Waiting in line for the keynote was definitely a high point during CES 2007. The Heiny clan met up with Linda A. Epstein and Chris De Herrera as the line started to form. We, of course, started to talk about Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs. The Neeks pulled out the TabletKiosk eo v7110 Ultra-Mobile PC, on which they were proudly showing that they had installed Windows Vista. This quiet sharing turned into a bit of a flurry.
Damian Dovarganes, an AP photographer, began taking photos of the Neek Talk reporters using these pen and touch computers. You can see two of these photos on Yahoo News, which syndicates AP photos.

I don't think the girls quite knew what hit them. Within a few seconds there were cameras pointed at them from all directions. AP, Reuters, LA Daily, and many more. Dave Winer was even passing by and snapped a photo, which you can now see on his Flickr account.
This activity made quite an introduction to Bill Gates' keynote. The keynote included several examples of newly announced Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs, including the following:

• HP TX1000 Entertainment Notebook PC
• Medion UMPC (Arima specs)
• Toshiba Portege R400
• OQO Model 2

During the keynote, Bill Gates refered to the Samsung Q1 that was located in the bedroom of the future as a "mobile PC". After the keynote there was chatter about whether that was a word slip or an intentional renaming of the UMPC to a more generic mobile PC. What do you think? Does it even matter as the supporting features are all included in Windows Vista now?
The selection of Tablet PC and UMPC hardware that appeared in the keynote was a diverse group. The HP uses an AMD processor, the Medion and OQO a VIA processor, Toshiba uses an Intel processor. It was really good to see such a broad selection noted.
Of course, there were several other Tablet PC and UMPC models on the trade show floor and in people's hands, from the new LG Tablet PC to the TabletKiosk Sahara slates. I have photos of many and will share those with you soon.
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What Is New in Tablet PCs and UMPCs.