$200 smartbook design: Way to reconcile tablet and netbook ideas?

A detachable keyboard for a small portable—the idea is hardly new. Elonex has one already with a spalshpoof keyboard you can separate. That’s also a form factor I envisioned for TeleReaders back in 1992, and surely others had gone before me. You could always arrange for hinges or a stand to prop up the screen.

The results might even be nicer for extended typing than a laptop since you could separately vary your distances from the screen and keyboard.

So what do you think of Freescale Semiconductor’s smartbook reference design, ready for CES. If reality, the design might mean a $200 machine with a seven-inch screen. Actually the price might be just for the screen and CPU alone. Not sure. Sounds too high to me and others. But maybe it’s a hint of better things to come.

Certainly, for K-12, I like this approach much better than just a Kindle-style tablet or a netbook. I’d also like the screen a bit larger. And perhaps the unit could use retractable legs and notch the screen into the keyboard, for a true netbook when you wanted one.

Specifications:

.8 pounds
1GHz i.MX515 processor.
512MB of DDR2 RAM
1,024 x 600 touch panel
4GB to 64GB of internal storage
MicroSD expansion slot
Optional 3G WWAN module802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1
GPS
USB 2.0 socket
Audio in / out
3 megapixel camera
Inbuilt 3-axis accelerometer
Ambient light sensor
1,900mAh battery

Related: Gizmodo and Techmeme roundup.