Tatung of Taiwan offers the TX-3000 that features Wi-Fi connectivity and programmable buttons.

UMPCs with wireless, multimedia features pose challenge to product line. Makers halt expansion projects but continue enhancing products.

High price is still the main reason why the Tablet PC industry has barely taken off. The product line is dependent on vertical adoption, such as in education, enterprise and medicine.

Another hindrance to the growth of Tablet PCs is the launch of Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs), which are touted as the new portable entertainment hub.

UMPCs focus on multimedia and entertainment, and can be data hubs that connect to the Internet. Talks on integrating VoIP and 3G with the new form factor are also in the works. Aside from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability, UMPCs feature built-in Web camera, fingerprint recognition, card reader, games and TV tuner.

Nevertheless, Tablet PC manufacturers in Taiwan reveal that they will continue to develop new Tablet PCs with high-end features including GPS, card reader, 3G connectivity and extra sensitive touch screens.

Taiwan makers expect prices to decrease by less than 5 percent in 2006. Entry-level Tablet PCs integrated with various functions such as wireless connectivity are priced between $1,000 and $1,300, while Tablet PCs with 7in screens are less than $700.

Entry-level slate-type Tablet PCs with networking functions but without hard disks are quoted at less than $550.

According to the Topology Research Institute (TRI), global shipment volume of portable PCs reached 65.25 million units in 2005, and is expected to increase to 79.91 million units in 2006 and by 2007 reach 94.62 million units.

Slate-type Tablet PC shipments are expected to grow to 416,000 units in 2006 from 198,000 units in 2005. Convertible Tablet PC deliveries are projected to total 1.61 million units in 2006, up 96 percent from 818,000 units in 2005. By 2010, convertible Tablet PC shipments are expected to reach 6.76 million units.

	The R1F from Asustek sports a 13.3in LCD screen, SATA-compatible HDD and fingerprint recognition function.

The majority of Tablet PC manufacturers in Taiwan prefer to develop slate-type models instead of convertible ones to save on costs.

Slate-type models can integrate ports to connect to keyboards and other input devices. Most interviewed companies use Wacom digitizers for their Tablet PCs.

Convertible models belong to the high-end segment and provide enhanced storage and multimedia features to leverage high price quotes. Asustek Computer Inc.'s R1F features SATA-interfaced hard disk drive (HDD) and 120GB storage capacity.

Asustek and Acer Co. Ltd's Tablet PCs both feature hot-swappable HDDs to accommodate a second battery or hard disk for storage capacity expansion. Acer's Tablet PCs also support DVD dual-layer optical drives.

Mainstream Tablet PCs from Taiwan feature 10in to 14in displays, but more Taiwan makers are introducing models with smaller displays. Wireless connectivity that enables users to transfer data and connect to other peripherals is also becoming a trend. Asustek and Acer have separately launched convertible Tablet PCs that can support Bluetooth connectivity.

3G and GPS functions are expected to be integrated into upcoming Tablet PCs in 2007.

Amtek System Co. Ltd's Tablet PCs can support RF connectivity to external wireless input devices including keyboard and mouse.

Security is also enhanced, with makers incorporating fingerprint authentication and other security software into the product.

Amtek can produce 1,000 12in Tablet PCs and 30,000 7in UMPCs every month. Actual monthly output runs at 600 12in Tablet PCs.

Tatung Co. plans to design a Tablet PC with extra sensitive touch screens that will allow the use of any pointed object instead of a stylus. Tatung employs 20 R&D engineers, who provide industrial, mechanical and hardware designs. The company allocates about 3 percent of sales to R&D projects. Maintaining low production costs and designing RoHS-compliant products are the company's R&D targets in 2006.

Taiwan's major export markets include North America, Europe and Asia. The domestic market also receives a considerable share of Tablet PC output; however, due to the industry's sluggish performance this year, makers will maintain their capacity until the market turns around.

Tatung can produce 100,000 units per month and ships about 3,000 units overseas. North America, as Tatung's major overseas market, accounts for half of the company's exports. Its OEM and ODM customers account for 20 percent and 70 percent of sales, respectively. Ten percent of Tatung's output carries the company's own brand name.

Tatung's TX 2000 features a 10.4inToshiba LCD and 2.5GB or 5GB microdrive. It has 802.11b/g wireless connectivity, and runs on Windows XP. It is embedded with 512MB DDR SODIMM.

The Tablet PC comes with two USB 2.0 ports, a PCMCIA type-II card slot, headphone and microphone ports, and RJ-45 or RS-232C port. It is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion battery, and has an operating time of up to two hours.

Asustek released its first Tablet PC in July 2006, and plans to follow it up with a UMPC.

Acer's TravelMate C200 integrates NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200 graphics with Gigabit Ethernet connection. It sports a 12.1in LCD screen and a patented sliding track for easy conversion from slate mode to notebook PC mode. The Tablet PC includes three USB 2.0 ports, four-in-one card reader, IR port and Bluetooth connectivity. Users may opt to add an 8x DVD-Dual double layer optical drive or a second battery pack that provides 8.5 hours of battery life.

	The TravelMate C310 from Acer, which features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, also enables Gigabit Ethernet data transmission.

UMPCs, a new product line spearheaded by several hardware and software companies including Samsung, Microsoft and Intel, are regarded as a possible PDA or notebook PC replacement. UMPCs feature 7in screens and run on low-voltage Intel Pentium or Via C7-M microprocessors. Launched at CeBIT 2006, UMPCs support any software written for the Windows XP platform, include up to 160GB memory, and can be integrated with multimedia features such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity, card reader and GPS receiver. Acer plans to release UMPCs with data management and multimedia features.

Amtek's R&D team is tasked to oversee hardware, software and mechanical designs. Its R&D projects in 2006 are focused on UMPCs. It has started shipping UMPCs with 7in display in May 2006, and plans to launch another model with a 5in display within H2 2006. Amtek forecasts that small-sized Tablet PCs and UMPCs will help boost market growth and eventually eat into the PDA segment.

Priced at about $1,000, UMPCs could pose a threat to Tablet PCs, which are priced at an average of $1,500.