Intel Classmate PC

The Intel Classmate PC shares a common goal with the OLPC XO-1: to put laptops into the hands of needy children in developing countries. Basically, Intel has enlisted international partners, who will be rebranding the Classmate PC—in coordination with the Taiwanese firm that designed it—and working with governments around the world, which will distribute them to students. The partners will also provide setup and technical support to the schools receiving the laptops. Whether, apart from its humanitarian aim, the Classmate PC was created to help Intel shareholders (it is a for-profit venture), to steal Nick Negroponte's spotlight, or just to provide healthy competition to his One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative is an open question. One thing's for sure, though: The Classmate PC is a sturdy, capable little laptop that runs Linux or Windows XP Professional and is an excellent alternative to the XO-1.

Classmate PCs will typically be purchased by large government entities rather than the general public. Because of volume orders and discounts—the minimum order is 100 units—the price tag fluctuates between $235 and $300 per laptop. As is now also the case with the OLPC XO-1, you can't buy your own Classmate PC. The number of units sold and where they end up remains a mystery for both the Classmate PC and XO-1.

From the outside, the Classmate PC is a thick, bulky little laptop. It's covered in cheap plastics, although you wouldn't know because Intel does a decent job of shielding this with a tight-fitting, sky-blue folio case. The casing completely covers the lid and base, becoming a carrying handle at the back of the system. A magnetic strap at the base secures the two halves. While the Classmate PC is sturdy, it's clear that Intel didn't place as much emphasis on design as did the OLPC XO-1 and the ASUS Eee PC 4G. For example, the Classmate PC measures 1.8 by 9.6 by 7.8 by inches (HWD), so it's thicker than the Eee PC 4G (1.1 by 8.8 by 6.5 inches) and the XO-1 (1.3 by 9.1 by 9.7 inches) by at least a half an inch. It's also the heaviest of the trio at 3.2 pounds (the Eee PC 4G weighs 2.2 pounds, while the XO-1 is 3.1 pounds).

The Classmate is a basic clamshell that doesn't leave much to the imagination. The XO-1, by contrast, has several design attributes worth noting. One is a rotating display (like a convertible tablet's, but without touch sensitivity) that allows a child to use the laptop as an electronic book reader. And its plastic casing is cleverly designed to form a carrying handle and protective "rabbit ears" to cover up the connectivity ports. The Eee PC 4G, meanwhile, caters more to adults, with its 2.2-pound frame and sleek dimensions.

Gazing at the interior of the Classmate PC is like experiencing a blast from the past. It conjures up images of the NEC UltraLite and the first Macintosh portable. The 83 percent keyboard reminds me of a miniaturized desktop keyboard. Although it's slightly bigger and more comfortable to type on than the XO-1's rubberized, 69 percent keyboard, for an adult, getting used to it would take a monumental effort. Children, as they are the target audience, will adjust quickly because this will be their first system. Still, the best typing experience of the crop belongs to the Eee PC 4G, whose 83 percent keyboard has more responsive keys. And like the Eee PC 4G, the Classmate looks as if it could fit an 11-inch screen rather than the 7-inch (800-by-480) screen it actually comes with.

The feature set is comparable to that of the Eee PC 4G and is far more impressive than that of the XO-1. Of these, probably the most compelling is an integrated SD slot—similar to the Eee PC 4G's and the XO-1's MMC/SD reader—hidden beneath the folio case at the laptop's back. Since these systems come with very limited local storage—the Classmate PC with 2GB and the Eee PC with 4GB of flash memory—the ability to expand storage is vital for installing additional software and storing media content. Granted, USB hard drives will work just fine, but they tend to be obtrusive. The XO-1's Achilles heel is that it has only 1GB of storage although it does have an expansion card reader. In case you do want to attach USB peripherals, the Classmate PC has two USB ports. It also comes with a headphone port, microphone port, an Ethernet port, and built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi.

My review unit came preloaded with Windows XP Professional. The Classmate PC can be customized (by Intel's partners abroad) with different flavors of Linux, such as Mandriva and Metasys. By contrast, the Eee PC 4G and the XO-1 are currently being sold with Linux operating systems only (though there has been talk of the Eee PC becoming available with XP). A major benefit of running Linux is that these systems are typically customized with a full suite of free applications. With a Classmate PC running Windows XP, though, expansion slots are all the more important, because the OS alone takes up half the storage capacity of the drive. After Intel preloads Microsoft Office 2003, student applications, and security updates, there isn't much room left for anything else. According to Intel, though, an optional 30GB spinning hard drive should be available later this year. In the meantime, I was able to run Corel's InterVideo WinDVD and Adobe Acrobat Reader, and play a bunch of MPEG movies from a 1GB SD card—all without a hitch.

