The Classmate PC is a compact companion with dimensions of 240 mm (W) and 180 mm (D), whose weight of 1.34kg barely has any effect in everyday life. The display size of 8.9" is still acceptable for the device's size, yet the small keyboard keys pose a clear challenge to adults when it comes to touch-typing. Here you can quite clearly see that the Classmate PC is made for kids!

And this is also recognisable in many other places on the device. The bright case makes a very solid impression. The hard plastic deployed allows for no kind of distortions on the case, and the display lid barely gives way under a large amount of pressure. The plastic really feels pleasant and also seems insusceptible to scratches - an important characteristic for the target user.
The display sits still in its mounting. This guarantees marginal rocking when adjusting the angle of the lid. This is also essential, as the hinge also has to hold the display closed, as Unimall didn't design the netbook to have a closing latch mechanism. When you think about it, this is a particularly poor solution, as the Classmate PC will, for example, be transported in a school satchel. Here the slit of around 3-4mm means it is possible that materials could easily penetrate and damage the display. What's worse is that this slit is not only on the case front, but is also clearly visible on the right and left. Or, the netbook could completely open when it's not in a normal position, as the retaining function of the hinge is very weak. At least a magnetic latch would have been wise, if you had wanted to avoid additional hook and eye systems.
Surprisingly high-value tablet PCs like the Dell Latitude XT convertible tablet PC also don't possess a closing mechanism. Similarly a "clamshell design", would have been preferable, like for example that of IBM/Lenovo office devices which has long been standard. In this kind of design the display sits rather recessed in the notebook lid, so that it closes without a gap with the underside or is even slightly enclosed by it. In this construction the integrated spacers would have been better suited between the display and keyboard: these are currently on the right and left border of the keyboard and are sometimes cumbersome when using the device. Why the, until now, solid concept of a children's PC wasn't consistently thought out isn't known.

The 6-cell battery sticks out on the rear of the device and is angled downwards. Thus the netbook stands higher at the back than it does at the front. What we found very pleasing - the flexible handle with a name tag on the rear. This can be permanently detached after removing four small screws. A simple mechanism for this is unfortunately not provided.

For a kid's netbook, the setting of new benchmark records obviously does not stand in centre stage. Thus the technical data implies solid office performance in an environment where mechanical stability is also important.

Unimall provided us with the Classmate PC with an Intel Atom N270 processor (1.6 GHz) and an Intel 945GSE chipset with integrated graphics. Together with 1 GByte of main memory and a 16 GByte SSD as a hard disk it should make for brisk work. Wlan and 100 MBit Ethernet are obligatorily on board. However, an optical drive is lacking.

Indeed it is possible to execute simple 3D applications with low detail settings with the GMA 950 graphics chip - however nothing more. The 16 GByte SSD as a hard disk proves to be extremely wise. This gets along without mechanical components and is thus protected completely from shocks and any resulting damage to the data medium. Furthermore the handling speed is even higher than on conventional hard disks for netbooks, which often work at a lower rpm (4200 - 5400 rpm). The fact that the SSD only has 16 Gbyte of memory is indeed not much on first look, yet for its intended use it is more than enough.

In everyday life the Classmate PC fulfils the expectations when it comes to operating speed - office and internet applications run really fluently and also the handwriting recognition works without disturbing lag.

System Noise

At low loads the classmate PC behaves relatively quietly at 33.6 dB(A). The inaudible SSD and the non-existent optical drive also contribute to this. Under full load, however, the netbook reaches a high value of up to 41.1 dB(A). However in normal use you will rarely reach the maximum value.

Temperature

Somewhat more critical is the development of temperatures. Above all kids can react in a more susceptible way to heated surfaces and can feel that working with the device is unpleasant if the device temperatures are too high. When idle no kind of abnormalities are on the device, whilst it remains as cool as expected on the upper side - max. 34.9 degrees Celsius is indeed no great result, but acceptable.
The underside warmed up to 40.2 degrees Celsius – that can even be unpleasant, if the device is positioned on the thighs. Under load these values get even worse: 39.4 degrees on the upper side and up to 45.2 degrees Celsius on the underside are decidedly too much for use in the hand of kids and astonishes due to the deployed Atom hardware. Other manufacturers prove that it can be better.

The energy consumption varies between 8.8 Watt when saving the maximum amount of energy (minimum brightness, energy-saving profile, addition devices off...) and 18.3 Watt under full load (maximum brightness, high-performance profile, additional devices on, benchmark...). In normal use the device should use between 10 and 15 watt.

Under load we reached a running time of 3 hours and 25 minutes. In "Reader’s Test" (maximum battery life) the netbook ran well for 6 hours and 13 minutes before it turned off. For the long battery life, clever power management was in use (which turns off unnecessary components like WLAN if required, or defines the maximum brightness of the display) alongside the deployed, energy-saving hardware among other things. The power pack turns out to be pleasantly small.