Created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, the XO is now being handed out around the world.
Some believe its business model is flawed and that money could be better spent on basic necessities or training teachers.
$100 laptop in school
Rory Cellan-Jones visited Galadima Primary School on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria where children are testing the XO.
But the government has voiced reservations about whether the project is worth the cost.
Limiting battery drain
The XO laptop has unique methods of conserving battery power. Its screen is lit by daylight and it has no electrically powered moving parts.
These technologies mean it can run for about 24 hours without being recharged.
Ripcord charger
The XO is designed to be used in remote areas where electricity is in short supply.
The developers have made prototypes of a ripcord charger for children to recharge the battery by hand.
Teaching programs
The operating system of the XO laptop is based on Linux open source software.
Educational packages in commonly used languages have been loaded onto each notebook, as Rory Cellan-Jones explains.
XO's designers
Click's Andrew Webb travelled to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to meet the XO's designers and software writers.
He reports on how engineers had to ignore convention when developing the device.
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