Intel Introduces New Classmate PCs

Intel has officially introduced four new Classmate PCs - now "netbooks" - for schools in developing markets, featuring better battery life and water-resistant keyboards.

At this week’s Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, Intel officially unveiled the second generation of its low-cost Classmate PCs, which the company is now re-branding as “netbooks” to emphasize their wireless networking and Internet access capabilities. The new Classmate PCs offer screens from 7 to 9 inches in size and run off Intel Celeron M processors, and support either Windows XP or Linux operating systems.

“Only 5 percent of the world’s children today have access to a PC or to the Internet,” said Intel VP and director of Intel Research Andrew Chien, in a statement. “We have seen how technology helps teachers create fun learning experiences more efficiently. We have also been touched by children’s excitement when they are inspired by technology. The Intel-powered classmate PC is one of the ways we support the IT industry in spreading the benefits of technology in education for children around the world.”

The new Classmate PCs offer 802.11b/g wireless networking with mesh capabilities so groups of Classmate users can form impromptu networks for sharing media and collaborating on projects. The high-end of the new Classmate line features a 9-inch LCD screen, 512 MB of RAM, an integrated Webcam, a six-cell batter, and a 30 GB hard drive. The systems will be available with education software “stacks” and content in eight languages. The new Classmates are driven by Intel’s Celeron M processor, but the company is already saying that future versions will be powered by the company’s just-announced Atom processor architecture, which Intel is aggressively promoting for use in mobile Internet devices (MIDs).

The new Classmate PCs ratchet up Intel’s competition with the Massachusetts-based One Laptop Per Child initiative, which pioneered the idea of low-cost laptops designed specifically for educational use in developing markets.

The new Classmate PCs will be built by other manufacturers and shipped under a variety of brand names in different markets around the world; prices for the new Classmates are expected to range from $300 to $500 per unit.