Whether it's sold by generic white-box resellers or famous names like Dell and Apple, a huge percentage of PC hardware comes from Taiwan. That's why the annual Computex trade show in Taipei always generates big news -- with the biggest last year being Asus' announcement of the Eee PC at a promised price of $199.

Even though the two-pound, 7-inch-screened subnotebook's sticker had soared to $400 by the time it actually reached retailers in October, the Eee was a smash hit for its carefree combination of ultra-portability, everyday office productivity, and wireless Web and e-mail access.

As Computex 2008 opens today, two new members of the Eee family are playing a prominent role. But so are serious competitors from Acer and MSI -- with all three vendors marking the debut of Intel's newest and smallest processor. Meanwhile, VIA Technologies and Nvidia have unveiled subcompact silicon of their own.

The handheld ultramobile PC (UMPC) Windows platform that Microsoft touted in 2006 is dead, but its both Linux- and Windows-based successors -- small, affordable WiFi or 3G-wireless-broadband laptops dubbed ultra-low-cost PCs (ULCPCs) or netbooks -- are the new stars of the portable market. And today's second-generation models won't be the last.

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