Manila (Philippines) - Filipino manufacturer Neo has partnered up with Intel to create the "Neo Explore," a laptop designed as an educational tool with a target audience of local schoolchildren.

According to news wire AFP, the Neo Explore is around the size of a lunchbox and weighs less than 1.5 pounds and is "ruggedized and schock-proof."

The product is similar to the XO laptop created by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, a philanthropic organization aiming to put computers in the hands of disadvantaged children.

The XO laptop carries a price of around $150, while the Neo Explore costs just over $400.  Neo also says the device will be useful for adults unfamiliar with the computer age.

Initial rollout of the computer will hit stores across the Philippines.

The picture is not the actual labtop. It is actuial...

Mar 31, 2008 12:08     

The picture is not the actual labtop. It is actuially a Turkish Bank credit card called NEO. Weird.....
Arda report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

No links?

Mar 31, 2008 12:12     

Where's the product links?
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get an Asus EEE PC?

Mar 31, 2008 12:27     

They would probably be better off getting an Asus EEE PC since it also costs about $399 and is already available. The EEE PC is about the same size of the OLPC with a lot more capabilities.
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pic here

Mar 31, 2008 17:45     

Intel introduced this in Feb in my university, pic at the link: http://geek-is-cool.blogspot.com/2008/02/classmate-and-mid.html
Kin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Saw it in the mall

Apr 01, 2008 02:02     

i saw one in the mall today, sells for 16,000 pesos ($1=41 pesos). it has a 30-gig hard drive and 512mb of memory, celeron 900 MHz proc
Kin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This is the Classmate PC, consumes 5 times power

Apr 01, 2008 06:34     

Consumes 5-20 times more power then the OLPC XO laptop, is not sunlight readable, has 3 times lower wireless lan coverage and no WiFi mesh, costs more than double the price to manufacture, pollutes 10 times more, has a battery that lasts 4 times shorter period, is not water and dust proof, does not run on a 10 dollar solar panel... This is the usual list of things that make this Intel Classmate reference design laptop much inferior to the OLPC XO laptop project.

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