Neat idea, but crippled by Windows XP Home. Many school IT depts. would want to be able to join these to a domain so student files could be backed up; so much for that option.

I'm 44 and I bought one of these. I wanted a light weight laptop, I wanted a touchscreen (and the ability to use it in portrait mode for reading) and I wanted something durable and inexpensive. So this was a no-brainer. I even dig the handle!

It's not a speed demon, but it gets the job done. I may upgrade the RAM. It's just a really nice bit of design. No DVD drive, but I can rent movies on iTunes and they play great, and I can stream video from all sorts of sites via wifi. If I need to read a DVD or CD I just use the drive from one of our desktop machines via the wireless home network, but I converted my CDs to MP3 some time ago. My only complaint is that the built-in mic is crap, but it does have an audio-in jack.

As for how easy it is to clean, well, the keyboard is supposed to be spill-resistant, but I haven't tested it out. Otherwise, you can clean it with a damp cloth.

One question: does it really have an SDHC reader? The documentation seemed to imply it just read SD cards, and I don't have an SDHC card to check with.

This screams out for web based projects, quizzes, homework, and tests.

No more lost paperwork. No more paper period.

e.g. A spelling test consists of a teacher saying a word to the class, using it in a sentence, and the class writing the word. Repeat for 10-20 words. Tablets in the class with proper sync/submission technology make this easy. Forget the students, the TEACHERS will love it.

The downside is money and training. In my experience with my kids, teachers in the K-6 grades are, for the most part, not technically savvy. One of the younger teachers told me she was unusual for using Powerpoint instead of writing on the chalkboard. I also can't see too many K-6 schools throwing money at this. Maybe they could get parents in wealthy areas to pony up for their own kids, but I just don't see it in the near future.

Keep in mind that one advantage of the chipset in this machine versus the newer, slicker chipsets is battery life. My Classmate Convertible (a CTL 2Go) is always good for five and half to six hours of battery life with wifi on and active use.

aaaaaaaaaa ford the river if it's low, float across if it's high! Computer games teach you how to fail to learn from your mistakes!

Here lies
andy;

peperony and
chease

Extremely well written!

That chipset again, oh Lord deliver us from it.

I still remember to this day what one epitaph said on a certain tombstone saved on a certain game disk.

Here lies Shane.
Guns.

Strange thing to remember more than 20 years later. I think I'm a little older than Matt. Mac LCs were the new hotness at my highscool. I played Oregon trail on an Apple IIe . Having to eject 5 1/4 disks to switch sides FTW.

I find it disturbing matt that while explaining the history of this product you didn't ONCE mention the OLPC project--which (let's face it) is the REAL reason why this product exists in the first place.

>: /

If I had one of these when I was a kid, I would have been one hell of a happy kid.

http://media.80stees.com/images/extraLarge/ORE006_LG2.jpg

those apps can prove even more useful than what Microsoft offers in XP Tablet PC Edition.

You then go on to describe functionality that is immediately and precisely available in XP Tablet PC 2005. That confuses me.

Good thing, too, because it will likely need every bit of that durability to survive in a classroom.

Looks like just a standard keyboard, no liquid resistance. Is that correct?

This whole concept is ridiculous. Give every kindergartener in a classroom one of these, and you'll end up with just a few (if any) that aren't broken or lost. And seriously, in K-3 or so, you're learning to read, write, and do basic arithmetic. Adding computers to the mix will only distract the students from actually learning (as it did to the author).

Give every six grader one of these, and they'll be insulted, because you don't have to be very old to utilize a full fledged computer.

And by the way, always ford the river if it is three feet or less, caulk and float if it's deeper than three feet. And for goodness sake, don't sink the Green river! You and your party will surely drown!

That is a pretty nice machine there...even the interface was fairly cool.
Be great for the economy if it became a hot product and sold in big volume.
There's a lot of kids out there that would love one.
Is $500 too much for the back to school buying rush?

While it's not perfect (ancient chipset) this would be perfect for the lab notes just as long as it's kept away from more aggressive chemicals.

I just wish they would sell it with Swedish keyboard and preferably in EU so I don't have to suffer with customs.

To the whiners. Yes it can be better but honestly for what it is designed for it is perfectly good.

Both Asus and MSI, at least, have netbooks with a tablet-like, swivelling touchscreen. Asus even updated their T91H to T101H at cebit:
http://www.revioo.com/news/eeepc-netbook-tablet-n12465.html (sorry, french). I haven't checked availability nor software bundle.

One question: how easy to clean up is Intel's one ? I'm especially concerned with stuff getting spilled all over the keyboard, as I myself have killed a couple with Coke. On a desktop PC, a keyboard is $12. On a netbook... it's $300 !

For all of the hours I spent on those Macintosh LCs, do you know what knowledge I have to show for it? You can't carry all of the meat back after killing a bear, typhoid was a dangerous disease, and you should always choose to ford the river.

LMAO, QFT! No, you should always FLOAT across the river and NEVER ford the river.

kids today are spoiled....and I'm sure my kids will look at whatever techy forum they so choose (which WILL be TR XD) and say "kids today are spoiled!"

Wow.. impressive toy. Wish I had had one in elementary school :)

Great review, too... excellent pictures, Matt