The Always On Touch Book is a unique 8.9-inch netbook with detachable keyboard meets tablet that encourages a number of varied usage scenarios; Always On founder Gregoire Gentil pitches the Touch Book as a great option for a flexible computing solution "because you can use it in so many ways. You can use it as a netbook computer, a hand-held game machine, or a video player. You can even reverse the keyboard to prop it up on a table in an inverted ‘V’. Finally, 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."

In addition to innovative hardware allowing multiple configurations including keyboard and touchpad usage and standalone tablet mode, the software is unique as well. The operating system was custom designed by Always On as a 3D interface easily navigable with a finger on the screen instead of the typical tablet stylus control. The first batch of units will ship in July 2009 with what the company refers to as "beta" software, but with frequent updates. They hope to get other Linux flavors working with the Touch Book hardware, including Google Android, Ubuntu, and Moblin, as well as possibly Windows CE. (more after the break including specifications and original press release)