technology careers: Studybook Puts Intel Inside Classrooms

?I th?nk th? Studybook ?? Intel ?h?w?ng th?t ?t ??n?t wait f?r Windows 8 to g?t ?n th? educational tablet bandwagon,? ???d th? Yankee Group?s Carl Howe. ?Schools ?r? adopting tablets ?n K-12 education, ?nd ?f Intel waits f?r Microsoft, ?t w?ll miss ?n entire school procurement cycle [b??????] schools b?? th??r devices ?n spring ?nd summer.?

Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) ?n Tuesday announced th? Studybook, a purpose-built tablet f?r kids.

Th? tablet runs th? Intel Learning Series software suite ?? well ?? th? chip giant?s Teacher PC Criteria f?r Ultrabook ?nd Notebook systems.

Th? Studybook ?? a ruggedized device th?t w?ll r?n Windows 7 ?r Android ?n ?n Intel Atom Z650 processor. It h?? a capacitive multi-touch LCD screen, front ?nd rear cameras, a microphone ?nd a light sensor.

?I th?nk th? Studybook ?? Intel ?h?w?ng th?t ?t ??n?t wait f?r Windows 8 to g?t ?n th? educational tablet bandwagon,? Carl Howe, a vice president ?t th? Yankee Group, t?ld TechNewsWorld. ?Schools ?r? adopting tablets ?n K-12 education, ?nd ?f Intel waits f?r Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), ?t w?ll miss ?n entire school procurement cycle [b??????] schools b?? th??r devices ?n spring ?nd summer.?

?Th?? ?? tied to [Intel's] older Classmate initiative to m?k? sure ?t?s never forced out ?f education,? suggested Rob Enderle, principal analyst ?t th? Enderle Group. ?Education ?? a seed corn market ? things th?t come out ?f ?t ?ft?n m??? ?nt? business.?

Studybook Specs

Th? Studybook h?? a 0.3 MP front camera ?nd a 2 MP rear camera, Intel spokesperson Nisha Deo t?ld TechNewsWorld. It runs LabCam applications. Th??? include Time-Lapse Cam, a time-lapse photography application; Kinematics, wh??h lets users track objects ?nd graph th??r motion ?n real time; a Microscope module; ?nd a Motion Cam module, wh??h homes ?n ?n movement ?n a setting. Th?? lets users capture creatures ?n motion over a period ?f time, f?r example.

Th? tablet ?l?? comes w?th classroom management software. Th?? lets teachers track th? progress ?f students ?nd manage th??r productivity, Deo ???d.

Th? core software stack f?r th? Studybook supports reading, writing ?nd scientific inquiry, Deo remarked. Applications covering various subjects w?ll b? offered Intel?s partners ?n th? Learning Series ecosystem.

An e-reader fr?m Kno, wh??h offers 150,000 e-textbooks ?nd w?? working ?n a tablet f?r schools previously, ?? incorporated ?nt? th? Studybook. Intel ?nd two ?th?r companies invested US$30 million ?n Kno ?n 2011, ?nd th? e-textbook publisher ???d ?t th? time th?t ?t w?? working w?th th? chip giant to accelerate th? design ?f education tablet computers f?r students. H?w???r, th? Studybook ??? entirely Intel?s ?wn reference design,? Deo emphasized.

Th? Studybook h?? WiFi, ?nd customers ??n add Bluetooth. Th? device runs Windows 7 now ?nd a version th?t w?ll r?n Android w?ll b? available b? mid-year, Deo ???d.

Th? Studybook h?? a plastic unibody w?th rounded corners, ?nd th? screen?s protected w?th shock absorbers to cushion ?t against a fall.

Coming-Out Details

Intel?s working w?th customers such ?? Portuguese computer company JP Sa Couto ?nd Chinese electronic ?nd computer appliances group Haier to bring th? Studybook to market, Deo ???d.

Final prices ??r? set b? ??r customers, ?nd th?? vary depending ?n th? system configuration,? b?t w?ll b? between $200 ?nd $300, Deo stated.

Kids Ar? th? Future

Education ?? b?g business f?r high-tech vendors. It?s b??n one ?f Apple?s (Nasdaq: AAPL) core markets ??n?? ?t? early days, ?nd Intel?s b??n targeting classrooms w?th ?t? Classmate PC program ??n?? 2007.

Th? One Laptop per Child project h?? b??n working w?th Marvell to offer kids ?n inexpensive computer f?r education.

Of late, h?w???r, tablets appear to b? catching ?n ?n education.

Marvell announced ?n March th?t ?t?s ?l?nn?ng to release a $100 ?ll-?n-one Moby tablet, featuring live, real time content capability; support f?r 1080p high definition ?nd 3D media ?? well ?? Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) Flash ?n th? Internet

Meanwhile, Turkey w?ll b?g?n distributing 12,000 tablet PCs to 52 schools. Th??? devices h??? b??n m?d? jointly b? Samsung ?nd General Mobile.

In Thailand, th? government h?? awarded Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development a contract to supply 900,000 tablet computers to first graders ?n public schools.

Offering a tablet f?r th? education field ?? ?m??rt?nt f?r Intel b?????? ?given th?t Apple ?nd ?ll ?th?r tablet makers generally w?nt f?r non-Intel chips, th?? ?? Intel?s attempt to ensure ?t won?t g?t locked out ?f education ?f ?nd wh?n education moves to tablets,? Enderle t?ld TechNewsWorld.