Intel is updating its reference design for mini-laptops aimed at students. The new Intel Classmate PC is a 10 inch laptop with an optional touchscreen display, a camera that rotates to face forward or back, and an Intel Celeron N2806 processor.

Intel Classmate PC

That chip is based on the same Silvermont/Bay Trail technology as the Atom processors used in tablets such as the Asus Transformer Book T100 and Dell Venue 8 Pro, but as a Celeron chip this 1.6 GHz dual-core CPU uses a little more power and should offer slightly higher performance.

Intel says the processor has a 4.5W TDP and uses about 2.5W under normal conditions. It also features Intel HD graphics with a top clock speed of 756 MHz.

The new Classmate PC is designed to run Windows 8.1, but Intel plans to introduce Windows 7 and Linux models later this year.

HP will offer the first notebook based on the new Classmate design when its HP Classmate Notebook PC hits the streets later this month.

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4 replies on “Intel’s Classmate PC laptop gets a Bay Trail speed boost”

  1. Finally a 100USD netbook (without windows, maybe)? If they skimp on the battery this won’t be worth much.

    1. Doubt that this will cost US$100, even without Windows. More like $250, given that it is

      – Celeron and not Atom, so it’s slightly more powerful, and therefore priced higher
      – has additional components, such as additional USB ports, etc which a tablet would have,
      and possibly more than a tablet + dock would have, perhaps mesh networking, sunlight
      readable display
      – more rugged construction than a tablet

      Regardless, given that Classmate PCs had cost upwards of $500, the drop in price
      and increase in capability over previous iterations is welcome indeed.

      1. This IS an atom processor, intel rebadged some of the new atoms as celerons to confuse the market. I honestly don’t see how this is anything but a downgrade compared to all the chromebooks already out there.

        1. They didn’t just “rebadged” them… the ones under Celeron/Pentium branding are the Bay Trail M and D SoCs, which operate at higher power, and support additional features like SATA 2 instead of just eMMC like Bay Trail T SoCs are limited to and up the Max RAM support to 8GB and can use removable DDR3L RAM.

          So these are more powerful than the Bay Trail T SoCs that go into mobile tablets and only support up to 4GB of RAM and use the same hardware as ARM tablets… not a lot more powerful but it’s more than just a name change… Bay Trail D SoCs can also scale up to 8 cores, along with custom Server model configurations…

          Downside, is like Core based Celerons/Pentiums (there hasn’t actually been a separate architecture for the Celeron/Pentium line for years but just budget versions of the Core series) there are also self imposed limitation like Quicksync is disabled by default…

          While Chromebooks don’t come with Windows pre-installed, you’ll likely be able to install a wider range of Linux distros on Intel hardware than ARM, you’ll more likely get larger internal storage than you would on a Chromebook, you’re more likely to be able to upgrade the RAM and drive on one of these than a Chromebook, and these will likely be pretty price competitive with Chromebooks anyway… Even core based Celeron 10″ laptops dip below $300 already!

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