The Classmate PC is Intel’s answer to the OLPC XO Laptop. Whereas Nicholas Negroponte and his colleagues built the XO around a low power CPU, Linux operating system, and special screen designed for outdoor reading, the Classmate is designed to look and feel like a more traditional laptop running Windows XP – only smaller.

In 2008, Intel says 700,000 computers built on the Classmate PC reference design were shipped in 2008. And the company expects to ship more than 2 million Classmate PCs this year.

In January, Intel unveiled the Classmate 3, which features a convertible tablet style design allowing users to type on a keyboard or interact with the netbook using a touchscreen and stylus or fingertip. But companies are still selling lower priced Classmate 2-based computers without touchscreen displays.

The Classmate PC is aimed primarily at students in developing and developed nations. According to DigiTimes, Intel is aggressively targeting China, Europe, and Southeastern Asia.

You can read my review of the CTL Classmate PC based on the Classmate 3 reference design here.

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2 replies on “Intel expects to ship 2-million classmate PC this year”

  1. 2 million for the world’s education markets? It’s a drop in the bucket, less even. I’m not even entirely sure I want this idea to take hold…it’s just another way to feed kids data in an uninteresting, rote way if it’s not done well…

    But I also know a lot these kids are better at using PCs and the web than I am(And I’m not quite 30 yet…), and that they might take to the media format in a more engaged way.

    The problem seems to be getting the machines out to the children of the world. I do think it’d be a revolution globally scaled…with all the triumphs, pitfalls, and tragedies that entails.

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