We’ve heard the term “OLPC killer” get bandied about a few times before, usually in the context of Asus’ similarly-priced Eee PC but this is the first time we’ve ever heard it used in conjunction with the OLPC’s real competitor: the Intel Classmate PC. Wired‘s Gadget Lab got some hands-on time with the Classmate PC and walked away quite impressed by the machine’s battery life, build quality, performance and–of course–pre-loaded Windows XP and Microsoft Office. “The ultra-small keyboard won’t do grown-ups’ hamfists any favors, but for a Windows-centric school environment, it’s hard to imagine a more appropriate notebook.” No wonder they’ve had no trouble selling them, eh?

For more on the Classmate PC:
– see this Gadget Lab article