Last week on this blog I posted a blog entry about how the Netbook is Dead.

This week is CES and a few things that have been announced have (in my opinion) helped to reinforce that blog post.

Leonovo have announced their “netbook”. The ThinkPad X100e is an 11.6-inch notebook that starts at a consumer-friendly price of $449. Hardly a cheap micro-laptop? Whilst Samsung have announced a range of netbooks, all models offer the standard 10.1″ LED backlit display. Hardly the small netbook form factor that the Asus EeePC fermented as the netbook form factor? These are not netbooks, they are cheap laptops. Welcome as they are they are hardly revolutionary!

Then on Engadget we see this.

So what is it?

It’s a tabletnetbook or as they call it a smartbook.

Freescale Semiconductor is helping to kick this year’s CES off with a bang, as its latest reference smartbook design actually has somewhat of a sexy flair to it. Currently, the model is little more than a great idea, but the company is hoping to have it available for partner evaluation starting next month. In theory, at least, this “smartbook tablet” would boast an ultrathin form factor, weigh around 0.8 pounds and get powered by a 1GHz i.MX515 processor. Other specs would include 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 touch panel, 4GB to 64GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, optional 3G WWAN module, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, a USB 2.0 socket, audio in / out, 3 megapixel camera, inbuilt 3-axis accelerometer, an ambient light sensor and a 1,900mAh battery. We aren’t quite sure what kind of bulk discounts Freescale is counting on, but it’s hoping that this design will “enable a second generation of smartbook products with prices less than $200.”

For less than $200 (which in tech currency conversion means less that £200) this could be a device to certainly give all those e-Book Readers a run for their money, but also is a potential netbook replacement.