Microsoft Announces New Computers For The Classroom
Microsoft is heading to London for the annual Bett UK education technology show where the company will preview a number of new products and updates coming for the 2020-2021 school year.
The company will introduce two new Connected PCs, built and priced especially for education – the JP.IK Turn T101 and Positivo Wise N1212S.
These new devices, which will ship this summer, are Microsoft's most affordable Connected PCs yet, with all the capabilities of Windows and Office and can be used anywhere there is cellular service. The JP.IK Turn T101 starts at $299 USD and the Wise N1212S will start at $575 USD, and like the other Windows PCs, they are boasting the newest Qualcomm chipset, they will have twice the battery life and 25 percent better performance than Chromebooks, according to Microsoft.
The company is also collaborating with T-Mobile to kick off a pilot next month that offers select districts in rural and underserved areas in the U.S. a chance to test the newest Connected PCs. T-Mobile will provide the pilot schools with SIM cards and free 4G LTE coverage plans to get their new PCs up and running. For the rest of the world, Microsoft is partnering with Vodafone to provide education-specific cellular connectivity plans to customers using the newest Connected PCs in Vodafone and Vodacom markets in Europe and Africa.
Together with Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, JP.IK and Positivo, Microsoft is enhancing 14 of its most affordable Windows 10 devices, including:
- Seven of the new devices include the newest Intel processor, which will give you 46 percent more system performance than before.
- In addition to a number of devices that include ways to tether pens, the newest Acer TravelMate Spin B3 and Lenovo 300e also have a pen “garage” built into the device so it’s less likely to wander off.
- Five of the newest devices will include a built-in LED indicator light on the back of the device that can be used to indicate whether a device is charged and connected to the internet.