Customers who ordered the XO Laptop from the OLPC's give one get one program are starting to get their laptops in the mail. And of course, that means we're starting to see a few Flickr photos and YouTube videos. Pretty soon the user reviews will probably turn from a trickle into a flood. But in the meantime, here are a few first looks.
Teaching Online Journalism's Mindy McAdams got her hands on an XO, and she's pretty happy with it. You can check out a bunch of images in her Flickr Photostream.
And several YouTubers have unboxed and started using their XO laptops on camera. After spending a little time watching these first looks, here's what I can tell you so far. It's not at all obvious how you open the thing up when you first get it. (The answer is that you need to flip up the antennae before you can open the case). The keyboard is also small and doesn't look as comfortable as the Eee PC's.
You do get a higher resolution screen than the Eee PC's. And while it's not a touchscreen, you can flip it back into tablet mode for reading. You can also dim the backlight all the way for outdoor reading. Overall, the XO looks interesting, if a bit more like a Fisher Price toy than a computer.
1 comments:
Brad,
I think you might be comparing apples and oranges: I've used both an XO and an Eee and can tell you that they are targeted to very different groups of users.
The Eee is more for computer users like you and I - those who have high computing expectations and a background in using computers.
The XO is target differently - it really is for children, which is why it feels like a 'toy'. Yes, the interface is odd and it's not like other modern interfaces, but I feel that's because I have some background in computing and have been using the same general interface for years.
So, why buy an XO? For me it was two things - I camp a lot and I wanted something sturdy. Also, it comes apart easily and I can mod it into something neat.
Why an Eee? Because it's more computer-literate friendly and the modding on it will result in something eve more usable.
BD
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