Finally. After ten years, touchscreens are back on netbooks. Back when netbooks ran Windows CE, plenty had touchscreens. Heck, the original Psion Netbook (TM) had a touchscreen.
Between this and the touchscreen EEE netbook (haven't heard anything about it since CES), I'm optimistic that touch is finally here to stay. Hope to hear a couple more manufacturers come into the mix before Windows 7 RTM's.
Tablet PCs were great, but they cost too much and often weighed too much. (4.5 pounds for something you're supposed to hold like a book!?) Besides, for anything other than drawing or taking notes in longhand, the active stylus tends to be more of an annoyance than a tool. For marking up documents, general web surfing, etc. -- a touchscreen slate is perfectly fine, and easily beats the clamshell form factor.