Intel is looking to capitalize on the education market with a couple of new Android tablets aimed at students. While not bleeding edge in their features, they do have a few nice features to make them useful in the classroom.

IntelThere’s a seven-inch and a 10-inch version. Their processors are moderate: an Intel Atom processor Z2460 1.6GHz for the 10-inch and an Intel Atom processor Z2420 1.2GHz for the seven-inch, and they only come with 1GB of RAM. By comparison, the new Nexus 7 has 2 GB of RAM and a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. However, I’m assuming the Intel tablets will also come with a budget price, especially if bought in quantity.

They’re running older versions of Android 4.1 on the seven-inch, and, curiously, only 4.0 on the 10-inch. However, both do come with front and rear cameras, including a snap-on magnification lens for close views. Bugs have never looked so good!

I really like the idea of the plug-in temperature probe. If we can’t come up with ways to have fun with that, we’re not trying hard enough.

The pre-loaded software had interesting options. For example, the camera software includes some imaging and analysis tools including a time-lapse cam, microscope and motion cam. Intel’s site includes some sample lessons using the various applications. Too bad my dog is too fast a pet for the pet observation lesson. I’m thinking they were leaning more toward turtles and snakes.

It’s good to see companies like Intel continuing to create hardware and software usable in the classroom.

This post originally appeared on GadgeTell.

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