Though we are yet to see large scale adoption of Intel's Classmate PC aka Netbook, the chip giant today issued a new press release mentioning the release of "second-generation" Netbook. Intel said, the Classmate PC is an affordable, fully functional, rugged Internet-centric computer platform for children and first time PC users. These simple-to-use PCs have wireless capability, longer battery life, water resistant keyboards and are more shock resistant if dropped.

The Intel designed computer offers different choices to manufacturers so each can tailor laptop models for a variety of education needs. The new classmate PC blueprint is the latest innovation and educational tool for parents and teachers to use technology, computers and Internet access to better educate students around the world.

The second-generation classmate PCs are built on Intel Celeron M processor with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and mesh network capabilities. The top range of these netbooks includes a 9-inch LCD screen, 6-cell battery life, 512 MB memory, a 30 GB HDD storage and an integrated webcam. An Intel powered classmate PC supports Microsoft Windows XP and variants of the Linux operating environment. When pre-installed with the education software stack, these netbooks are ideal for classroom-learning environment. Software and content will be available in more than eight languages.