Gateway brings a new twist to the tablet PC

Gateway clearly thinks it's onto a winner with its tablet PC range, so much so that it's sketched out two additional models: the E-295C for budding artists, and the C-140 for home users.

Both have 14in displays that can be rotated by 180° to lay flat over the keyboard, effectively turning them into freestyle sketching pads, using the supplied Wacom pen sensor.

The specifications of each model are customisable, with users able to choose between an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2300 with 256MB graphics memory, or an Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics core.

Gateway's E-295C artist-oriented tablet PC

802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 2.0 are optional, though they may well be useful if you like to sketch in the coffee shop. And should someone look to steal your 'priceless' artwork, then both tablets come with security and tracking software as well.

Battery life on both models is also good at 10.6 hours, when using the light-weight battery. We hope they'll be free of the issues that prompted Gateway's recent recall of 14,000 laptop batteries.

The Gateway E-295C and C-140 are available in the US now at a basic starting price of $1549 (£773) and $2000 (£998), respectively. UK pricing and availability is yet to be announced.