Despite the amount of space that Windows XP takes up, Intel still managed to include some interesting applications. The company is heavily promoting its collaboration software, Mythware e-Learning Class 6.0, in an effort to improve the interaction between teachers and students in a classroom setting. This piece of software comes on a separate disc for use by the teacher on a remote PC. The Classmate PC is already preloaded with its own client software. The one caveat is that an 802.11-based wireless network must be in place in order for this type of interaction to occur. (It doesn't use "mesh networking"—the type of networking found on the XO-1, in which two computers can connect to each other without an access point present.) As long as these systems sign onto the same network, you can have multiple Classmate PCs, or "students," interacting with the "teacher" via a whiteboard (a virtual chalkboard) setting. Once you connect to the network, the "student" computer will automatically search for "sessions" created by the teacher. A teacher can monitor the activity of any one student, broadcast videos and audio clips, or engage in a chat session with a group of students. These capabilities are very similar to those of Windows Remote Desktop and NetMeeting Whiteboard applications.

The Classmate PC also comes with a USB peripheral, an infrared sensor called Notetaker. This clips onto any notepad and digitally translates anything written on the pad—we're talking ink on paper here—into the computer. The student can digitally organize, move, edit, and add handwritten notes by writing on the notepad.

How do you prevent the Classmate PCs from getting into the wrong hands? The units have their own shutdown mechanism. A TPM (Trusted Platform Module), often found on business systems, is integrated into the Classmate PC. This security module is embedded into the circuit board of the laptop. Even if a thief were to wipe the contents from the drive, the Classmate PC would still have to authenticate with a remote server on the BIOS level. Managed by the teacher, the remote server issues what's called a certificate, which enables the Classmate PC to be given either a certain number of boots or a time frame in which a student can log on. For example, if a student takes the system home for the weekend, the teacher can set up a schedule that will allow the student to work on the laptop during this time. If a certificate fails to authenticate, the laptop will shut itself down until the teacher can reenable it.

Performance-wise, the components on the Classmate PC are practically identical to those on the ASUS Eee PC 4G. Both systems run a 900-MHz Intel Celeron M processor and have 512MB of memory. This is the minimum configuration you need to run Windows XP without bogging the system down. On the other hand, the AMD Geode processor and 256MB in RAM limit the OLPC to a Linux operating system. The Classmate's configuration will let any child effortlessly surf the Web, run an Office application, play music and video files, and even perform some light video encoding. Furthermore, a Windows interface, in my opinion, is more intuitive than the OLPC's Linux interface. That's not to say that the Classmate PC doesn't have its limitations. There were instances in which the system crashed during a video presentation when I was using the teacher-student software. The six-cell battery lasted only 2 hours 30 minutes when I played a DVD movie with a USB optical drive, so these classrooms had better have multiple power outlets.

The appearance of the Classmate PC that a child receives may be noticeably different from my review unit. Certain countries might have a different logo or color scheme, with or without a folio case. Intel's basic business model is to sell the Classmate PC's blueprint to partners in developing countries so that these partners can eventually re-brand it as their own. Intel will then work with these partners to set up a student-teacher learning environment, ideally in schools, complete with wireless networks, software loads, and repair facilities. The current ODM (original design manufacturer) is a Taiwanese-based company called ECS, which will be working with Intel partners to bring the Classmate PC to their nation. (Initially, Intel worked with ASUS to design the Classmate PC, but ASUS ventured off on its own to design the Eee PC 4G.) Companies that have signed on so far include COC and Positivo of Brazil, HCL of India, Global IT of Libya, and Alteq of Nigeria. Intel hopes that these are just the start of a growing list. The effectiveness of integrating these systems into a classroom environment remains an open question.

The Intel Classmate PC is basically a twofold initiative. Its primary objective is to put an inexpensive laptop into the hands of needy children, which by itself is a praiseworthy goal. At the same time, Intel wants to formulate a business model and generate revenue to appease shareholders, and you can't blame the company for that. The Classmate PC is a solid system that integrates key features like a card reader, Wi-Fi, and a Windows operating system for less than $300 (and free to the students into whose hands the units will be put). In some ways, it's better equipped than the XO-1. The only obstacle in its way is getting developing countries to buy into this idea and fork over the necessary money to build a classroom ecosystem, because unlike with the XO-1, you can't donate them one at a time.

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