Intel says their new Netbook, the 2go PC, will soon be available for sale to the general public through Amazon for $400 and at other outlets like CompUSA and Fred Meyers. The 2go PC will be shipping beginning mid May.
“Only 5 percent of the world’s children today have access to a PC or to the Internet,” said Andrew Chien, Intel vice president, Corporate Technology Group and director of Intel Research. Education is a prime focus of the new machine.
Priced from about $300 to just under $500, the new notebooks will be marketed under the name The 2goPC by CTL. They will come with Windows or Linux, have full keyboards, 9” LCD screens, up to 40GB hard drives, and up to 1GB of memory.
The 2goPC is a 3-lb. unit based on the Intel Celeron M processor and the Intel 915GMS chipset. The notebook features a sturdy plastic case, two integrated speakers, 2 USB ports, RJ-45 10/100 LAN ports and 4-cell Lithium Ion batteries with 3 to 4-hr. typical usage time. It is Microsoft Windows XP-compatible and will run Linux as well. The computers will also feature two webcams, memory card readers and built in WiFi.
Laptop Magazine has a brief hands-on and a full review of the device (specs), which is said to be a big improvement over the original Classmate PC, with its rugged design, long battery life and lightweight chassis.
Several school districts through out the country were involved in the test pilot program including Portland Public Schools (pdf). “We really put it to the test and found it more than met the expectations of our teachers and students,” said Michael Scott, third grade teacher at Buckman Elementary School. “Also, priced as it is, it’s an affordable way to make technology available to all students.”
CTL is a supplier to numerous government agencies in Oregon and Washington, and to Kroger Company’s Fred Meyer chain, CompUSA and Intel. Founded in 1989, CTL is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and manufactures CTL-branded desktop computers, laptops and notebooks as well other consumer electronics in South Korea.
In related news, Microsoft and DirecTV announced a partnership today that will revamp schools in Miami and Latin America with new technology.
The effort, dubbed Piedra, Papel y Tijera (Rock, Paper and Scissors), will focus is on Latin America, although Microsoft and DirecTV are starting with a pilot school in Miami.
In addition to giving schools a makeover, DirecTV, Microsoft, and the Discovery Channel are also working on a program called Escuela+ that will see educational programs beamed to participating schools via satellite, in some cases being watched live and in other cases stored on digital video recorders.
One of the programs, Microsoft Help Desk, will train teachers and students how to provide technical support to their own computer labs. It began as a pilot program in January with 21 schools in Puerto Rico, with the effort now expanding to Chile, Colombia, and Peru.
