Dell Inc. has released a new netbook which features an anti-microbial keyboard and a "network activity light" to let the teachers know that when the students are surfing the Web instead of paying attention to their lesson. The model is named as Dell Latitude 2100.

According to the Product Marketing Head of Dell, the Dell Latitude 2100 is an education netbook aimed at classrooms from kindergarten to the 12th grade. The germ-killing keyboard on the netbook is coated with a naturally-occurring silver material, he added. Other features of the Latitude 2100 include a rubberized case to help protect against bumps and drops, and a carrying handle designed for smaller hands.

The netbook is based around Intel's popular Atom N270 1.6-GHz CPU. The cheap version weighs 2.9 pounds and runs Ubuntu Linux 8.1 on an 8-GB solid-state disk (SSD) drive with a three-cell battery that lasts 3.5 hours. The price will be a bit higher for a fully-loaded version with Vista Home Basic, a 160-GB conventional hard drive, anti-microbial keyboard, touchscreen and six-cell battery for up to seven hours of battery life. Dell already produced a line of consumer netbooks under the Inspiron Mini brand.

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A 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, a single memory slot (512MB, 1GB, or 2GB of RAM), and integrated graphics make up the core components of the Dell Latitude 2100. For storage, the 2100 is available with SSD drives that go up to 16GB and spinning drives of up to 250GB. As stated earlier, the system can be configured with a 3-cell or a 6-cell battery. The Latitude 2100 "is an entirely new platform," said the senior manager for product marketing at Dell.

"It is not a rebranded Dell Mini." To appeal specifically to educational buyers, the systems include a handful of unique features, including a small light on the back of the lid, called the Network Activity Light. It can interact with third-party software or simply turn on when students are surfing the Web (instead of working on class
work), which can help teachers keep track of the status of everyone in the classroom.

The Dell Latitude 2100 comes in five colours keeping the target buyers of the netbook: blue, red, green, yellow and black. Dell is also offering a locking, moveable cart for storing the netbooks securely in classrooms after hours.