PeeWee debuts drop and spill-resistant Pivot Tablet Laptop

At first glance, PeeWee PC’s Pivot Tablet Laptop is a formidable rival to the long-standing OLPC XO. Unfortunately, the lofty price tag puts it in a class of its own, but it’s still a solid machine for those looking to a learn a bit (or just give their kids a wholesome distraction). Debuting today, the three pound convertible tablet boasts a spill and drop-resistant shell, a carry handle, a presumed 10-inch touchscreen display and a 6-cell Li-ion battery. Within, you’ll find a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, two USB 2.0 ports, a 60GB HDD, 1.3 megapixel camera, Ethernet, WiFi, Windows XP Home, a proprietary security suite to keep kids from picking up a new favorite stalker and ten age appropriate software and game titles. If your kid’s been bugging you for a new netbook, you can quell the squealing by snapping one of these up today starting at $599.99. Full release is after the break.

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PeeWee debuts drop and spill-resistant Pivot Tablet Laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Latitude 2100 ‘Welch’ Netbooks Leaked

A tipster just leaked these Dell Latitude 2100 ‘Welch’ laptops to us, which have a 10-inch display and are aimed under $600. The best part are the names: School Bus Orange and Red Apple.

Here are the details: they’re a new Latitude notebook design branded for the education market using the Atom architecture. They can support an optional SSD, hold up to 2GB RAM, hit 1.6GHz and weigh in at under 3lbs.

In other specs, there’s three USB ports, SD/MMC slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth, 3 and 6-cell battery options and a possible Touchscreen. Dell’s trying to launch this around May 2009 in time for back to school season. If this leak is true, this is a pretty snazzy netbook for schoolkids for a pretty decent price. [Thanks Tipster!]

Web 2.0 Classroom

physorg.com: Dr. Lodge McCammon and his team at NC State’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation have developed FIZZ – a suite of tools that allows teachers to implement safe Web 2.0 environments in the classroom, similar to a private YouTube site for each school. Helping students solve classroom assignments is an important part of FIZZ, McCammon explains. However, there is another lasting component – teaching students appropriate ways to interact with available Web tools.

“Students are getting mixed messages about how to use sites like Facebook and YouTube. At their schools, these sites are banned – giving students the impression that the sites are inappropriate,” McCammon says. “But then they go home and their parents tell them they can use the sites, but maybe for only 30 minutes a day. No one is really giving them guidance on how to use these tools in an appropriate manner. They don’t fully realize that once they put content online, it is out there forever and they can’t take it back.”

Through the FIZZ Web site, teaching and learning outcomes can be easily broadcast over the Internet to increase student engagement and achievement, while still allowing school administrators to control the Web site’s content.

iTeacher: Program Brings Web 2.0 to the Classroom [physorg.com]

Workhorse Certeza MC10 brings WWAN and ExpressCard to netbook scene

Yeah, we’ve seen netbooks with integrated WWAN / WiMAX before, but it’s still pretty far left on the “uncommon” scale. Workhorse PC, a little known company that generally sticks to making products for governments and educational institutions, is apparently looking to vie for its piece of the netbook pie with the Certeza MC10. Overall, the 10.1-incher is pretty average, sporting an Atom N270 CPU, 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, up to 2GB of RAM, a 4-in-1 card reader, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth and a 4- or 6-cell battery. Keeping it differentiated is the inbuilt WiMAX and WWAN options, not to mention the trio of OS choices (Ubuntu Linux, Windows XP or Windows Vista). The machine will be available starting at $399 (for the Linux model) and will go to around $549 (for the Vista model); regrettably, there aren’t any actual launch dates to speak of.

[Via Laptop Mag]

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Workhorse Certeza MC10 brings WWAN and ExpressCard to netbook scene originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jakks Pacific unveils EyeClops mini projector for the little ones

We see a ton of tiny little projectors these days around here. This one, by toymaker Jakks Pacific, is still pretty eye-catching, anyway. Expected to be on hand next week at the Toy Industry Association’s annual International Toy Fair in New York, the EyeClops is obviously designed with children in mind, with a build similar to adult picos. We don’t have full specs on this one yet, but it’s capable of projecting a 70-inch images via its LED, and can be hooked up to all your child’s favorite gadgets — DVD players, digital cameras, and gaming consoles. The real kicker here is that the EyeClops is expected to sell for under $100 — much less than most projectors for oldies.

