Kevin Huang, Senior Marketing Director at ASUS, and I were talking about how important it is for OEMs to incorporate feedback from end-users. ASUS is known to many as the #1 motherboard manufacturer and they've been working hard to let people know that they are successful with mobile PCs, and want you to join them in producing the first community designed mobile PC.

ASUS is partnering with Intel on WePC.com, where you can send in your ideas about a dream mobile PC. This banner at ASUS's #ces09 booth shows real concepts. Do you see the one you submitted?

ASUS & Intel are partnering to help bring people's dream PC to reality. Submit your ideas at WePC.com.

Current submissions are displayed on this banner. Many have to do with using PCs in new and modular ways.

Creating the book paradigm -- or breaking the PC paradigm is a repeated design concept.

This user submitted concept will look familiar to those who use convertible Tablet PCs.

More multiple screen, slate, or dual screen concepts.

A favorite vendor to visit with is ASUS. With a larger exhibit area than in previous years, and more mobile PCs on display than ever before, ASUS demonstrated its commitment to innvoation, environment, openness to suggestions, and agility to be able to accomplish.

ASUS concept products included Origami. Not the Origami software from Microsoft. Rather, ASUS Origami is a foldable notebook design inspired by the art of folding paper.

ASUS Origami is a simple form study at the moment, but you can see how ASUS wants to make the PC thin and ergonomic. The keyboard area is raised to improve ventilation.

Concept mobile PC inspired on folding paper.

ASUS Origami concept notebook.

Full keyboard on ASUS Origami concept.

Close-up of raised keyboard and ventilation.

According to the Computex website Sambest Corporation of Taiwan will show a model 800, rugged mobile PC with resistive touch display. Sambest has several mobile PCs with digitizer support.

• Compact A4 size with bumper and Magnesium-Alloy Housing in high strength and rugged structure
• 10.4” XGA (1024x768) TFT with resistive touch screen
• Intel Core Duo Processor Ultra Low Voltage 1.2GHz Processor
• RAM: 1GB DDRII 533 and optional 2GB upgrade
• Storage: HDD - Shock Proof mounted 80GB and optional 100GB/120GB
• Optional Solid Slate Drive 8GB/16GB/32GB
• Windows XP Tablet PC SP2 Edition / Windows Vista Business ready
• Built-in WiFi 802.11 a/b/g; Bluetooth Class I; CF/PCMCIA card slots to support UMTS/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS/GPS Card
• Meet IP54 standard and compliant MIL-STD-810F
• Wide temperature range operation (-20℃ ~ +60℃)
• 7 hours of long operating battery life
• RS232 port for industrial device connection

According to PC Pro's Bob Harris, ARM is looking at the convergence zone of PCs and devices as an opportunity. ARM's Coretex-A8 processor could be its first step in the low cost PC direction. Energy efficient and very competitive may be the key to the successful expansion of this new category.

The Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium UMPC was named a 2008 CES Innovations Honoree.

This post provides a few more pieces of information regarding the CES 2008 Tablet PC and UMPC Gathering.

A year after the initial announcement, Axiotron is shipping their modified MacBooks. According to Macworld, "Axiotron has designed a new case and a new input system, eschewing the keyboard and trackpad instead for a stylus input that enables users to write directly on the screen. It's the first pen tablet-based Mac."

I realize that many of you are anxiously awaiting the exact date and location for the Tablet PC & UMPC Community Gathering 2008. I have confirmation that our preferred time slot of 3-6pm on January 8th is available, but have a little more work to do on securing the location.

It's my favorite time of year! Planning is underway for the 2008 CES Tablet PC & UMPC community gathering.

Are you available to help pull the event together?

Lanac Technology is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Chicago that offers training for business solutions. This month they are offering a course on configuring Windows Vista, including:

Module 4: Configuring Mobile Computers