you mean like Siemen's Stylistic tablets?
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=stylistic+siemens

very old ones came with WinCE, later ones with x86 windows.

or how about the Sony U50?
http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPF-VGN-U50

the further depart from the physical traditional design of a notebook/laptop with a 13 to 16" screen and standard-sized keyboard, the more of a niche product it becomes. as soon as you leave the standard Windows OS install, you put yourself in a niche product. sometimes you can overcome the "it's not windows" consumer resistance by the device being an appliance or special device (how many people know or care that the TomTom GO sat navs run linux?).

Where I work, where we develop mobile internet product and we are all very geeky, everyone has at least *one* mobile phone, there are Nokias, S-Ericssons, iPhones and a G-Phones; many people have a data plan. The iPhone dominates. There were two blackberries, now only one as one defected to iPhone.

Most of us have laptops for work, only one guy opted for a convertible tablet. There are only two of us with Nokia tablets, and noone has a "slate" computer like the Stylistic or U50. I also have a Zaurus (well, actually several), and two tablets. Although many have expressed interest in my tablet and zaurus, very few have even expressed sufficient curiosity to find out how they could go about buying one.

I met a senior manager at Nokia a week ago in the mobile phone service division, and he'd never even seen a tablet.

I'm hoping that the n900 with 3G and hopefully upgrade path to LTE will be somewhat more successful. OTOH, since only enthusiasts own them I don't have to worry about random people, relatives and friends of friends, ringing me up to get technical support with their broken computer!!!