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Could this laptop be the next Classmate PC?

Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service Fri Mar 28, 11:00 AM ET

A Malaysian Web site has published specifications and pictures of a laptop unveiled this week by a local computer maker that evidence suggests could be a new version of Intel's Classmate PC for education markets.

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Like the Classmate PC, FTEC Resources' Smart Book is based on a Celeron M ULV processor and comes with a range of options, including a 9-inch or 7-inch screen, and a choice of either a hard disk or solid-state storage, according to a recent report on Malaysia's Lowyat.net.

"The FTEC Smart Book is targeted at children from all ages as young as those in pre-schools as an educational tool and aims to provide them with access to mainstream technology," the report said, adding the laptop is priced at 1,299 Malaysian ringgit (US$405) or 1,199 Malaysian ringgit, depending on the configuration.

Intel executives declined to comment on the Lowyat report, even though Navin Shenoy, the general manager of Intel Asia-Pacific, appears in a photo that accompanied it. The photo shows Shenoy looking at the new laptop along with several other executives and children who appear to be students.

Another picture that accompanied the report shows a Smart Book next to a Classmate PC. There appear to be some general similarities between the two devices, such as the distinctive plastic case that also serves as a handle for the device, suggesting the SmartBook may be an updated design of the Classmate PC.

Adding to speculation that a new Classmate PC is in the works, pictures of other laptops that look ljust ike FTEC's SmartBook have appeared online in recent days, including an apparently leaked product brochure from Computer Technology Link, of the U.S., that appeared in a report on Engadget. CTL's version of the laptop is called a 2go PC.

Earlier this week, Intel announced plans to make Classmate PC more widely available from local computer makers, including offering the laptops for sale to consumers in the U.S. and other developed markets.