Well.. I finally managed to see the Intel Classmate PC design in Low Yat today, aka the FTEC Smartbook.

At RM1199 with comparable hardware specs to a eeePC 4G, but with a sizeable (I think it was 40GB) hard disk instead of a 4GB Solid State Drive, its a good deal if you're looking for a something in the current popular vain of cheap ultra portable laptops.

But...

There is one problem with the Smartbook. It shares the same 800x480 native screen resolution as the eeePC. But unlike the eeePC (At least not in the one that was on display) It would seem like the Windows XP drivers don't come with the ability to switch it to a scrolling 800x600 display. Why is this important? Because most programs never expected to be used on a 480 pixel high display, so having the ability to switch to 800x600 is NECESSARY if you ever want to run Windows XP on the thing. Hopefully it's just a simple matter of finding a hack or a piece of software to do it.

If not.. remember folks, it's really not a great idea to run Windows XP on 800x480! You might find that you won't be able to hit some buttons in certain programs.