Intel has unveiled the second-generation of Intel-powered classmate PC dubbed "Netbook" at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Shanghai.

As announced in the keynote by Andrew Chien, vice president (Corporate Technology Group) and director of Intel Research, the second-generation Intel-powered classmate PC is an affordable, fully functional, and rugged, Internet-centric computer platform. Classmate PCs have wireless capability, longer battery life, water-resistant keyboards, and are more shock-resistant, if at all dropped.

Netbooks are built on Intel's Celeron M processor, same as its predecessor, featuring 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and mesh network capabilities. However, the top range "Netbook" seems to wear a sleeker look than its older version. Instead of a 7-inches screen, it sports a 9-inches screen along with an integrated Web cam. Other specifications include a six-cell battery, 512MB memory, and 30GB HDD (hard disk drive) storage. Netbooks support Microsoft Windows XP and variants of the Linux operating system. They will include a pre-installed stack of educational software. The software and content will be available in more than eight languages, said Intel. Meanwhile, IT manufacturers can also tailor laptop models for a variety of education needs.

Chien said that in future, Intel-powered classmate PCs will be built with the newly introduced Intel Atom processor, which is an energy-efficient, low-cost computer chip designed to provide wireless capability to small mobile computing devices such as Netbooks.