What would my ideal education ultraportable look like?

Summary: The OLPC XO, Intel Classmate, and Asus Eee all bring important features to the table and put 1:1 computing models within reach of many more districts than ever before. However, all have merits and detriments, compromises, and baggage.

The OLPC XO, Intel Classmate, and Asus Eee all bring important features to the table and put 1:1 computing models within reach of many more districts than ever before. However, all have merits and detriments, compromises, and baggage. The XO struggles with performance, stability, and distribution models. The Classmate is a bit vanilla and really hard to get if you aren't a Chinese or Nigerian school kid. The Asus is twice the price of either of its competitors (but you can actually buy one now).

So if I were to design the Goldilocks of UMPCs for the educational market (one that was juuuuust right), what would it look like? The Classmate, not surprisingly, would be my starting point. The XO, currently, is locked into one operating system and has a polarizing design with which older students may be less than comfortable. While you'll see that several features from the XO make their way into my Frankenstein UMPC, I wouldn't start there because it is marketed so specifically at young kids (including the GUI); I'm seeking something more usable K-12. The Eee lacks the ruggedness needed for the younger set. The Classmate is incredibly rugged and runs Windows and Linux out of the box. However, it needs some tweaks to be my ultimate ultraportable:

  1. Make it bigger. Not by much, but I'd love to see a laptop in this market that is big enough to be usable by high schoolers, but small enough to be lugged around by elementary kids. Even a jump to an 8.5" widescreen would make a big difference. This would be just enough to uncramp the keyboard a bit for larger hands, while keeping it very accessible (and personal, as Intel notes) for small children.
  2. Make it thinner. It doesn't have to be Eee thin; durability should be the primary concern. However, to maintain maximum portability with the larger footprint, especially for little kids, shaving off even a quarter inch would be signficant.
  3. An 8GB solid state drive would reduce dependence on network connectivity and allow more flexibility in terms of software.
  4. Make it convertible to a tablet/ebook. The ebook mode is a particularly cool feature on the XO and adding touch/stylus input would ease notetaking and reduce reliance on a tight keyboard.
  5. Ensure that students can collaborate, even in the absence of a wireless access point (as with the XO's mesh networking), but focus on 802.11a/b/g connectivity.
  6. Give it a speed boost. This doesn't need to be drastic as these aren't meant to be speed demons. However, kids start multitasking very quickly, so even a bump in RAM could make the difference between acceptable and sluggish performance.
  7. Avoid the integrated camera/webcam. Sorry, but this has the makings of a disaster. There are simply too many potential problems with kids (young and old), the Internet, and unsupervised webcams. This isn't on the current Classmate and I hope it stays off. A webcam could easily be plugged in via the USB ports under adult supervision if needed.
  8. Include handicapped accessibility software such as screen readers, screen zoom, speech to text, etc.
  9. Keep the handle, but lose the flap. The current Classmate (like the XO), integrates a handle for easy carrying. It works perfectly for little folks. However, the flap that holds the laptop closed is a thick piece of vinyl that only gets in the way. I'm definitely thinking magnetic closures.
  10. Offer plenty of operating systems choices: Intel is currently offering Windows, Mandriva, and Metasys and is working with Canonical to develop OS images. Adding support to roll these out as wireless thin clients and to more easily install non-certified operating systems would provide maximum flexibility to schools adopting the machines. Did someone say wireless Edubuntu?
  11. Keep it cheap. $200 is a magic number. I know we're a ways from hitting this pricepoint with the specifications above, but Moore's Law is our friend. It's just a matter of time.
  12. What features would make you find a way to work these little guys into your budget?

Topics: Intel, Hardware, Mobility, Networking, Operating Systems, Software, Wi-Fi

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67 comments
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  • my specs

    Mine would be very similar to an Eee PC but with a touchscreen and solid state storage. With the ability to run apps locally and remotely. And yes the magic price would be $200 :)

    www.aikotech.com/thinserver.htm
    ThinkFair
    • $200 is not enough

      Realistically I don't think $200 would buy very much. $400 to $500 would probably
      produce a more viable device.
      Prime Detailer
      • Even $2000 would buy you only rubbish

        here in New Zealand. That's about the maximum my friends spend
        on new computers, which give them no end of trouble.
        labarker
      • NOT ENOUGH?

        Sounds like "sales speak"!
        $400-$500 prices it OUT of the target market.
        Even $200 is pushing it.
        kd5auq
      • These are THIRD-world, not first-world, laptops

        We're talking third-world students here, not first-world students - $200 is a major financial hardship as is. OTOH, it's enough of a "sweet spot" for well-meaning first-worlders to cough that amount up so they can send the laptops to third-world students.
        drprodny
        • re: These are THIRD-world, not first-world, laptops

          Take a look at the poor end of the city that you live in; $200 is a major hardship in some areas of first world countries too. Not many that can cough up that easily think about it though because of the tunnel vision.
          Demzon
        • My world is poor and in USA

          I live in Colleton County, South Carolina and even 100. is a lot of money for the majority of our 37000 residents. Colleton Co is the 2nd largest county in land mass and one of the poorest in the state.
          rdodd
  • Your specs would be perfect for your classroom

    Whereas the OLPC's specs are better (I won't say perfect because this is only their first go at it) for impoverished villages and cities. But you do make a good point about a webcam not belonging on a child's laptop. The webcam is a good idea for laptops in impoverished villages, but not a child's laptop, save that idea for when they start making cheap laptops for the parents.

