NEC Ships Tiny Tablet PC

NEC has begun selling one of the smallest Tablet PC devices to emerge since the platform's November launch. The VersaPro is now available for purchase in Japan, with North American and European releases expected by the end of the first quarter, according to NEC.

System Specs

The VersaPro series will be sold to companies, while home users will be able to purchase the LaVie series, NEC says. With a 10.4-inch TFT display and measuring only about half an inch thick, NEC's Tablet PC is smaller than most of the devices announced around the time of the launch of Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition in November 2002.

A typical configuration of the VersaPro series will include the recently announced 933-MHz Ultra Low Voltage Pentium III Processor-M from Intel, 256MB of SDRAM, a 20GB hard drive, and a lithium ion battery for a price of $1995. It will be available in build-to-order configurations in Japan, but information about North American or European configurations was not immediately available.

Users can add 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless capability to the device, but doing so adds weight to the 2.5-pound heft of the VersaPro and LaVie Tablet PCs.

Tablet Overview

The company's new Tablet PC is a slate device. Just about every Tablet PC that has been introduced so far has been either a slate device (with a detachable or wireless keyboard) or a convertible notebook (with a screen that swivels to cover the keyboard).

Since their introduction last fall, a handful of the devices have become available.

NEC Solutions (America) previewed its device last November at Comdex. Microsoft promoted the platform there and at the recent Consumer Electronics show.