Intel's twist on the Classmate PC debuting at CES

Intel has a convertible Netbook on tap for the CES 2009 crowd assembling once again in Las Vegas next month.

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Laptop magazine got a sneak peek at the newest version of the low-cost Classmate PC. It has an 8.9-inch swivel screen with touch and stylus input, a Web cam, and 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 60GB hard drive, and Windows XP, with a few Intel touches to make XP work for the convertible form factor. So far, that includes Vision Objects Pen Input, which makes anything input via the stylus editable as text, as well as a virtual keyboard.

It's manufactured by CTL, like the original Classmate PC (which Intel will continue to sell). Laptop reports that it will begin shipping in mid-January.

Intel says that the price for the convertible Classmate will be slightly more than the original Classmate. The range will likely be somewhere around $250 and $400, though the company said it can't be more specific right now.

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By Erica Ogg

Source: cnet.com

Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who writes about consumer electronics and PCs, mostly as chief correspondent for Crave. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica at erica.ogg@cnet.com.