Computer Technology Link has the presumptive first manufacturer of the Classmate 2 for some time now. The final unit specs are the same as the demonstration model we've been playing with since the Intel Developer Forum—and which, in a later incarnation, we found quite palatable at CES—barring the replacement of the 802.11n wireless card with a b/g unit.

The price is a steep $550, but could well be lower for bulk orders. That is, assuming there are other sales channels, as CTL's site only allows one laptop per customer. You know "OLPC". [CTL via NetBux—Thanks, Johannes!]

From the outset, Intel's goal with the Classmate line was to create a cheap, durable laptop that could be useful in a classroom. As such, Intel gave the Classmate tablet an 8.9-inch touchpanel, 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 802.11n wi-fi, 1 GB RAM, a 60 GB HDD (or up to 8 GB of flash storage), a days worth of battery life and a weight under three pounds.

The computer itself is on par with most other netbooks in terms of build quality. Nothing feels super flimsy, the 1024x600 resolution screen is sharp, and when using it as a tablet, it sits comfortably in the hand. The keyboard and trackpad are pretty decent sized, going toe to toe with the HP Mini or the MSI Wind in that regard. And it even has a webcam that can rotate to either face the user or look out in the other direction.

Messing around with some of the apps, it's clear Intel did more than slap a touchscreen on a XP laptop and call it a tablet—they went one step further, adding the necessary hardware and software enhancements to make it as simple to use as possible.

For example, the Convertible Classmate has a quick launch panel that's been optimized for use with the touchscreen, with big icons, and other touch friendly elements. And when the Classmate is folded into tablet mode, there's a dedicated button that brings up the quick launch screen.

And not only will they be making the hardware as capable as possible for the educational arena, but they'll be working with developers and OEM's directly to make sure everything is optimized for the Classmate. One specific company they're working with is Lego, whose Mindstorms kits are popular with educators.

Intel also put some thought into how kids would be using the Convertible Classmate specifically, and calibrated the touchscreen so that it wouldn't recognize palm contact when kids are writing with the stylus. They found that most kids write with the palm down on the table, and if they didn't adjust for that with the tablet, it would have caused many input problems.

But that also involved a trade off. Because they didn't want to increase the price and have to use a capacitive/multitouch panel to enable palm detection, they had to lower the sensitivity of the resistive touchscreen in addition to using software fixes. As a result, the screen requires a bit of a heavier press to get it to recognize your input, which from what I could tell, doesn't make it the most finger friendly.

Touchscreen issues aside, the presumable lack of consumer-centric touch app support, missing features like bluetooth and a pretty generic design will likely keep it entrenched in its educational niche. But considering that's exactly what they're gunning for, you can't exactly call that a bad thing. [Classmate on Giz]

The touchscreen sequel to the original Classmate, the Convertible Classmate will pack the typical netbook 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, 60 GB hard drive, and Windows XP. Its touchscreen is 8.9 inches.

Laptop liked it, however, noting that the system handles XP by providing a touch-friendly Home menu that's supposed to be fairly decent. Newly bundled software includes a virtual keyboard and handwriting recognition to take advantage of the responsive touchscreen—plus there should be more apps from developers on the way. Also, integrated accelerometers successfully tracked whether the computer was in portrait or landscape mode, adjusting accordingly in 2 seconds.

If you like netbooks, CES 2009 will be chock-full of them. Intel's latest Classmate iteration looks solid, but we'll see what we think when the competitors show up. [Laptop]

Intel had a couple of Classmate 2s set out as well, which looks admittedly dated next to the tablet. The new design takes some cues from popular netbooks like the EeePC and the MSI Wind, with an emphasis on slimness and a forward-sloping keyboard. The case, though still in development, looks more businesslike than its predecessor. There's a new webcam that with vertical tilt capability, and a nifty home button on the screen's bezel that returns the user to the desktop. Speaking of the desktop, the Classmate still runs XP, and Intel has built a simple dashboard with commonly used icons for easy touch access, though using XP's regular functions with your fingers won't be any easier than on other touchscreen tablets. A stylus is included.
The fact that it looks and behaves like a consumer subnotebook is bewildering. Without a dedicated educational OS, multitouch or even kid-friendly looks the Classmate seems to have veered off into overcrowded netbook territory. It seems plenty functional as a compact tablet though, so if the price is right it could well succeed at that. The device is still in development, so at least Intel theoretically has a chance that make this thing interesting. [Giz at IDF]

