According to Austin, Texas-based Motion, pricing on the new unit?the M1200 Tablet PC?begins at $2,199.

The PC comes in a shiny magnesium case and weighs less than three pounds in its base configuration.

Users can write or draw on the tablet with an electronic pen, and it can also be equipped to handle input by voice.

The system sports a 12.1-inch XGA display, which the company says is more than 35 percent larger than a conventional 10.4-inch screen.

It can be used to send handwritten e-mails, handle forms-based tasks, or remotely access the Internet or a company's database.

A light keyboard can be plugged into the M1200 to modify it for conventional desktop use. The company said other peripheral attachments include a mouse and Motion's FlexDock docking station, which allows the display to be viewed in either portrait or landscape position.

The Motion M1200 is the result of Motion's joint development agreement with Microsoft Corporation, which launched the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system today.

Motion has a manufacturing partnership with Compal Electronics, a supplier of notebook PCs, to produce the new portable, the company said.

The new system is powered by an 866MHz Mobile Intel Pentium III Processor.

"By leveraging extensive usability research, focused industrial design, mobile-optimized components, integrated wireless, and more ?natural' pen and voice input, we designed a product around the way people work, rather than forcing them to adapt their work styles to a computer," said David Altounian, Motion's chief operating officer.

The unit features RAM capacity from 128MB to 1GB and hard disk capacities of 20GB, 40GB or 60GB, the company said. A lithium-ion battery provides up to four hours of life.

The M1200 is scheduled for availability in late November, the company added.