Microsoft has made a slew of education-focused announcements ahead of the Bett UK education technology show. Among them are two surprisingly affordable Snapdragon 7c PCs that support 4G out of the box.
The JP.IK Turn T101 has a terrible name, but it starts at just $299. The Wise N1212S, meanwhile, will be $575. Microsoft says they will have 25% better battery life than alternatives while having 4G. Further, thanks to a partnership with T-Mobile, UK pilot schools will receive free SIM cards and coverage plans. Meanwhile, an agreement with Vodafone will provide subscriptions to customers in other regions.
Unfortunately, little is known about the specs of either device at this time. Obviously, both will house the 7c, but details like RAM, HDD, and display resolution aren't known. However, JP.IK's Turn T201 features 2/4GB RAM, 32/64 GB storage with up to 128GB eMMC, and an optional 128/256GB SSD. The screen resolution is 1366×768 at 11.6″ and the battery has a capacity of 2250 mAH. It stands to reason that the T101 will have similar options but we just can't say for sure.
Thankfully, we may get confirmation at the Bett Show, which isn't far off. It will run in London from January 22-25, with affordable non-ARM devices from the likes of Acer, Dell, HP, and Lenovo also likely to make an appearance.
New Teacher Tools
In its blog post, Microsoft also highlighted several new teaching tools available as part of Office 365 Education. PowerPoint Live presentations will soon be available, showing live subtitles with QR codes and translations into over 60 languages.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Stream will support video creation in the mobile app, as well as browser-based screen recording and editing. It believes this will help teachers create training videos while giving students new ways to create their own material.
Finally, Microsoft Teams Class Insights will do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to the performance and activity analysis of students. This should provide teachers with new data while letting them send out automated weekly performance reports to parents.