From what we've seen thus far, Intel's Netbook isn't exactly the prettiest piece of kit. But apparently, the unit we've been shown looks nothing like the Netbooks of the future. At the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, the company was showing off an upcoming design that looked awfully thin (and awfully attractive). As it stands, all we truly know about the lappie was that Linux was under the hood and the Atom will likely power things whenever it escapes the trade show floor and ships en masse. Still, if the price is right, we can certainly see this slab being desired by more than just schoolkids in various corners of the world.

[Image courtesy of Impress]

Here we go, the official launch of Intel's second generation Classmate PC. After watching it trickle out in Malaysia, there's not much left to say about the rugged, Internet-centric platform of portables Intel is now calling "netbooks." However, if you're in the 95% of the world's children said to be without PCs or Internet, you're surely stoked at the prospect of your government handing you a 7- to 9-inch laptop with 6-cell battery, 512MB of memory, 30GB disk loaded with XP or Linux riding a Celeron M processor -- not Intel's newest Atom (though that's coming in future Classmates according to Intel). Then you can get started tweeting like your "more civilized" netizens.

We've seen 'em in India and the Philippines (among other locales), and if all goes according to plan, we'll be seeing 'em in the US and Europe, too. Reportedly, Intel will be making its Classmate PC available to the everyday joes / janes in America and Europe, though Lila Ibrahim, general manager of the firm's emerging market platform's group, declined to mention what PC manufacturers would be responsible. As for pricing, we're still hearing "sub-$300" tossed around, and while definitive time frames weren't provided, here's to hoping "soon" actually means soon.

[Thanks, Brad L.]

No real surprises here, we knew the Classmate PC would be showing up at retail stores for a slight premium -- 16,998 Philippine pesos is about $408 US dollars -- and that other companies can slap their own branding onto the laptops, but this is the first time we've spotted Intel's "OLPC killer" on actual store shelves. The "Neo Explore X1" won't be winning any beauty contests, that's for sure. There's another shot after the break.

[Thanks, bravekn1ght]

As if OLPC's Walter Bender hadn't already dragged this breakup far enough through the mud, Nicholas Negroponte himself has weighed in on Intel's departure, accusing the company of using underhand sales tactics to block OLPC sales and to win over OLPC customers to the Classmate PC. Nick says of Intel: "They were selling laptop with their brand on it directly to exactly the same people we were talking to. They would go in even after we had signed contracts and try to persuade government officials to scrap their contract and sign a contract with them instead. That's not a partnership." Apparently OLPC had six million dollars on the way from Intel before they scrapped the partnership, but Nick Neg had had enough. "Each time it happened they said they would correct their ways. It's a little like cheating on your spouse, or alcoholism, or something you just can't eventually fix and we had to finally part ways." Intel sees it differently, of course. "I don't want to get into specifics but we met every obligation that we were committed to," said Intel's Paul Otellini, who called Negroponte's version of events "hogwash." Intel's version of the story states that OLPC wanted Intel to drop its non-XO projects, namely Classmate PC. This was obviously always an awkward union, given the respective organizations' competing products, but you'd really hope for a bit more maturity in the breakup given the fact that this is all, you know, for the kids.

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is certainly no stranger to our CE-Oh no he didn't! series, but Mandriva's CEO François Bancilhon now looks to have turned the tables, with him targeting Ballmer in an open letter on his blog. Causing all his ire is a recent deal Mandriva made to install its Linux distribution onto 17,000 Classmate PCs sold to the Nigerian Government, which Nigeria says they will follow through on, only to replace the OS with Windows afterwards. Bancilhon, as you might have guessed, is laying the blame for the sudden change of heart squarely on Microsoft, and Ballmer specifically, saying "Wow! I'm impressed, Steve! What have you done for these guys to change their mind like this? It's pretty clear to me, and it will be clear to everyone." Bancilhon went on to ask, "How do you call what you just did Steve, in the place where you live?," adding that, "In my place, they give it various names, I'm sure you know them." Bancilhon then busted out the ever-reliable "how do you feel looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning?" line, before closing things off by saying, "You have the money, the power, and maybe we have a different sense of ethics you and I, but I believe that hard work, good technology and ethics can win too."

[Via Yahoo News/PC Magazine]

You may recall Libya's initial pledge to purchase 1.2 million low-cost lappies from OLPC, but some 12 months later, it looks like the nation's education ministry has given its business (for realz this time) to Intel and Microsoft. Reportedly, the country placed an order in August for 150,000 Classmate PCs, and deployment has just recently begun. Intel spokeswoman Agnes Kwan noted that Intel and Microsoft were "not subsidizing the price of the laptops," but she failed to mention exactly how much the Libyan education ministry was forking out for the machines. Furthermore, Kwan stated that Nigeria was also on board and should be placing an order of its own soon, but considering how sketchy these commitments have been in the past, we wouldn't hold our breath just yet.

Asus and Intel seem to be bridging the gap between the fairly humanitarian efforts of the OLPC project and their own Classmate PC efforts, and the recent rash of mini-laptop attempts such as Palm's Foleo and VIA's NanoBook. Specs and launch plans aren't entirely nailed down, but this new Eee PC line has quite a bit going for it, even as crowded as this market is getting. The 7-inch ultraportable is based on an unnamed Intel chipset, and runs regular Windows XP or Linux without a problem, but really shines in its "easy" mode that strips things down to a barebones OS mainly for internet browsing (sound familiar, Foleo?). Asus didn't even leave Palm alone with its Wii comparisons either, stating that the Eee name, which stands for "easy to learn, easy to play, easy to work," also conveniently conjures images of the Wii game console, which is known for being novice-friendly. The Eee line will kick things off with the Eee PC 701, which will sport 802.11b/g WiFi, Ethernet and a modem for connectivity, along with a webcam, 512MB of RAM and a 4, 8 or 16GB flash drive for speedy, reliable storage. The real kicker is that prices for the 2 pound laptop are supposed to start as low as $200, and the Intel / Asus duo won't be aiming this at massive governmental purchases, but instead will be offering it to consumers through traditional retail channels.

[Via HardwareZone]

Go figure, but the "purely humanitarian" battle to provide the world's estimated 1 billion poor children with a computer is as hostile as a chance-meetup of Rockers and Mods. Apparently, it all started when Intel's Chairman, Craig Barrett (pictured right), called the OLPC "a $100 gadget." Whatever the reason, last night's 60 Minutes had Nicholas Negroponte claiming that for-profit Intel is dumping its Classmate PC -- offering it below cost -- on the same governments he's offering his not-for-profit OLPC. "Intel should be ashamed of itself," Nick Neg says, "It's just -- it's just shameless." Negroponte offers an Intel marketing document which outlined the shortcomings of the OLPC approach (compared to the Classmate PC) as "proof" of Intel's wrong-doings. True, says Barett taking credit for the document, "that's the way our business works." All this because the OLPC features an AMD processor? Maybe, but it sure sounds like sour-grapes to us. Assuming you buy into Negroponte's premise of supplying the world's poor with computers, then who really cares if the children use a computer spawned of monetary self-interest or (supposedly) altruistic motivations -- just as long as the kids can play Doom on something?