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Intel has a word for cheap ultraportable laptops using Intel chips and reference designs: Netbook. But if you thought all Netbooks were going to look have the Fisher Price styling of the Classmate PC and the 2Go PC, think again.

A mystery Netbook made an appearance during a developer forum in Shanghai. CNet reports that an Intel executive showed off a computer that’s about as thin as a Macbook Air, but has a larger keyboard and screen than the current crop of Classmate/Cloudbook/Eee PC models.

There’s no word on who’s making the machine, if it’s designed for consumer or educational markets, or when it will be released, if ever. It does appear to be running Linux. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s running Linpus Linux Lite or a similar distribution designed for small screen devices and Linux novices. There’s also no word on the pricing, but if this is truly a Netbook, odds are it should be closer to $500 than to the MacBook Air’s $1800 starting price.

[via Eee PC News.de]