The information that the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) venture is close to releasing a $75 tablet for kids is pretty extraordinary. Non-profit creator Nicholas Negroponte said this week that OLPC expects to have a functioning example of its XO-3 tablet computer by December 2010, and that it plans to first appearance the machine at the January 2011 Consumer Electronics Show.

The sub-$100 price tag will be show even further astounding if the XO-3 completes its creators' objectives of melding the iPad, Kindle, and laptop into a tough, kid-friendly enclose.

But is this a sensible objective for such a low-cost device? Given the past of OLPC's much-ballyhooed $100 laptop, which never fairly hit its aggressive price point and now costs nearly double as much (you can donate one for $199 to a child in a developing country), I have my doubts. And don't forget about the deserted XO-2 touchscreen device, a project cancelled last year when OLPC appreciates the unit would cost too much to create, Forbes information.