In a sign of the growing importance of computers in education, Lenovo has signed up to join Intel's Classmate PC program which sells child-friendly computers to governments and schools.
The education market for PCs is booming worlwide as schools and teachers see more value in low-cost web-connected computers as learning devices.
Lenovo is now making its Lenovo Classmate+PC and will sell them for $300 to $400, depending on configuration. Lenovo's first major customer is Argentina's nonprofit group, the Organization of Ibero-American States, which will deploy 158,000 laptops for students in Argentina.
Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based Lenovo will use the same hardware as specified in Intel's Learning Series reference design for a child's laptop. The laptops have educational software on them and they're targeted at grades K-8. Lenovo has the ability to offer the laptops on a global basis in custom configurations as needed, said Michael Schmedlen, director of worldwide education at Lenovo. Lenovo tests new ideas at its Lenovo Learning Environment lab in Morrisville, N.C.
Intel has more than 300 partners in 60 countries who take the Learning Series designs for Classmate PCs and then sell them to local schools. To date, more than 3 million Intel-based Classmate PCs have sold globally. The laptops are based on a lot of ethnographic research (from observing people in real life) and include features such as a handle so a child can carry it. The latest models are more rugged and water resistant, said Annette Mosgovoy, director of the Intel Learning Series Global Program.
The latest models run on Windows 7 and have Intel Atom processors, ethernet and Wi-Fi web connectivity, storage of up to 250 gigabytes, a 10.1-inch LED backlit screen, a 1.3-megapixel camera, multiple universal serial ports (USB), and a 4-in-1 memory card reader.