Always Innovating unveils the Touch Book

2 March 2009 16:15 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Always Innovating has unveiled the "Touch Book", describing it as a "versatile" new device that works as both a netbook and a tablet thanks to a detachable keyboard and a 3D touchscreen user interface.

The company says you can use it as a netbook computer, a handheld game device, or a video player.

The keyboard can be reversed to prop it up on a table in an inverted "V" and, because it is magnetic, you can remove the keyboard and put the tablet on the fridge to serve as a kitchen computer or digital frame.

The Touch Book gets an 8.9-inch, 1024 x 600 screen, runs an open source OS, an ARM OMPAP3 processor, 8GB storage thanks to a microSD card, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

The device weighs in at less than two pounds, boasts a battery life of 10 to 15 hours and offers three "internal" USB ports.

The Touch Book is expected to ship in late spring in the States and will start at $299.