The OLPC project developers have announced a relatively minor refresh to its original laptop design that will see the XO model fitted with a faster processor and the ability to play HD video. According to the nonprofit, the upcoming XO-1.5 features the same industrial design as its predecessor, but drops its current 433MHz AMD Geode processor in favor of a more powerful VIA C7-M CPU that can step between 400MHz and 1GHz.


The move comes as no real surprise seeing as AMD had discontinued its low-power Geode processor earlier this year to focus on more mainstream products. The XO-1.5 will also contain a new VX855 chipset that supposedly adds high-definition video decoding and 3D graphics, as well as surround sound, while maintaining its low power requirements and being slightly cheaper to build. This will be bolstered by 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM and 4GB of NAND Flash, with an option for 8GB.

The company is also looking towards its partnership with PixelQi to improve the both brightness and efficiency of the screen on future models, and confirmed that work is progressing on its dual touch screen XO, which is reportedly set to arrive sometime in 2010.