Learning and Leading - December 2008/January 2009

BUYER’Sguide

Netbooks Brand

Model

Screen size

Price

Netbooks, tiny laptops with 7- to 13-inch screens designed speci cally for sur ng the Internet, are becoming all the rage.

And though many users sco at their obvious limitations, including cramped keyboards, small screens, and a lack of storage and memory, no one complains about the price. Netbooks were selling for less than $400 in the fall and were expected to dip to the $250 range by Christmas. At that price, you hardly have to concern yourself with locking them in the hotel safe. e price also makes them a great ed tech tool.

In fact, several netbooks on the market today were designed specifically with schools in mind. Built-in antennae allow wireless Internet access. Many models use solid-state drives instead of bulkier and more destructable hard drives. They are tough, portable, small enough to stash in a purse, and lighter than most textbooks. Plus, they boot up fast.

Lenovo is coming out with a netbook for schools similar to its IdeaPad S10 for general consumers. Lenovo’s “e” netbooks, the S9e and the S10e, are sold exclusively to schools and can be packaged with educational so ware such as Vital Source Technologies and Adobe Digital School Collection. Students can connect wired or wirelessly through Ethernet, WiFi3, and optional Bluetooth. Out tted with a standard ExpressCard 34 slot, the netbooks can also be enabled for mobile broadband3.

Intel’s Classmate is marketed to students as well. Looking more like a sturdy small suitcase than a sleek laptop, the Classmate comes encased in a hard plastic shell with its own handle. With a water-resistant keyboard, it is designed with kids in mind.

Many reviewers are grousing about netbooks’ diminutive size. Pecking away on a small, weirdly organized keyboard and squinting at a 7-inch screen may seem ridiculous to some users. But netbooks aren’t supposed to be the primary family computer, and they are not meant for playing World of War- cra or for downloading huge les.

For schools struggling to teach 21^st-century skills while facing shrinking budgets, netbooks just might be the way to put every child in front of a computer without breaking the bank.