Intel CEO Paul Otellini took the wraps of a new mobile personal computer which the company says is designed to provide an affordable, and collaborative learning environments for classrooms around the world. The obvious market for something like this would be the developing countries such as India and Brazil - and almost the entire Africa and the rest of Asia.

The obvious comparison that springs to mind is with the proposed $ 100 laptop from MIT and Nicholas Negroponte. Intel wouldn't like that particular comparison though, and they are open about it. "No one wants to cross the digital divide with yesterday's technology," said Paul Otellini during a demo of the low cost mobile PC. This machine costs 4 times as much as the OLPC, but on the other hand, it can run either Windows or Linux. We are not clear on which versions of Windows it can run though - we suspect that it will not be able to run Microsoft's forthcoming Vista operating system anyway.

So is the Intel Eduwise a laptop or a mobile PC? The form factor is closer to a laptop than a PC. We really cannot understand why Intel calls it a low cost mobile PC - except that using the term 'notebook' or 'laptop' may encourage comparisons with the regular laptops, and that can't be good for the image they are trying to create for it as separate from those.

The Intel low cost PC is actually a reference machine. Intel will not be manufacturing it. That will be taken care of by the regular computer manufacturers of the world.

The Eduwise which Intel unveiled has a handle, snaps shut like a purse, has a wireless facility (we suspect) with which students will be able to view a teacher's presentations on their screens. Exactly how this works, we are not sure of yet.

The killer, we think, is the price. $ 400 translates to Rs 17,600 in India. That is a price at which one can buy a regular PC in India now. Let us assume that an Eduwise, manufactured in India using local manpower and cheap material costs could be cheaper. But even at a cost of Rs 10,000 per eduwise PC, it stays quite unapproachable for the rural student in India.

However, it is unlikely that the proposed PCs are to be bought by the students directly. If and when they finally reach the students, they will be highly subsidized and distributed though government arms or through other non-governmental organizations. How it all will finally work out: Whether the Eduwise machines by local manufacturers will be cheaper, will India opt for Eduwise or the OLPC, whether electrical power will be needed to run the machines or will they use hand cranks (as in the MIT OLPC) - there are just too many questions and few answers at this point.