply wasn’t there before, and a number of manufacturers have tried to emulate Apple’s success, generally with very limited success. One of the more innovative designs to come onto the market, however, may have a unique selling point, which could create quite a stir in the market.

Yves Behar is a designer, with a string of successful inventions under his belt. Notably, the Swiss designer invested his time and energy into a project called One Laptop Per Child, which aimed to create an economical laptop that could be provided for children in developing countries. Those laptops became known as the “$100 laptop” and now, CNN reports, Behar is following this up with a new $100 tablet.

The XO-3 tablet was first launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012. It takes its slightly childish, but funky green and white design from the $100 laptop. Like other tablet devices, the XO-3 is smaller, lighter and more economical than its laptop counterparts, and boasts a number of features. Designed with children in mind, the XO-3 is very tough and durable and, more importantly, is powered by a solar panel built into the lid. This makes the device perfectly designed for developing countries. The device can be used and powered in the prevailing sunny conditions, where a regular power supply is an unlikely luxury.

Certainly, the idea is revolutionary and highly ethical. The XO-3’s design could provide regular, sustainable Internet access for children and young adults in developing countries, where other forms of education are very limited indeed. Certainly, Behar’s track record brings with it the sort of publicity that many technology manufacturers could only dream of, and the XO-3 is certain to shift a lot of units.

Will the design take off outside its target market? In its current form, that’s clearly very unlikely. Tablet owners are certainly driven by form as well as function, even if they may not be prepared to admit it. The tech giants like Apple and Samsung certainly needn’t be worried that the XO-3 is going to muscle into their target markets. That aside, the XO-3 should be influencing the way in which those manufacturers design more sustainable products. If, for example, Behar can produce a solar-powered tablet that can cost as little as $100, then an iPad that benefits from the same kind of technology should almost certainly be on the cards.

Image: H Online

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