14 DAY TRIAL // Vietnamese computer stores have started selling a new low-cost laptop for school children, based on Intel's Classmate PC design. The sub-notebook is called Hacao Classmate PC and comes with Hacao Linux 2.16 Professional, a localized version of Puppy Linux.
The Hacao Classmate PC is a derivative of Intel's Classmate sub-notebook. The latter has been widely accused of competing with Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC initiative, that aimed at distributing ultra-mobile PCs powered by Linux operating systems in the developing countries. Intel was blamed for sabotaging the charity, but recently joined the initiative.
The sub-notebook comes with an ultra-low power 900MHz Celeron processor that features a 400 MHz FSB, as well as 256MB of RAM. Just like all the ultra-mobile PCs, the Hacao lacks the hard-drive, but has 1GB of Flash-based local storage. The computer's display is a 7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) LCD. It weighs a little over 1.3 kilograms and measures 245 x 196 x 44mm.
Network connectivity is possible via both wired and wireless built-in adapters. The laptop features a wireless 802.11b/g interface, but lacks the "mesh" networking capability built in the XO sub-notebooks, a feature that allows multiple wireless laptops access the Internet though a single wired device.
According to Nguyen Quang Truong, director of Hacao, the Hacao Linux 2.16 Professional distribution was released in June and is currently available in Vietnamese only. The disto is about 281 MB and has been chosen by the Vietnamese government to power the Hacao PCs because the Classmate would not perform well under Windows XP (due to the hardware limitations). Apart from that, using Linux would decrease the overall costs of an unit with about $38. Hacao Linux can be freely used, and would only add a $2 labor tax for installation.
The Hacao PC is now available through the Vietnamese retailers' networks and sells for about $340. This is quite expensive, given the fact that users could get two OLPC computers for the same price, but there's an educational version of the Hacao sub-notebook that is discounted to $250.