So Intel will officially be rolling out a new version of its Classmate PC at CES – this one, called the Convertible Classmate PC. It’s a tablet netbook with a touchscreen and an accelerometer that adjusts the display for use in both portrait and landscape modes.

Laptop.com got their hands on “an almost final production unit” and found that, although the forthcoming Classmate is meant for kids, the implementation of the touchscreen features and the responsive accelerometer are both something that mainstream netbook manufacturers ought to attempt to replicate.

Other improvements include a new blue and white color scheme (other options will apparently be available as well), a more solidly-implemented webcam, a great touch-friendly interface, and the ability to tell if your palm is touching the screen while you’re writing with the stylus so you don’t mistakenly mash any other icons.