    I also agree that choices of operating systems would be great, as long as they make a commitment to software development across all choices. Favoring one over the others because the software company is lining OEM's pockets with cash does not help the end user, it helps the OEM and it makes things more expensive for the end user.
    Michael Kelly
    • Favoring one OS ::cough WINDOZE! cough:: over another....

      ...surely [i][b]will[/b][/i] happen if M$ gets its hooks into this program. The only way to keep it viable is ship it w/some flavor of Linux, w/the ability and option to upgrade to Windows if desired.

      Agreed on the Webcam - OTOH, I honestly don't think third-world students are the Eee PC's target market for all the reasons listed in the article. It's more an ultraportable for business travelers who don't need a desktop replacement - just something that can Web surf, send e-mail, tele/videoconference, write a memo or edit a spreadsheet while on the road. For that, its middling durability and built-in webcam are just dandy....
      drprodny
  • How much you want to bet

    that MS will start pushing the starter editions as a way to save on memory because it prevents multitasking. Of course the line given to the customer will be that it provides stability.
    Michael Kelly
    • Prevents multitasking?

      There is no way for microsoft to do that for a reasonable price and they do not have to do it. Microsoft can sell their windows mobile version.
      paul2011
  • All good suggestions

    I agree about trading the web cam for a slightly larger screen.

    The memory increase will happen anyway as memory prices continue to fall and solid state memory becomes less expensive.

    I'm more interested to see the impact these have in the business world...particularly mesh networking.

    Great article for a Friday. Nicely done.
    Chad_z
  • But what will Robin Harris think?!

    NT
    Vesicant
  • this ultraportable exists, but not for 200

    everything you want is allready possible and you can get this, just buy yourself a Flybook V5, only the price is just a little bit higher
    pgovaerts@...
    • this ultraportable exists, but not for 200

      The Flybook is a good rich kids laptop, but for a "peoples educational computer" it's price is off by a factor of 10
      profsoroko@...
  • Make a foolproof charging system and better batteries

    My (middle) schools are moving closer to 1 to 1 with traditional wireless laptops using Windows XP and 802.11b/g. Our biggest problem is the cost of replacement batteries and the clumsiness of the charging systems. We need drastic improvements in battery life both in the short and long run. And, how about a charging system where the computer simply needs to make contact with the charger (think your electric toothbrush) rather than being plugged in. Didn't Apple offer soemthing like that on a series of iBooks? The charging system would need to be soemthing that could go in any laptop storage cart, like a pad that sits on the shelf. And keep the multi-tasking ability, even our elementary schools are way beyond that. Over all a good dream computer, will I live long enough to see it?
    kferraro@...
    • It's not a charger

      ... it's an AC Adapter or a power cord. Why? Because you can run the portable without the battery in it; it does not simply "charge" the battery, therefore it needs to be secure so that it doesn't fall out when you don't have the battery in the system.

      And yes, there are people that use portables in that fashion.
      dracolich_prgrm
      • Are you speaking from an education viewpoint?

        I think we were asked to design an education laptop here, and 1:1 computing was mentioned. And, it was also supposed to be MY ideal laptop not one for some third world country. So unless you have AC power for those 30 students in your classroom, do not consider them AC adapters; they are CHARGERS. After having supported over 500 wireless (oh yes, wireless would mean without power cords as well as without network cables) laptops in the classroom for the past 7 years and being on my third hardware configuration I can say from experience that the biggest cost assocated with maintaining them is the cost of replacment batteries. And the biggest frustration for the teachers is that the batteries do not last through the day if you are teaching 7 class periods. No sense even thinking about multi-tasking if they don't have the power to boot up.
        kferraro@...
    • Better batteries

      Why not a batterycassette that can take ordinary rechargable A cells. Theyre inexpensive and can be bought most everywhere. And in a few years there will be better alternatives.

      As for charging. You will need a system that can be recharged from AC and DC mains, 12, 18 and 24 volt batteries, solar etc. Preferable something that does not take a genius to understand.
      Thore
  • RE: What would my ideal education ultraportable look like?

    I fell in love with the ultraportable years ago when I had a Gateway Handbook. The screen was big enough to be useable and the keyboard was great. The home row (a - ') was only 1/2" shorter than a standard keyboard, so a touch typist was not totally confounded. Closed, it was not much larger than a normal hardcover book. With the advances in CPU power, memory chips, solid-state drives and battery technology in the ensuing 12 years, something this size could be a real powerhouse.
    nmorgan