Product News

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Products for Q1 2008

We regret most products below will only be available to developing countries initially -- except where noted (e.g. Weza's foot-powered Portable Energy Source).

Also see Peripherals for info on other products that may be in the works.

Multi-Battery Charger

Multi-Battery (Gang)Charger
  • 15 Battery charger; approximately 2-3 hours for full charge
  • Input Power source: AC 100V-230V or DC 9V-30V, 30Amp
  • Two laptop power connections to keep a laptop powered while swapping batteries
  • Cost estimate, no shipping, no warranty, no overhead: $280

For more details see: Multi channel battery charger

Prototypes/Demos available in April 2008
Allow 3-4 months for production quantities, 1000+

Hand Powered Clamp Charger

Freeplay® Clamp Charger


  • Cranking at 130-140 rpm yields nominal 15VDC at 1500mA
  • LED indicates minimum winding speed for charging the laptop
  • Cable connects directly to XO laptop
  • Cost estimate: $13 each
  • Detailed Specification

Prototypes/Demos available now (Dec 2007) from OLPC.
We regret products will only be available to developing countries initially.
Note: Please do NOT email your request to help@laptop.org, as they cannot order products for you.
Manufacturer: Freeplay®

Foot Power, Weza

FreePlay® Weza
  • Step treadle power: 25-40 Watts
  • Internal rechargeable 12V, 7Ah lead acid battery
  • Can recharge from AC or DC sources as well as foot treadle
  • Requires olpc specific cable to connect to XO laptop


Allow 2 months for production orders
Individual sales are possible (Portable Energy Source is tentatively $269.99) but check manufacturer web site for details: Freeplay®




Active Antenna

Active Antenna


  • 802.11s wireless access point powered via USB
  • Use 1-3 Active Antennas with a school server to create mesh channels for XO laptops
  • Can be used to extend the range of an XO laptop
  • Includes 5 meter cable with USB connector
  • Cost estimate: $15-20 (not confirmed)


For more details see Peripherals/Active Antenna


Prototypes available

School Server Software

Can be loaded on a generic server.

  • LiveCD installation
  • Uplink for internet connectivity
  • Local Jabber service for school collaborative activities
  • Web caching for easy content retrieval
  • Cost: Open-source, freely available
  • Can be used with OLPC Active Antennas or infrastructure Access Points (802.11b/g)

Software is available

Solar Panels

5W Solar Panel



  • 5Watt/14Volt panel
    • Complete Charge time @ rated output: 5 hours 15 minutes
    • US$12.00 ex-work plus US5.50 S&H charge
  • 7Watt/14Volt panel
    • Complete Charge time @ rated output: 3 hours 45 minutes
    • US$16.80 ex-work plus US$7.70 S&H charge
  • 10Watt/14Volt panel
    • Complete Charge time @ rated output: 2 hours 40 minutes
    • US$24.00 ex-work plus US$11.00 S&H charge


  • 60W/17Volt blanket panel to be used with Multi-Battery Charger DC-DC version
Solar Panel Blanket
    • Cost estimate for 60W blanket: $150





These products are available today for large quantity purchases only, with a 6-8 week lead time on large orders
For more information or to place an order, please write to bill (at) pvmaster.com

ZoWii USB2.0 to Ethernet adapter

ZoWii Ethernet adapter


Connects the XO to Ethernet networks (example: turning the XO into a wired mesh portal). Useful for developers and network experimentation.

  • Extremely compact, low power USB2.0 to Ethernet adapter
  • Based on the ASIX chipset - driver already included in the XO

Available online