Intel has unveiled the third generation of its low-cost laptop for students. Introduced at the Intel Developer Forum 2008 in San Francisco, the new Classmate PC takes almost the same form factor as the original rugged notebook but also incorporates touch-screen and tablet capabilities.

The specs are slightly better than those of its predecessor, with an Intel Atom processor running at 1.60GHz, 1 gigabyte of RAM, up to 8GB flash storage, SD card slot, a pair of USB 2.0 ports and a webcam that can rotate 180 degrees.

The new Classmate PC will not replace current second-generation versions of the notebook but rather co-exist with them - suggesting that the new model will slightly move out of the low-cost laptop realm to target a wider range of market segments. The new machines are expected to hit the market by end of this year.