The Classmate 2 will tote a 9-inch LCD display, six-cell battery, 512MB RAM, 30GB HDD, integrated webcam, 802.11b/g WiFi support, Windows XP or Linux OS and an Intel Celeron M processor, however, future versions will move to Intel's Atom platform.

Interestingly, the Classmate 2 will be available directly to the consumer. Amazon will stock the Classmate 2, which will carry the 2Go PC title and will be manufactured by CTL. The unit will be made available tonight, and will carry a $400 price tag. Of course, Intel will allow different manufatrers to tailor their base unit according to their need, but it seems CTL are first off the mark with their offering on Amazon.

The chaps at Laptopmag snagged some exclusive time with the 2Go PC, and they seemed to like the rugged design, bright display and good battery life. However, the machine was let down by "mediocre" performance, missing video output and low display resolution. Hit up the link to checkout Laptopmag's extensive review. [Laptopmag: 1, 2]

OLPC prez Walter Bender said that Intel's efforts to build an XO Laptop with one of its chips were "seemingly half-hearted" and that its brass was more interested in OLPC for PR reasons:

"The only thing they were interested in was ... helping them make marketing statements about how Intel's approach to learning was different from OLPC's approach to learning," Bender said. "They weren't interested in how we can learn together and make something better for kids."

On the other hand, the market being flooded with ton of cheap laptops (which might be better than XO) for developing countries ultimately goes toward OLPC's goal to bring computers to everyone, so it's a bit off to say it is the One True Way, even if Intel really is a child-hating, PR-feeding douche. That said, we hope OLPC gets its act together soon. The only thing worse than a train wreck is one carrying the hopes and dreams of millions of children. Or something like that. [CW]

One of the parties named (there were four, including OLPC) in the suit originally was Alteq, who has since been dropped. Alteq is Intel's Nigerian partner, and Intel, if you recall, is marketing the OLPC competitor, the Classmate. Here's what Groklaw says:

Not to be too cynical or anything, but if by any chance the roadblock of this case miraculously clears up in a few months, around the time the OLPC's with Intel chips are ready to roll into Nigeria, or some Nigerian ripoff of the OLPC is suddenly available for purchase, let's just say my FUD/bogo-litigation meter is going to start to ring off the hook.

Either way, this isn't good news for OLPC, since their lawyers now have quite the mess to slog through, though we expect they'll be responding soon, since all of this took place in court without them, making this looking even more on the level. [Groklaw via Slashdot]

In the "what's new about this" category, we have a dual keyboard that appears to feature some sort of touch-based Noahpad input technology. Plus, the hinged design will allow you to use the device in a variety of unusual ways (like folding it over a hanger while frying an egg apparently). Expect more information about the Noahpad device to be unveiled at CES starting next week. [Noahpad via Pocketables]

It's appropriately rugged, with a kiddy-but-pukey periwinkle rubber case sleeve, and the keyboard/touchpad are solid. Despite not being a powerhouse machine, apps like Office load with reasonable speed and the battery life's nearly biblical (3h40m). But the Windows and Office install gobbles up space, leaving just 1/2 a gig for storage, and it weirdly runs kinda hot. Still, perhaps more importantly, it's cheaper than the other hype-grabbing ultra-cheapie, Asus's Eee and not too far off of OLPC's mark at $300.

Throw in the Microsoft goods—which, love or hate, is what some places are looking for to be on a level playing field—and you've got an OLPC-killer, especially if they could chip the price down a bit further. [Gadget Lab]