14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft attended the Bett education technology event in London to take the wraps off the company’s latest devices specifically aimed at students and teachers, but also supposed to help the software giant gain ground in the fight against Chromebooks in this particular market.
While Microsoft is the one that introduced the devices, they are all manufactured by its partners, including Lenovo, Acer, and Dell.
Microsoft already has its own product aimed at education customers. The Surface Go was launched last year as its smallest and most affordable Surface model, coming with a price of $400 and running Windows 10, all without dropping signature Surface features, like the built-in kickstand and Surface Pen support.
The new Windows 10 devices developed for the classroom are available from $189, and their functionality is further enhanced with accessories like a stylus.
The seven new models that are available with Windows 10 from Microsoft’s partners are the following:
| Lenovo 100e Lenovo 300e (2-in-1) Lenovo 14w Acer TravelMate B1 (B118-M) Acer TravelMate Spin B1 (B118-R/RN) Acer TravelMate B1-141 Dell Latitude 3300 for Education |
“With Windows 10 devices, schools can get the best prices without having to compromise on features like inking. Inking in particular has proven to increase student scores by as much as 38 percent, compared to only using a keyboard,” Microsoft says.
The software giant also highlighted Windows 10 with S Mode, which restricts the operating system to the Microsoft Store and does not allow the installation of Win32 software. This makes the OS more secure and blocks potential malware, which comes in handy particularly in the education market.