[Via About Projectors]

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Jakks Pacific unveils EyeClops mini projector for the little ones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LeapFrog announces educational, interactive Zippity

LeapFrog‘s just announced a new educational toy that’s designed to get your wee one moving in front of the television. The Zippity (not to be confused with the Grippity) is for pre-school-aged (three to five years old) kiddies, with an interactive mat that incorporates running, jumping and dancing, plus a huge joystick for leaning (and learning left, right, back and front). The system’s got 8 different on-board features which help children learn math, problem-solving, music and phonics. Designed with Disney, Zippity features animations of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and Handy Manny, amongst others. The Zippity is going on sale this summer for $79.99, plus $24.99 for the software. Check the video of it in action after the break. (Note that the demo model in the video is adult-sized!)

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LeapFrog announces educational, interactive Zippity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LeapFrog intros “smartphone” for your little one (or you)

LeapFrog‘s been very busy of late — they recently added Tag Junior to their line of edutainment products for the wee ones –and now there’s this. The Text and Learn children’s “PDA” hasn’t been officially announced yet, but details are slipping out from the U.K. Toy Fair, so here’s what we know about the must-have device of the year: boasting a full QWERTY keyboard, the Text and Learn has a calendar (for learning dates), phonics functions (for learning… phonics) on the keyboard, and games to teach spelling and basic computer skills, as well. There’s also some “texting” — the child can interact with their onscreen buddy / guide, Scout. The Text and Learn is set to launch in August for about $30. Man — armed with this and our totally sick laptop, we’re going to be the talk of the town.

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LeapFrog intros “smartphone” for your little one (or you) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LeapFrog intros Tag Junior reading companion for children

LeapFrog‘s really into this learning stuff, apparently. Their latest offering, Tag Junior, is for the two- to four-year old age range, and it builds on the company’s previous Tag Reading System tech. The toy “reads” aloud (via downloadable MP3s) using an infrared camera that can recognize letters and words on the page, and can store up to five books’ worth of material at a time. The custom-made books for the device include such august characters as Winnie the Pooh and Dora the Explorer. Tag Junior will be available this summer for $34.99, with each book running $10.99. Anything that keeps them off the video games for a few hours a day is probably pretty cool.

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LeapFrog intros Tag Junior reading companion for children originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RM’s ED-E Educational robot dances, does the robot

RM and DACTA are launching a new commercial educational robot. Called ED-E, this fully programmable, PC-compatible bot’s got 17 servo motors which enable him to jump, do backflips, head spins, and full-on dance routines. Software for the device allows his moves to be previewed on screen before he performs them. Check check check the video after the break for a full routine from the robot, who — in our opinion — isn’t teaching anything that couldn’t be learned from a viewing of Breakin’. Pricing will be somewhere in the realm of $635 for the robot, software and teaching materials — no word on availability yet.

Continue reading RM’s ED-E Educational robot dances, does the robot

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RM’s ED-E Educational robot dances, does the robot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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O2 launches HTC Advantage as Xda Flint, curiously aims at education sector

How do you make a niche handheld that’s been out for over a year relevant again? Why, aim it at the unsuspecting education market, of course! The Xda Flint, which we first saw emerge back in early December, is officially being introduced to the world today by O2. If the device looks at all familiar, it’s because it is — we’re looking at a re-branded Advantage X7510, with 16GB of internal storage, a 5-inch VGA display, quad-band connectivity, WiFi, HSDPA, a 3 megapixel camera and Windows Mobile 6.1 running the show. The odd thing here isn’t that the Advantage is getting a new life, it’s that O2 is targeting youngsters with a yearning to learn; it’s suggesting that this device is perfect for reading eBooks, taking electronic notes and accessing knowledge portals. Of course, we’d argue a netbook with a non-mobile OS would be far more suitable, but what do we know?

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O2 launches HTC Advantage as Xda Flint, curiously aims at education sector originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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