A new generation of Intel’s Classmate
laptop is to be sold in the UK. The newly designed
notebook will be available in the UK from February, retailing at £349. The Classmate can be converted from a traditional laptop into a
tablet PC to enable children to write and draw more naturally. The
PCs will mainly be sold directly to stores, but will also be available online via Amazon, and on the high street in Argos.
The new
laptops are considerably more costly than its predecessor, with Intel’s first Classmate
PC priced at between £137 and £275 depending on the specifications. To date, nearly one million units have been sold in developing nations according to
Intel, though their focus has shifted to more developed nations.
Intel Europe’s deputy general manager, Gordon Graylish, said, ‘It doesn't matter whether the children are in Mali, Vietnam, France or the US. The research we did across both the developing and the developed world showed that human beings are actually quite similar, with similar needs, particularly if they are five years old. Two years ago there was not a lot of interest from mature markets, but that has changed and governments are saying they need to do something to combat social deprivation.’