ZDNet UK

CNET NETWORKS UK BUSINESS SITES:
atlarge.com
BNET UK
silicon.com
SmartPlanet.com
ZDNet.co.uk

ZDNet.co.uk - Winner of Best Business Website 2007

You are here: ZDNet.co.uk > Reviews > Hardware > Notebooks

Mobile devices Toolkit

Photos: OLPC, Classmate and Eee

Charles Mclellan ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 03 Mar 2008 15:03 GMT

1 2 3 ... 14

The left-hand sides of the three notebooks all carry a pair of audio jacks (mic/headphone) and a USB port; the Classmate and Eee add an RJ-45 Ethernet connector and a fan intake — features missing from the wireless-only, passive-cooled OLPC XO. The latter's ear-like antennas cater for 802.11s mesh networking as well as standard 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity (also supported in the Classmate and Eee).

The connector for the XO's 12V AC adapter is also on the left-hand side: the notebook is designed to work with off-grid power sources such as solar panels and car batteries; a human-powered 'yo-yo' pull-cord generator has also been designed, although this is not yet widely available.

Another unusual feature of the XO is its microphone input, which can also be used to measure voltage and resistance, allowing sensors to be plugged in and their output recorded by the included Measure application (or 'activity' in OLPC's terminology).

Did you find this article useful?
85 out of 192 people found this useful

Post a comment

Full Talkback thread

7 comments

More in this Special Report

Low-power computing: a tech guide

We examine a number of low-power desktops, thin clients and notebooks to find out which platforms are most suitable for deployment in developing countries... more

Photos: OLPC, Classmate and Eee

How do the three leading education-orientated ultraportable notebooks stack up? Take our visual tour to find out... more

Lenovo ThinkCentre A61e review

Businesses interested in cutting the power bills generated by their desktop PCs will be interested in Lenovo's ThinkCentre A61e... more

Aleutia E1 review

The Aleutia E1 is a creditable effort at creating a compact, low-power desktop computer. However, the current hardware platform seems a little underpowered for anything other than the most basic tasks... more

Inveneo Computing Station review

The Inveneo Computing Station delivers reasonably good performance for a low-power PC. It's small, but an untidy assembly means it could be more convenient to handle... more

NComputing L230 review

NComputing's L230 thin client is an option if you need to add a group of low-impact users to an existing Ethernet LAN. However, you'll need to ensure that the host PC is adequately specified to deliver acceptable performance to the terminals attached to it... more

NComputing X300 review

NComputing's X300 provides a cost-effective way to hang up to six terminals off a single desktop PC using low-power, secure, easy to administer and quiet access terminals. It's not for power users, but is well suited to schools, business workgroups, libraries, internet cafés and suchlike... more

ASUS Eee PC 701 review

The Asus Eee PC 701 is a great notebook. It's extremely affordable, attractively designed and highly portable. If you're looking for an ultraportable travelling companion or a cheap second computer, there are few better options... more

Intel Classmate PC review

Aimed at students in developing countries, the Intel Classmate PC is an intriguing attempt at a low-cost notebook. We love the rugged design, but the small 2GB solid-state hard drive doesn't leave a lot of room for growth... more

OLPC XO review

A work in progress rather than a finished product, the XO has much to recommend it. However, there are substantive issues to address if it's to live up to its creators' lofty ideals in practice... more

New Products

Apple Time Capsule: a first look

With Time Capsule, Apple blends high-bandwidth wireless networking and automated system backup in one tidy-looking package.

Apple MacBook Air: a first look

The MacBook Air is not quite an ultraportable, but it is exceptionally thin. Retaining the same 13.3in. display as the current MacBook line, it tapers from 1.94cm thick to just 0.4cm. Apple calls it the 'world's thinnest notebook'.

View all Previews