Always Innovating’s Touch Book tablet priced

Back in early March, Always Innovating announced a unique portable device called the Touch Book. It is unique in a number of ways, first of all it is designed as an 8.9-inch tablet with a sliding keyboard dock so that it can be used in a more traditional netbook form-factor. The tablet is also magnetic so that it can be mounted on a fridge and the unit also supports internal USB slots so no more dongle mess.

This unique ‘netbook’ will also be one of the first to come with an ARM processor (using the Texas Instruments OMAP3 chip) whilst the OS is built from OpenEmbedded, a Linux variant. ARM processors promise increased power efficiency over their x86 equivalents and this can be seen in the quoted 10-15 hours of battery life. It offers all of this in a package that weighs less than 2lbs (0.9kg), including both battery and keyboard!

It will only come with 8GB of flash storage but despite this it is certainly one of the most interesting developments due this year in our eyes. According to the official site, pre-orders are now open and will set you back $299 for the tablet or $399 which will include the keyboard dock. Personally, I think it would have made sense to sell this as 1 SKU as the keyboard dock is part of the experience. However, by splitting the price, it means it may make this within the reach of those who are just after a tablet experience. Click through for a full list of specifications.

Always Innovating Touch Book specifications:

9.4″ x 7″ x 1.4″ for 2 lbs (with keyboard)
ARM Texas Instruments OMAP3 chip
8.9-inch (1024 x 600)’ screen
8GB micro SD card
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth
3-dimensional accelerometer
Speakers, micro and headphone
6 USB 2.0 (3 internal, 2 external, 1 mini)
10h to 15 hours of battery life.

Via Engadget.