Intel Corporation has beaten the "one laptop per child" program to the punch by shipping its Intel Classmate PCs in volume to Brazil and Mexico. The low-cost 1.3kg "classmate PC" laptop features a Intel Celeron M 900MHz CPU (with no L2 cache), Intel 915GMS core-logic, 256MB of DDR2 memory, 10/100Mb/s Ethernet adapter, 802.11b/g wireless network controller and is equipped with 1GB or 2GB of NAND flash memory for storage space. The device sports a 7" display (800x480 resolution) and is equipped with either Windows XP or Linux. The computer is aimed at collaborative learning environments for K-12 schools and is part of Intel"s on-going commitment to equip children around the world with technology that will help them advance their learning and development.
Intel"s classmate PC, for which pricing is unclear, is a part of the Intel World Ahead program. In addition to Brazil and Mexico, Intel also plans to run Intel-powered classmate PC pilot programs in more than 25 countries this year, including Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. Intel plans for these classmate PCs to be available in such languages as English, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Turkish. "Our goal is to provide students with the 21st-century skills they need, such as collaboration and critical thinking, to help ensure that they"re prepared to succeed in the knowledge-based economy. We expect Intel-powered classmate PCs to be an important device to help in education as well," said Willy Agatstein, Intel vice president for sales and marketing group and general manager for emerging markets platform group.