Being in the eDetailing and Closed Loop Marketing business, I have a natural inclination of taking a look at new and different tools used for education. Sales representation presenting information about a particular pharmaceutical or medical device is very analogous to a teacher showing a child how to do math.
Here at CES, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) and fuseproject demonstrated a fully functional version of their updated 3rd Generation XO product, the XO-3 tablet.
What makes this tablet most intriguing is that it’s a low-cost, low-power tablet computer designed for use by children in third world and emerging countries. It is meant to withstand rough conditions, not only within the enviroment they are intended for, but the ruggedness was specifically designed with their end user in mind. The end users, generally, being children.
Upon first glance, it’s clear the the XO-3 is aiming to be simple. However, this little Android-based tablet sports a Marvell ARMADA PXA618 SOC processor, has WiFi capabilities, and comes with rear and front facing cameras. What also makes this tablet unique is that the XO-3 is also the ONLY tablet that can be power via solar panels, hand crank and other alternative power sources.
Obviously, the XO-3 isn’t designed to be an iPad killer or even a competitor to the Kindle Fire. Tablets such as the XO-3 are clearly a testament on how simple design and consideration can make technology affordable and available to just about anyone. The OLPC initiative has provided technology based educational tools to over 2.5 million children globally.
This approach to providing access to low-cost computing power can be extended to other forms of education for people not normally familiar with new technology.
Manufacturing moves like this can play an interesting role in our industry. Lowering hardware cost can possibly usher in a number of different application:
- Disposable / recyclable one use eDetail platform
- Customized / branded educational tool for patient education
- Video conference between a medical specialist and a patient in a remote location
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