Actually, it's an HTC Shift on steroids. I have one and it looks quite similar, though only has a 7" screen. The demo of the new Intel platform looks a bit slimmer, but I know how video can be deceiving. Pretty nice system, I like my Shift but the larger screen & keyboard would be pretty nice.

I meant TabletPC in my above comment, not "laptop," as Apple laptops are pretty good for what they give you, but not in the realm of Tablet PC funtions.

Regarding the Gateway Tablets... I also demo'ed a couple of their models for about a month. It had a nice large screen and solid build but was way too large for a TabletPC, heavy to boot. We actually requisitioned one for a few members, but they were pretty much shelved after the first month due to weight & size.

Fujitsu has been in the market since the beginning, but they also tend to be on the heavy side and tend to stick with the clam-shell form-factor.

An Eee laptop is not a TabletPC, and while I'm seeing here that you *may* be able to replace the screen with a touch-screen, Asus really blew it with the tiny screen and all that wasted real estate which the display should be filling. Lots of wasted space and the screen is a lot smaller than the pictures make it out to be, go to a local shop and demo one before even thinking about buying one. You'd be better off with a Kohjinsha TabletPC, it's around the same size but is an actual TabletPC and the screens a tad larger (still just as cheap too!).

Stay away from the super-small screend you find on some UMPC's, such as the OQO, Fujitsu Loox, Gigabyte UMPC or anything that's 5" or less, you'll hate the size of the screen and the thumb-board keyboard... a recipe for frustration and such a pain! I own an OQO, but I'm soon to be a previous owner mainly due to the problems mentioned above and it's just too small for my needs. Recommending an iPod Touch or iPhone is just silly as well, too small for anything PC-useful but definitely fun for portable media in your pocket. There's a lot of software out there for them, but nothing that would replace your laptop/TabletPC.

Sorry for the typo.

Suggesting a Mac is simply foolish when recommending a laptop, especially when it's not really an *official* Apple product and simply a creative usage of a regular MacBook.

I've owned a few Tablet PC's since they first surfaced and demo'd quite a few as well. The latest offerings aren't all that impressive as they haven't really shrank too much in size and manufacturers can't seem to get the form-factor right. That being said, I'd recommend one of the slate editions and forgo the attached keyboard of convertable Tablets for a bluetooth model. I've used a Compaq 1100 for quite a while, which served it's purpose quite well, and have found it tought to really find a quicker replacement that matched what I already had. I demo'd the new HP versions for a few weeks at a time, but they when to heavier/clunkier models that actually went backwards in terms of form-factor development.

What I've actually settled on right now is a HTC Shift, it's a lot smaller and portable than the 10" slates and seems to meet myy needs in terms of portability. My chief complaint with it is lack of ability to switch to portrait mode (What the hell was HTC thinking!!!), but other than that and the overzealoous pricing, it's an awesome little system complete with biometrics, novel approach to integrating a sliding keyboard, and runs pretty well. It's a solid device, yet small enough to carry where ever you need (it's about the size of a couple DVD cases stacked). Check YouTube for a video of someone demoing the unit and hit up eBay for a less wallet-burning price.

Looked to me like an Eee PC or one of MSI, definitely not a Mac! Good try though.

The HTC Advantage is nothing at all like the HP TC1100. While it may sport the same half-keyboard, that's where the similarities end. It's much, much smaller and on runs Windows Mobile. The screen is an actual touch-screen like a PDA, which is essentially what this device is; it's nowhere near an UMPC, let alone a TabetPC or laptop. The form-factor looks sleek, but the keyboard is cramped and screen is too small to do any more than view mobile pages. You'd be better off with an iPhone or iPod Touch if you don't need the mobile phone portion. Way over-priced too.

While the form-factor is cool, it's really pretty dumb to have a device this large with Windows Mobile on it. Load it up with a real OS and it might be more useful, but it's hampered by that tiny keyboard, ugh. I've played around with the predecessor quite a bit and while sleak, it's not worth it when you can get a nice UMPC or, if you need a phone, get the Diamond.

Sounds interesting, thought there are a ton of GPS devices already on the market here in Japan. It's funny they didn't provide a list of features, just making an ambiguous statement of features to peak curiosity. At least this one is smaller and more portable than current models in Japan, though they aren't as portable as the Tom Tom, Garmin, and others we see in the U.S. and Europe. From the Japanese penchant for overpricing things in this country and current PND prices, I'd say you won't be able to touch this one for less than $800, maybe more.

I think they put the knobs on the left side to keep drivers from trying to adjust routes and fiddling with the device while driving. We drive on the left side of the road here. I also wouldn't put it past them to have the gyro-sensor rigged to not allow route changes while moving too, not to mention a TV lockout while moving.

BTW Navi is simply the way Japanese refer to GPS systems, so not much in the name either.

Actually a pretty darn good idea! Nice to see some company putting out something useful instead of some gimmic. While I don't have a laptop with one of these slots yet, when I do get one I'll keep my eye out for one of these. Wonder what kind of hacks we'll be seeing for this device!

Cool idea, I agree. Yet there was no real reason for the Wii-chuck excpet to simply say he used it. Why not integrate something wireless, like a Class 1 Bluetooth controller you can use anywhere in your home? You could probably, more than likely considering their know-how, hook up a LCD screen on the controller and do it all from bed!

Sweet concept!

I don't think modifying one of your previous designs qualifies as "ripping off." The Opus is nice and more elegant, but this model is more about chic-coolness. To all the haters saying it's ugly... to each his own, I think it's pretty d@mn cool myself and can't wait for the $20 knock-off we'll be seeing in a few months!

Also, the above link will explain how it works and how to read the time off of it. Nice up-close pics of the Opus too!