School children in India to get Intel's Classmate PCs

Intel and HCL Infosystems have jointly launched the Intel-powered Classmate PC, formerly known as Eduwise, for the benefit of school children in India.

The high-tech educational tool will be available in the Indian market from August 2007.

The portable Classmate PC, priced around Rs 18,000, has been developed by Intel and is intended to provide technology to students that would aid learning in classrooms.

The innovative model is a mobile device that is powered by Intel Mobile Processor 900 MHz and comes with WiFi and Ethernet connectivity. It has a 7-inch LCD screen, 256 MB and 512 MB RAM, with 1 GB and 2GB NAND Flash memory and is available with both Linux and Windows XP Operating System, respectively.

The ultra-light device weighs less than 1.45 kg and comes with 6 cells Li-on battery promising 3-4 hours usage time.

The fully functional personal computer is also equipped with water-resistant keyboard, an integrated and specialised educational feature set that allows teacher-student and teacher-parent collaboration, an advanced theft-control feature based on network-issued digital certification, and is capable of running mainstream applications including video and educational software.

The special software of the wirelessly enabled device has been created by education solution provider Educomp. The hand-held devices are being manufactured in China by Intel’s ODM (original design manufacturer) Computex, a Taiwanes firm, for the Asia-Pacific region.

The first shipments of the HCL Classmate PC are expected to begin by August-September 2007. HCL Infosystems will also offer customised, integrated learning solutions to schools through its tie-ups with content developers and Education Service Providers (ESP).

HCL Infosystems will utilise both its countrywide direct sales network along with channel sales network to reach out to schools and educational institutes across the country.

Since the $1-billion Intel World Ahead Programme was introduced around a year ago, Intel has distributed around 32,000 Classmate PCs in the Asia-Pacific region, including 10,000 units in select states across India on a pilot basis.

With HCL stepping in as manufacturing partner, India is the first nation in the Asia-Pacific region where the Classmate PC is reaching schools.

Officials of the HCL Infosystems said the company is keen on installing around 3,000-5,000 such PCs in India over the next nine months to a year.