
More news is coming from the Intel Developers Conference: yesterday we found that
wireless USB was launching for realz, and now Intel is supposedly ready to drop its sub-$400 notebook for "emerging markets" across the globe. While it seems the company is flaunting one of these every
few months, the Classmate PC has actually grown some roots (and a production schedule to boot) from its
Edu-Wise beginnings. The ultraportable will house an (unspecified) Intel Celeron M processor, 7-inch 800 x 480 LCD, 256MB of DDR2 RAM, 1GB of
NAND goodness, and a (hopefully
non-explosive) 6-cell Li-ion battery. No details were revealed regarding the ports or connectivity options, but at least this unit isn't powered by a
pull-string, right? Packing a Windows XP embedded OS, the machines are slated to hit full scale production in "Q1 2007," and orders have reportedly already been placed by governments in Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria and
India (they've found a
winner, apparently). Manufacturing is supposed to be handled by Taiwan's Uniwill Computer, but considering its about to undergo a takeover by Elitegroup Computer Systems, and how sketchy these foreign "order commitments" can become, we're not exactly holding our collective breath for things to roll out without a few
setbacks.
[Via
TGDaily]