But the OQO ultra-mobile uses a slide-out mini-keyboard, and I’d rather have a full-size one or none at all. The OQO can easily slip in your pocket but it would be appreciable thinner without the keyboard and you could always plug one if when needed.

It is a nice design though, and there are a lot of uses for a device little bigger than a smart phone that can run full Vista applications. And it does support pen input.

Chief executive Dennis Moore says the snag with tablets without keyboards is that they are not good for working with spreadsheets. This surprised me, because machines would surely recognise numbers more readily than handwriting, but I’m bound to say I haven’t tried it.

Moore says OQO is now selling to companies, hospitals and other organisations as well as to individuals. He has just set up an office in the UK and is offering a new HSDPA option which will give the OQO web access on the move. 

My dislike of small keyboards is not a universal view. Astonishingly, half of the books on Japan's bestseller list were written on keypads, according to a report from the antipodes.

It happens that we finally have the £200 Asus EeePC Linux ultra-mobile in the office. It is not pocketable like the OQO but it would not wiegh down a bag and I know which machine I'd rather carry.