Microsoft has unveiled its "Origami" paperback-book sized portable computer.
Weighing only 972 grammes with a 17.78-centimetre touch-screen, the new "ultra-mobile" PCs use microprocessors from Intel and run a modified version of Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC edition.
They are a hybrid between a laptop PC and a host of mobile devices that the world's biggest software maker hopes will create an entirely new market.
Samsung, Asustek and China's second largest PC-maker, the Founder Group, are expected to release the first three ultra-mobile PCs. South Korea's Samsung's product goes on sale in April.
The new machines will connect wirelessly to the Internet and carry full-sized hard drives, but they are not intended to replace current PCs.
No US name brand PC makers have signed on to make the new devices, which will have battery life of about three hours, but Microsoft predicted a bright future for the devices.
Microsoft's track record in promoting an alternative PC has produced mixed results. The tablet PC has not yet gained broad appeal despite strong backing from founder Bill Gates.
Tablet PCs, which allows people to use a stylus or digital pen to jot down information instead of typing on a keyboard, have been largely geared toward business users since its introduction in 2002, but the new "ultra-mobile" PC category appears to move the tablet technology into the consumer realm.