For months, computer chip maker Intel and Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child program have fought bitterly over which could sell more cheap, rugged laptops to schools in Asia, Africa and South America. Now Intel is instead turning its focus onto a long neglected market for affordable PCs: American children.

On Thursday, Intel began offering its Classmate PC, a 3-pound laptop that's about the size of a hardback novel, to the U.S. market through Amazon.com, shipping in early May.

The $489 machine, built by the Portland, Ore.-based Computer Technology Link, comes loaded with Microsoft's Windows XP operating system and a 40 gigabyte hard drive, a built-in Webcam, a nine-inch screen and one gigabyte of memory, along with a bright blue cover that doubles as a handle.

So how does Classmate stack up? Forbes.com got a chance to play with both Classmate and XO, which is still being distributed overseas but not currently available in the U.S.

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