Product News

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Revision as of 19:08, 9 December 2007 by 71.245.235.82 (talk)
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Products for Q1 2008

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

Multi-Battery Charger

Multi-Battery 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: $220

For more details see: Multi channel battery charger

Prototypes/Demos available in January 2008
Allow 2-3 months for production quantities


Hank Crank

  • Power output: 5-8 Watts
  • Cable connects directly to XO laptop
  • Cost estimate: $13 each


Prototypes/Demos available now (Dec 2007) from OLPC
Production orders are being taken now
Manufacturer: Freeplay


Foot Power, 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
Manufacturer: Freeplay


Active Antenna

Active Antenna
  • 802.11s wireless access point powered via USB
  • Use 1-3 Active Antennas with 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

For more details see Peripherals/Active Antenna

Prototypes available in January 2008

School Server Software

Can be loaded on a generic server.

  • Networked printing??
  • LiveCD installation
  • Provides automatic Laptop backup and restore
  • Local Jabber service for school collaborative activities
  • Uplink for internet connectivity
  • Web caching for easy content retrieval
  • Cost: Open-source, freely available


Software available in December 2007

Solar Panels

Solar Panel Blanket

Three products are available today with a 6-8 week lead time on large orders:


  1. 5Watt/14Volt panel for single laptop charging, $13 in qty of 100 or more.
  2. 7Watt/14Volt panel for single laptop, 40% faster charging time than 5W panel
  3. 60W/17Volt blanket panel for lead acid 'car' battery; to be used with Multi-Battery Charger DC-DC version


For price quotes, orders or more information, please write to bill (at) pvmaster.com