The Asus Eee PC has been creating lots of interest and pre-orders (100k in Germany alone for only 20k available from Jan 25 on). While reading some of the comments about Asus' plans to also bring out 8-, 9- and 10-inch versions, I found this new UMPC here that was shown at the CES in Las Vegas. It is from a Taiwanese company that is a supplier in the automotive industry, which for sure means highest quality due to the stringent QA requirements in that industry.

The Noahbook adds some great new things to the idea of the Asus Eee, and the videos make me want to check one out when it becomes available in Europe. What I like is the possibility to work with higher resolution (1024x780) while not having to increase the LCD display. You can move quickly around with the mouse. Also, the keyboard has been split into two parts, providing more space. Another simple but, it seems, effective design trick. From the videos, it also appears to be a very solid product, which is what I would expect from this company. Only question that remains is if pricing is similarly low, which I strongly doubt, but if it comes in at below 500 EUR then it could be a great product. Overall, the UMPC market is clearly taking off in 2008 and is stealing the show from the likes of even Apple, whose Steve Jobs seems to have lost - temporarily - his guru-like appeal, not showing much exciting news at last week's MacWorld and even having Apple's stock negatively affected but it. Steve, maybe you should hire some guys from Taiwan to get you back on the right track?